Pressure Pro Tire sensor

[liginbf]

Has any body installed a tire sensor on the factory braided ss line w/lug mounting clip. I have steel valves and mounted sensor directly to them,but I am getting tired of the hassle of removing inner dual sensor to air up the tires. My concern is the clip would fail due to the added force the sensor would generate ,also rigid valve ext. are not an option.If any one is using this set up your input would be great.
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[golferdhm]

Well, I may have a problem waiting to happen, but I have driven my coach for over 25000 miles in the last two years in hot and cold weather with Pressure Pro sensors on all tires, including the braided extensions, and have had no problems.

[liginbf]

Don, Thanks for the reply, I have used both long rigid valve stems and the ss braided valve exts on 4 rvs over the years.I have had issues w/long steel valve stems but not with the ss braided valve exts. as long as I use steel valve stems.I always put new steel valve stems and new ss braided valve exts when I buy new tires and have never had a failure.

regards

[whemme]

After having two rubber valve stems fail causing slow leaks and evidently caused by the braided flexible valve stem extensions constantly flexing the rubber stems back and forth until they crack and leak, I finally installed the custom made all metal valve stems and I mount my Pressure Pro tire monitoring sensors right on the end of those metal stems. No further leak problems.

In my opinion if you have not yet had a rubber valve stem failure caused by those braided flexible valve stem extensions, you are lucky.

Refer to the Other Vendors section below for two sources for these custom metal valve stems - Borg Tire Supply and Tire Man.

[golferdhm]

Let me clarify my answer above. I do have metal valve stems to which the braided extenders are attached. I would not recommend rubber valve stems if one uses extenders.

[lonvanostran]

Well, I may have a problem waiting to happen, but I have driven my coach for over 25000 miles in the last two years in hot and cold weather with Pressure Pro sensors on all tires, including the braided extensions, and have had no problems.

The braided lines that feed air to the rear duals will fail. When, is anybody's guess. One of mine failed while driving at night through downtown Houston, Texas on an Interstate highway. The outside temperature was 95*, and I was stranded overnight on the side of the Interstate. Good Sams roadside service was not able to help me in this instance. I didn't heed other's advice here to circumvent this dangerous issue from happening. I now have the individual brass valve extenders on my rear duals.

I think "will fail" is a little strong. I've played on another RV forum for the past 15 years, and this subject has been debated to death. In all those years, I only saw one first hand experience of such a failure. He, like you, was so adamant in his experience, that he convinced many people to follow his advice. I wasn't one of those people. IMHO, if you don't use them with rubber valve stems, you aren't apt to have a problem. Of course, any part can fail, and will rarely do so at a convenient time and place. We had a bolt penetrate a tire in downtown Atlana on the expressway, but we didn't decide to swear off using either tires, or bolts on account of it. Stuff happens. Adding more connections to any high pressure air system, INCLUDING TIRE PRESSURE MONITORS, provides more chances for an air leak.

A good tire monitor system, while adding to the chance of leaks, will detect any and all leaks, and in most cases provide you the opportunity to get to a place of safety because of their early warning. In fact, our Atlana tire experience was made harmless by our Pressure Pro system which showed that our tire was losing 1# per mile, and that we were only 10# below our set point (I always follow Goodyear's advice and over-inflate by 9#)* at the time. We drove 5 more miles to an abandoned used car lot and safely changed the tire.

IMHO, the convenience of braided steel valve extensions on dual tires leads most people to more closely monitor their tire pressure, thus are well worth the risk of their rare failure. YMMV

* Goodyear and Michelin both say the pressure on your tire sidewall is the minimum pressure for the maximum load, and that you may inflate UP TO 10# more than that for a safety cushion. Weigh your rigs, check the charts, and inflate accordingly.

[lonvanostran]

I think "will fail" is a little strong. I've played on another RV forum for the past 15 years, and this subject has been debated to death. In all those years, I only saw one first hand experience of such a failure. He, like you, was so adamant in his experience, that he convinced many people to follow his advice. I wasn't one of those people. IMHO, if you don't use them with rubber valve stems, you aren't apt to have a problem. Of course, any part can fail, and will rarely do so at a convenient time and place. We had a bolt penetrate a tire in downtown Atlana on the expressway, but we didn't decide to swear off using either tires, or bolts on account of it. Stuff happens. Adding more connections to any high pressure air system, INCLUDING TIRE PRESSURE MONITORS, provides more chances for an air leak.

A good tire monitor system, while adding to the chance of leaks, will detect any and all leaks, and in most cases provide you the opportunity to get to a place of safety because of their early warning. In fact, our Atlana tire experience was made harmless by our Pressure Pro system which showed that our tire was losing 1# per mile, and that we were only 10# below our set point (I always follow Goodyear's advice and over-inflate by 9#)* at the time. We drove 5 more miles to an abandoned used car lot and safely changed the tire.

IMHO, the convenience of braided steel valve extensions on dual tires leads most people to more closely monitor their tire pressure, thus are well worth the risk of their rare failure. YMMV

* Goodyear and Michelin both say the pressure on your tire sidewall is the minimum pressure for the maximum load, and that you may inflate UP TO 10# more than that for a safety cushion. Weigh your rigs, check the charts, and inflate accordingly.

Well, for a little over $100.00, by replacing the braided air hoses with the superior brass and chrome air valve system, I'm guaranteed that I won't experience another failure. Not a bad deal - especially when my life is on the line on the open highway. Some don't think spending the $100.00 is worth the guarantee though. I guess you're firmly ensconced in that camp.

Actually, I'm more firmly ensconced in the camp of those who would suggest that NOTHING is foolproof. I also believe that a tire pressure monitor system is a much better place for my safety dollars when it comes to air pressure.
I can't prevent all leaks, but I can certainly know they are there before they become a disaster, in most cases. Again, nothing is foolproof.
I do think it's silly to suggest that I reject your idea over $100, when my Pressure Pro system cost $690. plus taxes. There are more ways to lose air pressure, than through braided steel extenders, and my experience convinces me that those extenders are very low on that list of likely tire pressure problems. I chose to cover the whole list.
I don't disagree that they can be a problem. I just disagree with your assessment of how much risk there is, and how to deal with that risk.

Of course, if you derive comfort, your money is well spent. But please don't take offense because I choose another route.

[whemme]

My opinion is that the real risk is with the rubber valve stems that the braided extensions are attached to - not the braided extension themselves. The braided extensions cause the rubber stems to work back and forth with tire rotation eventually causing cracking of the rubber and eventually a slow air pressure leak. That failure happened to me twice before I got smart and replaced the rubber stems with metal ones.

If the rubber valves stems are replaced with metal stems of basically the same shape and length and the existing braided extensions used with them, the risk of an air pressure leak would be greatly reduced.

My reason for the Tire Man or Borg Tire custom long metal valve stems is that they support the 0.75 oz added weight of the Pressure Pro sensors without bending. Previously, I had the sensors mounted on the end of the braided extensions and those extensions were supported by a metal L-bracket that would bend outward due to the added centrifugal force caused by the added sensor weight.

[bcope01]

I run with the braided extensions on short (standard) metal valve stems and have had no problems for 30K miles over 5 years. If you choose to purchase the longer custom metal Tire Man or Borg valve stems, that's your choice. I'm comfortable with my setup.

Bill

[Dallas Baillio]

The adjacent post to this one is regarding tire tread separation. Sam's experience is that the braided extension failed. Other's mention that the rubber valve stem is the source of failure. Think of how many different ways tire failure may occur -- poor tire construction, road debris, poor road maintenance such as pot holes, etc., etc., etc. So just what percentage of failure can you control? Not much other than keeping good tires on your BF and monitoring them. It seems to me that this thread suggests that if you FEEL safe, you THINK you are safe. My recommendation is that just before you begin each day's drive, you say a prayer. That should give you as much or more protection than anything else you may do.

[lonvanostran]

Actually, I'm more firmly ensconced in the camp of those who would suggest that NOTHING is foolproof. I also believe that a tire pressure monitor system is a much better place for my safety dollars when it comes to air pressure.


I can't prevent all leaks, but I can certainly know they are there before they become a disaster, in most cases. Again, nothing is foolproof.
I do think it's silly to suggest that I reject your idea over $100, when my Pressure Pro system cost $690. plus taxes. There are more ways to lose air pressure, than through braided steel extenders, and my experience convinces me that those extenders are very low on that list of likely tire pressure problems. I chose to cover the whole list.
I don't disagree that they can be a problem. I just disagree with your assessment of how much risk there is, and how to deal with that risk.

Of course, if you derive comfort, your money is well spent. But please don't take offense because I choose another route.

The braided rubber hoses are in fact the most likely reason that the rear tires are likely to lose air pressure. If you think your system is not at higher risk because you won't spend $100.00 for brass, steel and chrome air valves, you're mistaken. My experience convinces me that braided hose failure is not rare - your's just haven't failed......yet.
When your braided rubber hoses fail, you will have mere seconds to react before your tire loses all tire pressure. Your tire pressure monitoring system will do you no good with seconds to react to an apparent complete and sudden tire pressure air loss event at highway speeds. That said, if saving $100.00 means that much to you, I guess I cannot understand your reasoning in not upgrading to a bulletproof brass/chrome/steel valve stem system. Certainly it's your choice.
Please don't take offense because I chose to replace the most vulnerable and failure prone aspect of tire safety on Born Free coaches. My life is certainly worth the $100.00 I spent to prevent this braided hose and rubber valve stem failure from recurring.

We enjoyed a valve stem failure last week. IMHO, it didn't live up to all of the hype. There is a LOT of air in those tires. It came out so vigorously that there was no doubt what happened. Of course, it didn't happen on the rear axle, where the second dual would support the RV while getting to the side of the road, it happened on the right front tire. No boom like a blow-out. No horrible control problems like a blow-out. Just the unmistakable sound of rushing air.

As far as I'm concerned, it was really a non event. No big deal. I would say I had all of 30 seconds, and possibly more to get off the road before the tire was completely deflated. $20.80 later I had new steel valve stems on both front tires. One of these days, I'll probably have them installed on the rear. Most likely not until I need new tires.

[lonvanostran]

The braided rubber hoses are in fact the most likely reason that the rear tires are likely to lose air pressure. If you think your system is not at higher risk because you won't spend $100.00 for brass, steel and chrome air valves, you're mistaken. My experience convinces me that braided hose failure is not rare - your's just haven't failed......yet.
When your braided rubber hoses fail, you will have mere seconds to react before your tire loses all tire pressure. Your tire pressure monitoring system will do you no good with seconds to react to an apparent complete and sudden tire pressure air loss event at highway speeds. That said, if saving $100.00 means that much to you, I guess I cannot understand your reasoning in not upgrading to a bulletproof brass/chrome/steel valve stem system. Certainly it's your choice.
Please don't take offense because I chose to replace the most vulnerable and failure prone aspect of tire safety on Born Free coaches. My life is certainly worth the $100.00 I spent to prevent this braided hose and rubber valve stem failure from recurring.

We enjoyed a valve stem failure last week. IMHO, it didn't live up to all of the hype. There is a LOT of air in those tires. It came out so vigorously that there was no doubt what happened. Of course, it didn't happen on the rear axle, where the second dual would support the RV while getting to the side of the road, it happened on the right front tire. No boom like a blow-out. No horrible control problems like a blow-out. Just the unmistakable sound of rushing air.

As far as I'm concerned, it was really a non event. No big deal. I would say I had all of 30 seconds, and possibly more to get off the road before the tire was completely deflated. $20.80 later I had new steel valve stems on both front tires. One of these days, I'll probably have them installed on the rear. Most likely not until I need new tires.

Well, originally you took issue for good reason for not upgrading, but I see you learned that rubber valve stem failures do happen. Probably just an age related issue with the rubber stem itself - especially if it's original equipment. Thanks for the update.

Actually, the discussion was about the braided hoses on the rear tires, and you insisted that spending over $100 to replace them was almost mandatory to avoid catastrophic failure. I won't be replacing my braided hoses. I'll be replacing the rubber valve stems when I next buy tires. I never accept using old valve stems anyway, and have long considered steel as mandatory for any heavy vehicle that won't see serious off road use. I still like my braided extensions.

[Dallas Baillio]

I do have to say that the disagreement on this thread is so much more interesting than those boring posts about how great Kim is!! Keep it going Sam and lovanstan. And don't start on how I don't appreciate Kim. I did not say nor imply that.

[lonvanostran]

Well, originally you took issue for good reason for not upgrading, but I see you learned that rubber valve stem failures do happen. Probably just an age related issue with the rubber stem itself - especially if it's original equipment. Thanks for the update.

Actually, the discussion was about the braided extenders on the rear tires, and you insisted that spending over $100 to replace them was almost mandatory to avoid catastrophic failure. I won't be replacing my braided hoses. I'll be replacing the rubber valve stems when I next buy tires. I never accept using old valve stems anyway, and have long considered steel as mandatory for any heavy vehicle that won't see serious off road use. I still like my braided extensions.

Actually it was about "rubber valve stems" all day, as well.... No problem, I'll refresh your memory.

Above, I highlighted in BOLD, "chrome/steel valve stem system." "....and rubber valve stem system." for you.....

I guess you can see how your "$690.00" tire pressure monitoring system did nothing to prevent your flat from happening, by running with a rubber valve that was destined to fail. Just trying to help you out before it happened.

Sam,
No wonder we couldn't agree. You were having one discussion, and I was having another. I wrote about the braided valve extensions used on the rear duals of nearly every motorhome in America, and you seem to think you were reading that I defended rubber valve stems.

In fact, you made some pretty outrageous claims like.

"That said, if saving $100.00 means that much to you, I guess I cannot understand your reasoning in not upgrading to a bulletproof brass/chrome/steel valve stem system. Certainly it's your choice.
Please don't take offense because I chose to replace the most vulnerable and failure prone aspect of tire safety on Born Free coaches. My life is certainly worth the $100.00 I spent to prevent this braided hose and rubber valve stem failure from recurring."

Now, Sam, I'm pretty sure you aren't silly enough to suggest that new steel valve stems cost $100 per set.

I didn't need your advice about rubber valve stems, and wouldn't have argued with it. I don't re-use valve stems with a second set of tires, and I don't buy rubber valve stems for RV tires. Our Born Free came with rubber valve stems. Rubber valve stems fail.

You might want to read the whole thread again.
Sorry I didn't make myself more clear.

Lon VanOstran, who has seen enough of this thread, and will now allow Sam to continue alone with what-ever discussion he chooses to have without me, since readers can see and decide for themselves.

[Dallas Baillio]

Well Dallas Baillio thinks a bunch of pinko communist sympathizers are behind this debate. They and their ilk want BF owners to use rubber valve stems and braided extenders as they are manufactured by illegal immigrants who just want free health care.