Stuck Shrader Valves

I'm being plagued with stuck shrader valves.. First to go was the one in the back air fill connection. I generally just check it to make sure the pressure reading as similar to the one on the dash .. When I checked it a few weeks ago, it stayed down .. letting all the air out of the lines.. Pulling it out, the ring had basically just rotted away. Replacing it was trivial, if not annoying.

Now .. something less trivial and far more annoying. When checking the tires the outside dual (which has the valve stem pointing inside - so you have to reach in and pull the air gauge back onto it .. stuck open .. I managed to get it back closed by "filling" the air and likely blowing whatever piece of crude away .. but I'm sure it won't last like that.

So two questions:

1. Why are these valve stems long and pointed inside the rim rather than short or pointed outside making access easier?
2. Can I deflate that outside tire without jacking up or supporting the bus in-order to replace that valve ?

Hi Doug. I would support the axle before deflating the tire. Remove the tire and replace the stem. Its very diffucult to replace a stem without taking the tire off. Probably best have a tire store do the work unless you have all the equipment.

Doug,

The valve stems face the holes in the wheel so they are accessible whether the wheel is mounted as an inner or outer. This would apply to our coaches. The valve stems come in different shapes if you want to change them. The easiest thing to do is simply turn the stem so the valve is easy to get to.

It's important to use caps on the valve stems. Many of us use the ones that don't have to be removed to check or adjust tire pressure.

Doug,

I was having the same problem with a couple of my tire valves. A couple would stick open when checking the pressure. I would have to essentially work the valve several times by continuing to press the valve until it would pop back out and seal. These valves also had a slow leak. I would lose about 5 PSI a week from them. I purchased a box of double seal inflate through valve caps (Ebay item 200844119533) and have not had any issues since. Even if the schrader valve in the valve stem sticks open these caps act as a backup valve. I have not lost a single PSI from a tire since installing them. Very high quality German made product. $29 for 50 of them. I have put them on every schrader valve I have.

This explanation makes sense .. Thanks! None of these wheels had caps on them when I purchased the coach. I added caps to all of them but not those two as my fat fingers are too big to get back through that hole and then reverse to put a cap on ..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Gil_J

Doug,

The valve stems face the holes in the wheel so they are accessible whether the wheel is mounted as an inner or outer. This would apply to our coaches. The valve stems come in different shapes if you want to change them. The easiest thing to do is simply turn the stem so the valve is easy to get to.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by wyle.e.kyote

This explanation makes sense .. Thanks! None of these wheels had caps on them when I purchased the coach. I added caps to all of them but not those two as my fat fingers are too big to get back through that hole and then reverse to put a cap on ..

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Add caps to the two chassis fill points while your at it.

JIM

I was having the same problem with a couple of my tire valves. A couple would stick open when checking the pressure. I would have to essentially work the valve several times by continuing to press the valve until it would pop back out and seal. These valves also had a slow leak. I would lose about 5 PSI a week from them. I purchased a box of double seal inflate through valve caps (Ebay item 200844119533) and have not had any issues since. Even if the schrader valve in the valve stem sticks open these caps act as a backup valve. I have not lost a single PSI from a tire since installing them. Very high quality German made product. $29 for 50 of them. I have put them on every schrader valve I have.

Thanks for the tip. I was having the same problem. Makes perfect sense to me your suggestion and it will be easier to check the air pressure. I ordered from the same source you suggested on ebay.

Thanks

I am thinking of getting a tire pressure monitoring system called TireMinder from minderresearch. Does anyone have any experience with them? If you get the entire system(about $400) you can put the sensors on the tow vehicle in addition to the RV.

Thanks