-
PREVOST BUS BURNS
-
Tag tire failure
$800. road service incl used (poor condition) tire and about 4 hours total time.
$13,500 damage incl but not limited to coolant lines, webasto, air lines, light exterior cosmetic, exhaust, marble bedroom floor.Don’t even want to think about a steer tire failure!
-
Charles (and others who think they dodged a bullet) keep in mind we are not making this stuff up.
To all who neglect to check or monitor tire pressures remember 20% less than the required pressure for the weight carried is not much of an air loss. On a steer tire it can be as little as 20 PSI. On drive or tag axles, even less. We cannot always protect ourselves from road hazards so there is always a risk of a catastrophic tire failure and the ensuing damage, but we do not need to be contributing factors by ignoring our tires or thinking we can use one that looks perfectly good.
For those buying a coach with tires which have good date codes it is a very good idea to try to get a sense of how well the tires were maintained. Seeing a Pressure Pro on the dash would be a very good thing to increase the comfort level.
My guess is Tom is willing to sell anyone that wants a Pressure Pro.
-
I have a question for Jon & Tom, / et all with experience. When you have tpm system, do you rely on that totally, or you also manually check on a per trip and to what extent do you do that check.
-
I have pressure pro from Tom , every day looked at tires condition , every two weeks I checked them with my snap on gauge to make sure everything was the same readings ,mostly checked with gauge steers and tag ,once a month I checked with gauge drives but I was driving every week about 1500 miles for 40 weeks new tires all around
-
Here is a warning for those using a manual tire pressure gauge. I bought a Milton unit from a Snap-On truck while at a tour bus garage for service about 7 years ago. Went in to check pressures. First tire OK. Second tire not so OK. I went back to the first tire and now it was not so OK either. This manual gauge had two different psi markings on faces 180 degrees apart. The other two faces were in the Euro style pressure measurement. Well it turned out the psi gradiations were off by 10-15 psi one side from the other. Of course the truck was gone so I borrowed the shop’s master tire pressure gauge and ofund out which side of my shiny new gauge was reading the correct pressure. The side that was not reading the correct pressure was marked out with a wide permenant black marker. So a word to the wise, check your manual gauge too. I’m guessing the gauge was made in China, what isn’t now adays.
-
I periodically check the tires manually, but after having the Pressure Pro on 3 different Coaches, I haven’t seen any issue with the pressures. I check pressures often just by pushing buttons. Pre trip, during the trip and at the end of the trip. For less than the price of a new tire, you can have a Pressure Pro system.
-
Tom how hard are they to install? Do i need to bring it in to a tire shop? I still have boaterAl here in the park and we all know how he likes to tinker. I sure would be interested
Sid Tuls
-
Sid,
The system is owner installed and very easy, the sensors just screw on in place of the valve cap. The ease of installation is assuming your valve stems are are in a position to accept the sensor. On the 365’s, I had to add a 1/2 inch extension because the wheel hole for the valve stem is small compared to the 315’s. So depending on how your valve stems are positioned, it could take some adjusting.
Here’s what my 365 looks like:
-
Tom, Back to my original ? How $ for 8 tires, and can you bring one to Tampa ?
-
I thought I sent you an e-mail to contact me direct. I have CRS so maybe I didn’t.
6550 and I can have them to your doorstep in 3 days. I have so much crap to bring to Tampa I really don’t want to add anymore. Besides, see the above CRS note.:)
-
Jon and others. Thanks for the heads up on the recommendation of the inside tire.
I have been planning to replace all the tires, just wanted to get past the work I have Jeff doing. Guess I should be finding a local Michelin dealer that will honor the tire discount deal. Not a lot of companies carry the size tires in stock, so it will be a special order.
Does anyone know any local Atlanta Michelin dealers that will honor the discount program and can order the tires?
And ye, I had already been reading up on the Pressure Pro stuff that Tom deals in. Seems like the best value and easy installation (as well as can swap caps from one towed vehicle to the other if needed).
Thanks
-
Tom –
I don’t remember the brand name of the TPMS I purchased a year ago. But I had 2 of my tires (inner drives) go flat on me after I put them on and let the bus sit for a few days. Not a fun thing to deal with, especially since my garage is not ‘truck tire center’ equipped and I couldn’t repressurize the tires to seal to the rims. The cause was 2 leaky TPMS units.
After that occurred, I decided it was not worth it to me to use them. It’s one thing to monitor your tires while traveling but I got placed into a bind with 2 flat tires while being away from my bus.
So what happened? I promise you, I put them on snug and I wouldn’t think that they would be any harder to put on than screwing in a light bulb. You’ll need to convince me to use them again.
-
Charles – We have an Advertiser on the site in Atlanta, Action Tire and he has a location in Marietta. Mention my name and PC and he’ll fix you up. You have to talk to the owner Rick Stewart at the main office.
Kevin – What system did you have. I’ll not try to convince you of anything, but I have 6+ years of experience using Pressure Pro with very good results. I have also sold a lot of them with few problems. Nothing’s perfect with tires, even with the Pressure Pro, but usually the odds are in your favor vs using nothing.
-
I have been somewhat silent regarding Pressure Pro. I don’t have Pressure Pro, but I fully agree it is a needed device. The TPMS will tell you of a tire that is losing air while you drive and an alert is going to save the tire and possible added expense relating to damage from a tire failure.
The alternative is constant tire pressure checking, either via a gauge or monitoring temperatures. It is a lot of work to monitor pressures and only a TPMS is going to report a slow leak that develops after your last tire pressure check. A TPMS won’t help if you have a blowout. But then again if you have a blowout you don’t need a TPMS to let you know.
Low tire pressures will damage your tires. That is why it is so important to never let them get low.
With the Pressure Pro you are likely to have to orient the tire valve stems so you can add the sending units (valve caps). Once in place the unit can be used to do a pre-trip pressure check. Some also verify pressures using an old fashioned gauge periodically. Unless you like to take the time to check pressures regularly give serious thought to a TPMS.
If you don’t use a TPMS at the very least minimize your risk. First, recognize that your valve stem and Schrader valve are likely to be the most common source for a leak. Make sure the valve stem is tight and leak free. Don’t use leverage on the stem. Protect it from turning. The valve requires a secondary seal. I use the “fill-thru-cap” valve stem caps. They not only provide the second seal, but I can add air without removing them. Since I have been using them the amount of air I have to add to my tires is minimal.
The inner dual is the hardest to monitor and fill so almost everyone adds a valve stem extension. I would rather eat bees than add valve stem extensions to my coach. They put substantial strain on the curve of the valve stem and can cause a fatigue failure. The rubber grommets you add to the outer wheel to prevent that strain on the valve stem does not prevent the flexing. And I can prove it.
But also the valve stem extensions can wear and they also can fail. I have seen wear on valve stem extensions worn almost all the way through where they went through the grommet. The alternative to the extension and grommet is to just use a straight foot tire chuck and with a little practice anyone can poke it through the outer wheel onto the inner wheel valve stem to check and fill the inner tire.
I carry valve stem extensions with me so if anyone wants to see how your risk of a tire failure increases with their use, ask to see them.
-
You might be interested in having these valve stems installed;
The wheel has to be removed and the tire partially broke down since they are replacements for the existing valve stems.
Once installed it is easy to check tire pressures, even the inner dually. There is not flexing, wear, etc.
I know of about a dozen RV’ers that have been sucessfully using them for years, me included.
Log in to reply.