younchem
Lafayette, LA
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Joined: 03/02/2006
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When I stepped out of the RV at a night's stop in Pigeon Forge, TN I heard air coming from one of my rear tires. Not a good feeling. I noted that a rubber valve stem extension had popped a rivet and broken loose from the hub that it was fasented to and was cut by the hole that it passes through on the simulator. I dropped the hydraulic jacks to remove the load and slept on it.
The next morning CoachNet sent someone to take the tire off, remove the busted extension and air up the tire; thank you CoachNet for great service.
Now the story begins.
I wanted to (what I thought was the right thing) replace the extensions with the stainless steel encased rubber hoses so I looked everywhere in the Pigeon Forge vicinity with no luck. I finally drove to Camping World in Knoxville and purcased the airless type. These hoses do not have air in them until you either check tire pressure or add air. This is supposed to avoid deflation if they are damaged while driving. Good idea but bad product.
We drove back to Pigeon Forge (in our car) and paid a tire dealer (not a national company) to put them on the motor home.
The next morning I could not check the air nor air-up the tires on one side. The dealer did a horrible job installing them because he obviously didn't check his work. He only charged thirty dollars and I didn't feel like fooling with him any more.
I brought the MH to a Michelin dealer who removed them and installed stainless solid tubes. This dealer did a fantastic job and no more hoses to worry about.
The problem is that the extensions bought at Camping World had stems extending through the length of the hoses and when they were slightly bent to affix to the center hubs this rendered them inoperable. The Michelin dealer had trouble with all of them working consistently. I paid $99.00 for them and Camping World refunded the purchase price with no problems what-so-ever. Thank you Camping World.
If you are considering these type of extensions you might want to reconsider. All together it was not a terribvle experience but I lost valuable vacation time! I did end-up with some very nice stainless extensions that--parts and labor--cost about $80.00 for all six tires.
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alaskan-rver
Anchorage, AK
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Joined: 09/25/2005
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I'm glad to hear everything turned out OK in your case. The bottom line is that putting extenders on rubber valve stems is just asking for trouble--you need to use the metal (such as brass or steel) truck-style valve stems. If you get the right length metal stems, you may not even need extenders anymore. Either way, only the metal ones are strong enough to support extenders.
I've been through this myself, shredding out a new tire thanks to the slick new valve extenders I mounted on my stock rubber stems several years ago. Unfortunately, there are plenty of similar stories on these forums.
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rnr42005
melbourne, fl.
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Joined: 09/09/2007
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since the tires on MH's are considered truck tires, they are supposed to be mounted according to US DOT regulations....that means metal valve stems ONLY!!
shame on whom ever put the rubber stems on your rims!
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Clay L
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
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Joined: 07/01/2002
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I had a similar problem with the product. The adjustment was extremely delicate. A little too much and the tire schrader valve was depressed and there was air in the extension. Too little and the gauge wouldn't depress the cable enough to open the tire schrader valve enough to check the pressure.
If they were adjusted so that there was air in the extension they would not hold it and the tire would go down after a few days.
I was nowhere near a Camping World until months later and didn't try to return them so I still have the darn things. As I recall I paid a lot less though - about $35 for two.
Clay (WA5NMR), Lee,(Wife) Codi, Brandi (Shelties) and Damncat (damn cat)
Full Timing in a 2004 Winnebago Sightseer 35N, Workhorse chassis, Honda Accord toad
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Wayne Dohnal
Banks, OR.
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Joined: 03/09/2003
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rnr42005 wrote:since the tires on MH's are considered truck tires, they are supposed to be mounted according to US DOT regulations....that means metal valve stems ONLY!!
shame on whom ever put the rubber stems on your rims! I believe that every Sprinter-based motorhome from the Winnebago and Fleetwood factory has rubber valve stems. Could they violate a DOT regulation that blatantly?
2009 Fleetwood Icon 24A
EU2000i generator
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RodT82721
Pine Haven, Wyoming
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Joined: 08/23/2005
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After 4 years of fighting unstable valve stems and extenders that made checking tire pressure almost impossible, I ordered a solid brass kit from "Tire Man". Now I can check all 6 tires in about 3 minutes.
The included instructions mentioned that a good tire man could install these in 2-2+1/2 hours, I installed them myself and it took me about 1 hour per wheel.
The best addition to the MH to date. I should have done it 4 years ago. I don't understand why manufactures don't include them on all new MH.
2001 Winnebago Minni - 31C
Ford E450 - V10 Triton
Tow - 2005 Jeep Liberty
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Hurricaner
Hurricane Utah
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Joined: 02/17/2007
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Quote:rubber valve stem extension The extension is rubber, not the valve stem.
Sam
Sam & Kari
Hurricane, Utah
2004 34' Damon Challenger 315
Damon owners forum
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