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Ray&JudyC

Fort Mohave,Arizona

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Joined: 06/24/2005

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Hello again.. Been having major tire trouble! sunday morning early I went out to make sure all tires were at the right pressure and discovered "They were NOT" To make a Long Day short..after filling all tires that would Let me fill them.....it started! The inside dual immediatley went flat...I tightened the valve stem and did not work. Today I get off work and the right front is flat...the Rubber valve stems are wasted!!!Its been around 110 degrees here and I am guessing thats why??? I bought the motorhome and the lady said the tires were brand new! They definiteley Look IT!! But I found a receipt that said they bought them in 2002! There are only a few thousand miles on them. I am not going to trust them now...DOES ANYONE HAVE A BRAND OF TIRE THEY LIKE BEST? Thanks...
The Green Machine
2000 Tioga SL 31ft
4 Beautiful Children
Dog De Bordeaux(Hercules)
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SteveNTx

Nacogdoches, Texas, USA

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Joined: 04/05/2003

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Your rig has either "D" or "E" rated tires and should not have rubber valve stems at all. They should be steel with a retaining nut visible from the outside. If you have rubber valve stems, get thee to a "truck" tire center and get them replaced as soon as possible.
On edit, I have never seen any motorhome, class C or otherwise, that came from the factory with rubber valve stems. They were most likely removed by the store that replaced the tires. Rubber valve stems should not be used on anything requiring more than about 50PSI.
Steve, Joy, and Chloe
Tomas, The Camping Chihuahua
1985 Honey 26',Chevrolet G-30
1982 Honda CX500 Turbo
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Wizzard_of_Odds

Northern Lower Michigan

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Joined: 04/12/2005

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Brand really isn't as important as load rating, tire age and proper maintenance. Also the consensus here is that MH tires over 5 years old are questionable at best and should probably be replaced regardless of appearance.
You may also want to look into the dually tire valve solutions from Borg or Tire-Man, as they make checking & filling your rear duals a painless process.
You can check the manufacturing date of the tire by looking at the DOT number on the sidewall, it should be four digits, the firt two indicate the week of the year and the last two indicate the year of manufacture. For example, (5002) would be the 50th week of 2002.
Also, if you're not interested in the dually valve systems, you should insist on brass or steel valves when you have your tires mounted, the rubber and plastic valves are the weakest link in the chain.
...Wiz
1994 Jayco 23' E350 7.5
Thorley headers, Intellipower 9160, Bilsteins, Brembo brakes, K&N filters, Mobil 1, Satellite TV & Internet & WAP, MP3-CD, Generac 5KW, Kipor KGE3500TI, Honda EZ2500
2005 Four Winns Horizon 190 (fully loaded)
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phammer1

Edwall, WA (actually closer to Medical Lake)

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Joined: 03/04/2005

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Ray&JudyC wrote: I bought the motorhome and the lady said the tires were brand new! They definiteley Look IT!! But I found a receipt that said they bought them in 2002! There are only a few thousand miles on them.
Ray and Judy: Truthfully, in her mind, they probably were. Probably had fewer than 5K miles on them, and she probably paid a fortune for them. If you look closely, there's probably litte treadwear. But, as you read the forums, MOST of the MH tires look "brand new" when they need to be changed - we're changing them because of AGE, not because of wear.
Just my 2 cents worth, YMMV...
Paul and Beth
Edwall, WA
2 kids (son and a daughter)
Asperger's is NOT ADHD! Question the Diagnosis of ADHD!
05 Jamboree 31GT
Heatpump, Superslide, Dishnet
Mods: Extenda Stay, Sirius, Bilstein, SafeTSteer, HWH levelers
'97 Sidekick Toad
Buddy the Beagle
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tatest

Oklahoma Green Country

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Joined: 05/14/2005

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"On edit, I have never seen any motorhome, class C or otherwise, that came from the factory with rubber valve stems. They were most likely removed by the store that replaced the tires. Rubber valve stems should not be used on anything requiring more than about 50PSI."
Ford & Chevy cutaway chassis for class C are now delivered with "reinforced" rubber valve stems. These are also used OEM on 3/4 ton and 1-ton pickups.
My tire dealer says the reinforced stems are rated to 85 psi, he would trust them for no more than 65 psi, and never run them with any sort of extension or cap gadget (e.g. pressure monitor). We replaced the rubber with stainless steel.
Tom Test
Itasca Spirit 29B
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Greyeagle44F

Stratham NH USA

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Joined: 07/21/2002

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The statement that Class C MHs do not come from Ford with rubber valve stems is in error...they are shipped from Ford with the rubber stems. When I bought our new 2002 I called Ford on it and they confirmed such was the case as it was in 2003 (have not checked since).
Having been warned of this I had steel stems installed within weeks after purchase.
I you got 'em, get rid of them!
The U.S. Military: "All gave some, some gave all."
The Ancient Aviator
2002 26Q Tioga, Michelin Sneakers, Front XPS, Rear LTX M/S, no chassis "gimmicks" (Wind Machine sold APR 2006...pushing my luck at 84 years and a high performance bird).
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HiTech

Texas

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Joined: 03/22/2002

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Ruber and rubber & brass composite valve stems are pretty much indistinguishable from the outside. I would not want either on a motorhome personally, nor the hard plastic type for that matter.
My personal preference is all metal valve stems.
Jim
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Greyeagle44F

Stratham NH USA

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Joined: 07/21/2002

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The obvious indication of a steel (vs rubber and brass) valve stem is the easily seen nut which secures the stem to the rim. This is true whether they are a short version or one of the solid extended type.
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AGRNBRTSLOVE

NJ,USA

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Joined: 03/19/2003

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Add me to your buddy list and I'll private message you with our tire experiences. Hubby "agrnbrt" can answer your tire questions, we replaced all 6 this past spring, and it rides great, towing my Tracker behind too. We have the exact same unit as yours, same year & model.
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Scott M

Florida

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Joined: 01/23/2004

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FWIW, after two blow-outs on one trip, I switched to all E rated tires with steel valve stems. I prefer Goodyear G159 unisteel. I like them so much that when we bought a new "used" Calss C, I had the Goodyears xfered to the new rig. They were about the same age from manufacture and mine had about 1000 more miles on them, but I trusted them. The Firestones on the new rig I did not trust as they already showed signs of age, while the Goodyears looked brand new. I think that B.F. Goodrich tires are also trustworthy. I looked for Michelin Ribs (unisteel) but could not find any that were manufactured within a year of date I was going to purchase. Why buy tires with only four years of useful life? The G159's were only three months old.
2021 Entegra Odyssey 24B Class C on Ford E-450 Chassis with 7.3L V8
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