Tire Minder Saves Us

[Janet Wilder]

As we were coming through Waco this morning, our Tire Minder started
beeping and flashing a red light warning. We quickly got off the
expressway and pulled over to a wide spot on the feeder road (service
road for non-Texans). The left outside dually was flat. Did not appear
damaged, just flat.

Called road service who called back 30 minutes later and said it would
take 2 hours to get someone there on a Sunday.

Picked up my smartphone and found a tire service shop less than half a
mile away. Got there and fund out that the stem had failed.

Fixed it for $10 and we were on the road again.

This is the third stem out of 4 on the rear wheels that has failed. I
believe that the stems used were either defective or crap. I need to
give someone a piece of my mind but I don't know who puts the stems on
the tires. Is it Chevy, who makes the chassis or Coachmen who makes the
RV? Does anyone have any guesses?
--
Janet Wilder
Way-the-heck-south Texas
Spelling doesn't count. Cooking does.

[NotMe]

"Janet Wilder" <kellie...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:507248b3$0$1287$c3e8da3$eb76...@news.astraweb.com...

WAG it was the chassis as I doubt Coachmen would spend money replacing
something that worked.

Give you've had 3 of 4 fail are you going to the 4th fixed before it too
fails or wait for the inevitable. If you go for a fix might want to replace
the stem on the spare as well.

[Hank]

The people you want to contact would be the Chevy Truck dealer.

Hank

[Hank]

On Sunday, October 7, 2012 11:29:56 PM UTC-4, Janet wrote:

I went to the website of Tire Minder to check them out. I won't be surprised if the Chevy dealer refuses to do anything about your problem due to the fact you added an after-market product to the valve stem.

They MAY question if the Tire Minders were installed correctly, or are faulty.

Did you have the TireMinders in place on the 3 times you had a flat?

Hank

[PaulT]

"Janet Wilder" <kellie...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:507248b3$0$1287$c3e8da3$eb76...@news.astraweb.com...

Snipped.

>
> Called road service who called back 30 minutes later and said it would
> take 2 hours to get someone there on a Sunday.
>
> Picked up my smartphone and found a tire service shop less than half a
> mile away. Got there and fund out that the stem had failed.
>

> Janet Wilder
> Way-the-heck-south Texas
> Spelling doesn't count. Cooking does.

What road service do you use? We had a blowout on the 5th wheel last year
on I-95 in NC at 3:30 on a
Saturday afternoon. Called Good Sam who told us that someone would get to
us by 5:50.

We also called around and had someone there in half an hour. The guy said
he used to be in Good Sam's network,
but they didn't pay enough.

Paul

[Janet Wilder]

Don't have a spare. Thinking seriously about getting one.

[Janet Wilder]

That would not be the case. The Chevy dealer who replaced the cracked
rim a few months back, reinstalled the Tire Minder. All it is is a cap
on the stem with a transmitter.

The first two stem failures were before we got the Tire Minder, leading
us to purchasing the Tire Minder.

I will call Chevy. They are the ones who authorized the free
replacement of the wheel.

[Janet Wilder]

Coach Net. I think it depends on the area you are located in when you
break down.

--

[Janet Wilder]

On 10/8/2012 7:52 AM, richard wrote:

> Having replaced that many stems in a short time leads me to believe
> something else is wrong.
> Perhaps the tire minder hose connector has a leak.
>

We lost the first two stems before installing the Tire Minder. That's
why we got the Tire Minder. It was not defective and saved us from
destroying the flat tire. With duallies, a flat on one tire is not
noticeable from the ride.

[Ron]

"Janet Wilder" wrote in message
news:5072d001$0$48068$c3e8da3$dd96...@news.astraweb.com...

+++++++
Janet,
Are the valve stems rubber or metal? If they are rubber you may want to
replace all of them with metal valve stems which seem to be more rugged than
the rubber ones.
Ron
+++++++

[nothermark]

On Sun, 07 Oct 2012 22:30:23 -0500, Janet Wilder

I'd bet some supplier who mounts and balances the tires on the wheels
and delivers the completed units to the assembly plant.

[nothermark]

On Mon, 8 Oct 2012 07:42:14 -0400, "PaulT" <budm...@verizon.net>
wrote:

I know some folks cannot do it but I am seeing another example of why
I carry the tools to change a tire rather than wait. ;-)

[Max]

Janet:
Check this out:

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&sugexp=les%3B&gs_nf=1&gs_mss=Chinese%20valve%20s&cp=27&gs_id=3e&xhr=t&q=Chinese%20valve%20stem%20failures&pf=p&output=search&sclient=psy-ab&oq=Chinese+valve+stem+failures&gs_l=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&fp=a13310f90871d81c&biw=1920&bih=911

or
http://tinyurl.com/9bcdvbu

I read about this in one of my auto magazines.

[Max]

http://tinyurl.com/9bcdvbu

[Bob Hatch]

Are the stems rubber or metal?


--
I do not carry a gun hoping that
I'll be able to shoot someone, anymore than
I carry a jack hoping I'll have a flat
tire.
Me.

[Janet Wilder]

I don't know what they were, but I'm going to take it to Discount Tire
before our next trip and have them replace the ones that are still OEM.
We did upgrade the quality on the ones we replaced.

[Janet Wilder]

How do I find out if the OEM valve stems are Chinese?

[Ron]

"Janet Wilder" wrote in message

news:507308f7$0$24721$c3e8da3$cc4f...@news.astraweb.com...

+++++++++
You should be able to glance at them and tell. The rubber ones are black,
the metal ones are shiny metal.
Ron
+++++++++

[NotMe]

"Janet Wilder" <

>> Check this out:
>>
>> http://www.google.com/#hl=en&sugexp=les%3B&gs_nf=1&gs_mss=Chinese%20valve%20s&cp=27&gs_id=3e&xhr=t&q=Chinese%20valve%20stem%20failures&pf=p&output=search&sclient=psy-ab&oq=Chinese+valve+stem+failures&gs_l=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&fp=a13310f90871d81c&biw=1920&bih=911
>>
>>
>> or
>> http://tinyurl.com/9bcdvbu
>>
>> I read about this in one of my auto magazines.
>
> How do I find out if the OEM valve stems are Chinese?
>

When the air leaks out it has a Mandarin accent ...

[Will Sill]

On 10/8/12 4:32 PM, Ron wrote re valve stems:

> You should be able to glance at them and tell. The rubber ones are
> black, the metal ones are shiny metal.

The important difference is not color, though the metal ones are usually
shiny. What matters is that the metal ones are secured with a visible
nut. The rubber plug stems are OK for passenger car tires but not
recommended for truck/MH tires.

Andy please help with this: Isn't there a general rule (maybe even a
dang regulation?) against using the rubber type above a certain pressure?

Will

[nothermark]

You might want to check with Tirerack for the spare. I have purchased
two sets of tires and rims mounted and shipped in the past. They
probably have matching parts for the MH spare. You will probably want
a continental mount to go in the bumper.

I'm a bit surprised you do not have a spare. We did on the 22 and on
the 28.

[Janet Wilder]

I will check them out. Thanks. I have a huge storage compartment where
a spare would get lost. Continental mount would block a storage access door.

[aasb...@aol.com]

Janet, the rear end/axle used in your MH will dictate what type of
wheel you have which in turn will determine what style of stem you
need.

Most of the TR numbers below 501 are suitable up to 60 psi. The
TR600HP is good to 100 psi. Same for the 602, 801 and 802. These are
snap in valves; meaning they are inserted from inside the wheel and
stretched until the tapered rubber body snaps into the wheel hole.

The metal of these High Pressure valves extends the full length of the
valve. There was a problem with these about 6 or 7 years ago. The
rubber wasn't adhered to the metal. On the end of the stem inside the
tire there were two shapes of openings. One was a round hole and the
other was a hexagon. I can't recall just now which was the defective
shape.

Starting with the 501, most valves are clamp in. Meaning they are
inserted from the inside of the tire with a rubber grommet and held in
place with a washer and nut. (clamping the wheel between the grommet
and the nut.) These can leak if not properly tightened but they cannot
blow out through the hole as the metal end of the stem is larger than
the hole.

There is an almost endless variety of stems of different lengths and
pre-bent angles. There are special stems for aluminum wheels and
counter bored stem holes that require o-rings.

http://www.fixtires.com/tire_valve_stems.php

http://www.myerstiresupply.com/shop/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=78&cat=Truck+Tire+Valves

[Will Sill]

Thanx, Andy. That's more than I knew! Mind explaining what a TR number
means? Anything to do with Tire & Rim Association?

Will

[aasb...@aol.com]

Yep, it is a standardization across all manufacturers but I have no
idea how the numbers are derived.