[Peter]

The charts don’t ask for a higher pressure specifically for the inside tire of the dual setup versus the outside tire, but they do spec a higher pressure for both tires in the dual setup versus pressures spec-ed for a single tire, such as a tag or steer. One can assume the fact that one tire ( and we know which one) in the dual setup works harder is already factored into the pressure load tables.

I have a feeling if you’re measuring the temps at the center of the tread you’re effectively measuring the road temperature. To me the sidewall temps, especially a few inches away from the tire shoulder, where the tire deflects and flexes the most, are more telling of the flexing, frictional, and hysteresis heat generated by the tire.

[Archived]

I will have to jump out at a rest stop when I am on the road and compare tread to sidewall temps. I remember when I first started using the IR gun I tried various spots and settled on the tread because it was not out of line with other temps and I could get all tires, whereas the inner dual temp was impossible to get unless I used the tread or layed on the ground.

If I were to point fingers at which tires work the hardest it would be passenger side. I cannot be more specific. Of all the hub seals I have replaced on mine and other’s coaches it has been passenger side in almost every instance. That suggests the passenger side is working the hardest probably because the road always slopes towards the shoulder and not the median.

[Archived]

The curb side tires do get more wear than the driver side, due to the crown of the road. The center of mass shifts to the right and that’s all it takes.

I’ve known for years that the right front tire will always wear the fastest on any car, as will the brake pads, etc..

There is something to it.

-fred

[Archived]

so as I mentioned, I had six new tires installed in July. Was having “issues” with the valve cores not seating properly. One tire deflated completly while I was parked and had to get that one looked at and re-inflated (didnt have enough pressure on bus to set the bead).

Finally got back and had the company that installed the tires with new valve stems/cores/extensions come out and check things out.

Turns out that when installing the tires, they used “powder balance” in the tires and installed standard valve cores. Well seems the two things dont mix very well. Guess the powder from the powder balance gets into the valve core and jams it up so it doest seat properly, causing a slow leak.

Had them replace all the valve cores and will monitor pressures to see if I have any issues going forward.

[Archived]

Charles,

Balancing media has been around a long time and works well as long as some basic things are done. The most important is the media comes with special valve cores. They have a tiny filter so it prevents any of the media from getting in the valve core seat. If conventional valve cores are used you will always have trouble getting them to seat.

The media is thrown in the tire during mounting. It used to be poured in, but now the entire bag is tossed in. Then the bead is seated and a fair amount of air is pumped in the tire. Then some air is allowed to escape which blows any foreign material from the valve stem so when the core is installed it seats properly.

I also use the “fill through cap” valve stem caps that I linked above as an additional seal. Until I bought this coach I used Equal or its equivalent for almost 20 years and it was trouble free.

[Larry & Diane]

Jon,

I didnt even see/know they actually used the balancing material so didnt even think about what valve cores they used. When my contact at the company asked me if they balanced the tires, I let him know I didnt see and there was no line item on the invoice. Didnt really know where he was going with it?

But now I know…

I am not sure if I was more upset or if the manager I was working with was more upset with his crew who could have caused some major issues, and cost his company a good amount of money if I wasn’t actually monitoring tire pressure every day and caught the issue very quickly (and kept the pressures up and checked every stop).

I still have two valves/cores that we need to keep an eye on. The outside drive tires had stems that were not long enough to handle the “special” cores. I haven’t had issues with these tires yet, and now have TPMS caps on them. If we see these start to cause issues, I will need to get these valve stems replaces to be ones that dont’ angle towards the inside of the rim, but actually point to the outside, or go in the drive direction (which would then require me to get a new air hose and gauge to deal with). I need to dig more into the valve cores and see if there are other options to work with what I got.

But now that I know what the issue was, I am at least a little more at ease and can stop freaking out while driving if my tires are leaking.

[Corey]

Equal and I assume others make a short extension that contains the filter for just your situation. You use regular valve cores in the extensions with the filter.

Bob