tireman9

Tire life can also be hurt with excess heat exposure. Tires can get quite hot just sitting in full sunlight. Sprays may help reduce the UV exposure but do nothing to lower the temperature. I have conducted tests that confirm White Vinyl or mesh shades do a good job of keeping tires cooler. I collected data on mesh shades at Redmond Convention and they are almost as good as the white material even when the mesh in not white. IMO black bag cover would be about the worst thing you could do. It would get hot and hold the heat in. The post on white vinyl has info on why high temperature is not good.

It's important to remember to support the valve stem or extender with your free hand when pressing on the valve to check or add air. You can place considerable strain on the valve mount and even cause a leak or valve failure with too much force.

Please consider running a TPMS to monitor tire pressure. With the right system you can avoid the need to get our and check the tire pressure every stop. Remember checking tire pressure can sometimes result in the valve core not closing properly and possibly even causing a flat. My TPMS has a "Morning Reset" that gets new pressure readings while I am finishing my coffee so no getting down on my knees on wet grass or in the rain. I'm also not letting bits of air out every day which increases the need to add air. Also check my post of today on "Tire Recommendations"

Sounds like you got a good set-up and have yourself covered.

I agree that there is probably a basic problem of improper install of either tire to the wheel, valve body to wheel or hose extender to valve. Some over or under tighten the hoses or do hot have them solidly bolted down to the wheel. I have over 35,000 miles on my hoses with zero leaks. Hoses should not be tightened with tools. Twist on till any leaking stops then go 1/2 to 3/4 turn more. Spray with soapy water to confirm no leaks. ALWAYS run either a TPMS sensor or metal valve cap that has a good "O" ring seal in it. Are you running a TPMS? If you had one dual go flat then the other was 100% overloaded and may have internal structural damage.

One thing many do not think of when buying tires is checking for general availability. This goes for size, load range and brand. If you only travel in a 100 mile radius then anything from "Billy-Jo-Bob's Cheap Tire Emporium and bait shop" might be OK but it might be a challenge finding a replacement "Mud-Wumper XL" if your are 1,000 miles away. Some brands have a strong presence with many outlets but only in a couple of West coast states. so getting a replacement in GA might be a challenge. Go on line to the tire brand you are considering and check the list of store locations across the country. You might even consider calling one or two and just check availability of the specific tire you are considering. Does anyone even have one in stock or quickly available? Remember you are making a purchase you hopefully will be living with for 6 to 8 years so initial price is only part of the lifetiime cost. You might save a hundred initially only to end up spending 400 extra in time and money to get a flat replaced a couple years down the road.

After you get the weight more evenly distributed (by % GAWR) you can then look up the MINIMUM cold inflation pressure needed for the tires on each axle. If you don't get the individual corner weights I suggest you be conservative and figure 53% on one side. Use that number to consult inflation tables for the MINIMUM inflation. Set your TPMS warning to the MINIMUM inflation number I then suggest you add 10% to give you a nice margin for establishing the CIP.

I checked a number of the flat, hang down screen/mesh covers at Redmond in '14 for keeping tire temperature down and was surprised to find that the Black were almost as good as my white vinyl ones I think the mesh allows heat to get out, So in theory white mesh would be best with tan mesh next then black mesh followed by white solid then big jump in tire temperature to solid colors with black being worst. Sorry but I can't address ease of fitting. I have no problems. Just an advantage of having a Class-C

My tires are smaller but my Classic Accessory brand have elastic on the top part that slips over the top of a tire so it doesn't need any other retainer. Never tested in high wind. Here is a brand I found. the snap ring sounds like a reasonable idea. Please use white if going with a vinyl cover that goes over the tire. I did confirm that the screen mesh covers that hang down flat from the side of the RV are almost as good as white vinyl based on temperature measurements I made at Redmond in 2014. See my blog post on why you should run white covers.

I bet the bus tires do not have the same load as you do. Tile floor, Residential Refrigerators and solid counter tops are much heavier than a load of people. Bus tires are many times worn out in a couple of years so unless you want to start replacing all your tires at 3 years max I suggest you slow down.

If a tire is rated for 75 then 75 is the max you should drive. Not average or often but ever. Ya I know your are bopping along at 72,5 and feel you just have to pass that truck. The tire industry has seen an increase in tire failures over the past few years even with no change in tire designs that worked well for years. as more states increased speed limits and truckers ran faster. In the past truck tires didn't need speed rating when 60 to 65 was the speed limit. Yes driving 76 does not mean the tire will fail the next mile but you are consuming the finite life of your tires faster that they wear so you are in dangerous territory as belt separations are very hard to detect. With enough cumulative damage the tire may fail at 70 or 60 or 50 months after your speed run at 78 across Montana.

Five, I understand your comment. I think the primary point is to keep your foot off the brake. I have seen a number of videos when testing tires and if the driver goes for the brake serious problems can quickly develop including roll-over. I would not worry about more speed as I doubt there are any motorhomes that leap forward if you floor the accelerator pedal. The goal is to maintain steering control - straight ahead and to move to side of the road as soon as safely possible. Any application of the brake ( or even sudden lifting off the gas) will result in forward weight transfer. We use this in racing to get better cornering through weight transfer to the front tires which increases the turning force of the car which is exactly what you do not want in an emergency situation. Whatever process you use it will be a pluss if you can resist the normal reaction to hit the brake.

Over the past few months there have been a couple items in the news and on the Internet about tire failures on RVs and buses. The videos are pretty dramatic. http://tinyurl.com/h4f7ykr http://tinyurl.com/gmvclne Most on this forum are in motorhomes. Many also pull a toad but a few own or have friends with trailers or may even find themselves pulling a trailer ( See our Presidents Message in November FMCA magazine) so I will also include some information for those times. First, for tire failure on toad or trailer or the rear duals or tag of a motorhome it is critical that the driver is notified as soon as possible that there has been a failure or that one is about to occur. The only way I know of gaining this knowledge is with a TPMS that can alert the driver of air loss. Some TPMS can even alert the driver in the first few seconds when the inflation has dropped just a few psi from the hot running pressure. If you do not run a TPMS then you will not learn of the pressure loss before damage has been done, as you will be depending on passing motorists to get the driver's attention. By this time, damage has been done but hopefully the toad or trailer hasn't rolled over or separated from the motorhome which could raise the level of severity of consequences dramatically. For motorhome or bus drivers the failure of a front tire can mean a significantly different outcome, as there is the real potential of a complete loss of control if the wrong response is taken. Here we know that a warning of initial air loss may provide enough time for a thoughtful response from the driver but even having a TPMS is not a 100% guarantee as there are failures that do not involve air loss. So the question then is what actions need to be taken in the first fraction of a second after a front tire comes apart? Thankfully there is a good instructional video of what a driver needs to do. Here is one from Michelin http://tinyurl.com/hjuyu4m and another similar video. Yes, the advice is not intuitive to the average driver but it can work. It has been demonstrated numerous times that there is both proper and improper driver response to a tire failure. Sadly many drivers have ended up turning an inconvenience into a tragedy. A driver needs to stop and think about what to do and to take a moment - frequently - to help implant the correct response so it can become an automatic response. You do have plenty of time to think about this as you drive down the highway. I would suggest that if you spent as little as 10 seconds thinking about the correct response of maintaining control first then slowing down second rather than just stomping on the brakes just once an hour every hour when driving you might find that the action might become automatic. We all know that practice and repetition can make athletes better at their "game" well in this case practice, at least in thought, can make you a safer driver in the "job" of getting yourself and family safely to your destination a reality.

Tire life is a topic of interest and I can understand the confusion about the statement that 10 years is the max. But when people hear about others having tires that ar 12 or 15 years old and they haven't failed yet they question why we should listen to the 10 year max suggestion. I suppose the issue is that we are assuming that tire life or lack of having a failure is a simple binary fail or no fail but what is really happening is a projection of the probability where getting the answer wrong has major negative consequences. For the sake of discussion lets assume the probability of a tire failing is a simple progression. We are going to assume that puncture and failing valve are not part of this equation. So in year 1 there might be a 0.05% probability of failure and this probability doubles each year. Year 2 => 0.1% Year 3 => 0.2% Year 4 => 0.4% etc so by year 10 we might be looking at a 25% probability but don't forget you have more than 4 tires so there is a reasonable expectation that one of your tires might fail with significant consequences. Now my example is over simplified but I feel that if you think about it you can see why keeping tires longer than the suggested max life is not a good idea.

I won't overload this forum with all the info but I now have two posts specifically on tire age on my blog. How old is too old How old is too old part 2 The 2nd post has a few videos on tire manufacturing process. Watching won't make you a tire engineer but might give you a better appreciation on why answers to simple questions are sometimes more complex than you would like.

So did you scrap the tire that you ran flat? Did the Equal dealer also install the correct special valves that are needed or did they "forget" as they didn't want to loose the sale by telling there was an extra cost for the valves? RE putting balance material may void your tire warranty so be sure to check with the tire manufacturer. Remember that some tire stores are "company" stores and some are independent dealers so independents may or may not follow all tire company guidelines.

If you have a reasonable margin (5% to 10%) of load capacity over your heaviest measured load I see little reason to run higher inflation in the higher Load Range tires. If you have less than 5% margin I have to wonder if you might also be exceeding the GAWR which is not a safe thing to do. If the manufacturer you have selected only has LR-J in the size you want but you only need LR-H level inflation then only you can decide how to balance the cost & availability of the tires from the manufacturer you are considering.

With the exception of a small number of Michelin tires all other tire companies follow the industry standards as published by Tire & Rim Association for US and ETRTO for european. The few Michelin seem to be in a +/- 5 psi range of others so not a big deal. If you don't have the "4 corner" weights you can still use axle scale. Just assume a 47/53% load split and use the 53% number when consulting tables. For those looking for info on their brand of tires I have a blog post with many links. I try to keep it up to date but stuff seems to change almost monthly.

NHTSA Campaign ID Number : 16T013 Synopsis : Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (Goodyear) is recalling certain G399A LHS tires, size 295/75R22.5 LRG, manufactured January 24, 2016, to May 28, 2016. Due to an anomaly during the curing press set-up operation, incomplete adhesion between the tread and the top belt may have occurred. Incomplete adhesion may result in tread separation of the tire while in use, increasing the risk of a crash. Goodyear will notify the vehicle manufacturers that purchased the tires, as well as those that purchased the tires as replacement equipment. The vehicle manufacturers will notify their owners. Dealers will replace the affected tires with a similar tires, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin October 15, 2016. Owners may contact Goodyear customer service at 1-800-592-3267. NHTSA Campaign ID Number : 16T014 Synopsis : Tireco Inc. (Tireco) is recalling certain Milestar BS623 tires, size 225/70R 19.5 G/14, manufactured June 23, 2013, to January 24, 2015. The affected tires have incorrect markings on the sidewall, indicating both ratings as "DUAL" when the first rating should be identified as "SINGLE." As such, these tires fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 119, "New Pneumatic Tires-Other Than Passenger Cars." Incorrectly identifying the ratings on the tires may result in the operator inadvertently overloading the tires, possibly causing their failure, thereby increasing the risk of a crash. Tireco will notify owners, and provide owners with a full refund of the entire purchase price. The recall is expected to begin October 10, 2016. Owners may contact Tireco customer service at 1-800-937-9433.

Yes I understand. I made special effort and bent the wheel cover a little to ensure no contact and have inspected many times and found no abrasion. One good thing about running TPMS is I would get a warning as soon as I lost a few psi.

jleamount, You are correct about being sure hose doesn't not rub rim or wheel simulator cap. It is also important to be sure the outer end is tied down (I used the small "L" brackets which are "pop riveted" to the center of the cap. The other thing is to be sure to support the hose with your hand when using a gauge or adding air. If you simply push hard you will probably bend and could damage the mount. Since I run TPMS and have a 10% inflation cushion I only need to use a gauge or add air once or twice a summer

Heard of question on how to remove the full size stainless wheel simulators used on 16" wheels as seen in this picture. I found that one of the medium size Harbor freight "pry bar" # 66840 or 60682 works just fine. Just need to gently work around the rim and not try and remove by prying in just one location. When it comes time to re-attach the cover I use a rubber mallet like # #69050 or 60503 and I tap around the outside and not in just one location to replace the cap.

If you can turn the hard metal stem around while the tire is inflated then I question that the valve nut is sufficiently tight. FYI here is my coach with my hose extenders. Also note the boards supporting the tires off the gravel in my parking shed. Full width and length of the tire footpriints.

Tom, That's a good idea to replace the hoses. They have rubber parts that can age just as we all know our tires age. I suggest that whenever replacing tires you also replace any rubber components in the valve stems or extensions if you use any.

Tom I am starting to do a series or articles for FMCA magazine just on tires. Not sure when it will start but I hope to cover tires and related items over the upcoming months. While the idea of a booklet sounds nice there already are a number of publications out there. IMO when buying a new RV you are given an armload of manuals and papers and adding another I think would not accomplish much as most new owners are assuming the coach is ready to go as "prepped" by the dealer as your cars have been for many years. The reality is that an RV is significantly more complex and has many sub-systems, each of which need their own adjustments. Regarding tires i think you agree that there are a lot of folks out there telling people to get their unit weighed and confirm the air they need. The issue is that you can tell people this but even within FMCA where we have RVSEF offering the service at Conventions only a handful of owners take advantage.