Tire, slow leak?

[adamdegraff]

Hey All, just a quick question here. I'm in Baraboo, WI, near the Dells and there is a possibility that I might have a slow leak in one of my drive tires. All other tires are holding pressure, but this one dropped to 103 PSI from 120. I am parked right now and it seems to be holding there, but I'll know for sure tomorrow when I try to ad air. If it is leaking, what should I do. I'm parked. Do I use my roadside assistance? It is the outside drive tire. Do I drive it somewhere and have them take it off, patch it and put it back on? Any people in this area that you know of? I'm heading to Minn/St.Pual area. Never dealt with this before, so any advice would be welcome.

Thanks!

Adam

[BrianE]

Adam,

If you check pressure every day and you are actually down 17psi, then you probably have a slow leak. Would stop at a truck stop or truck tire outlet and check it carefully with a technician for a nail or a cut. Since it's a driver, you might get away with airing it up and waiting for an encore. You can usually limp to a truck stop or tire dealer on the other dual but it's taking a chance.

[Ray Davis]

Make sure to check it again. I had one time a large drop in pressure in one tire. I refilled, and it was fine. It turned out that the simple act of checking the pressure caused something to clog in the filler, and make a leak. Adding air back into the tire cleared the blockage, and the tire was fine.

However, it would have been nice to realize it was low while driving. I had checked in the morning, prior to leaving, and by the time I arrived at POG2, the tire was quite low.

Hence my desire for a TPMS on this new bus.


ray

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Why are you putting 120 lbs in the drive tires? They are probably only carrying about 5500lbs each if that.

If you want to put your mind at ease visually inspect it with a bottle of soapy water. Spray the bead as well as the tread.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Now, Joe. You know better. Any time we have a problem with a drive axle tire it is always the inner tire.

Ditto on the leaky Schrader valve. Until I got the double seal, fill through valve stem caps it was a crap shoot checking pressures. Most of the time they sealed, and then I installed the cap as my second seal. But if they did not seal (you can tell both by the sound, and if the cap hisses when removed the next time they are checked) I tried to give them a shot of air in the hopes that it would seal.

This is why you need a hose that reaches all your tires so you can air them up from the bus.

Joe is correct about pressures. Weigh the bus, each axle, and then use the Michelin chart for the correct tire pressure.

http://www.alltiresupply.com/p-43-098.html
http://www.michelintruck.com/micheli...ion-tables.jsp

Every one of us has had to go through this.

[ajducote]

I had a slow leak once that was caused by a loose nut that holds the valve stem in the rim. A half turn to tighten it and all was well again.

[adamdegraff]

Adam,

If you check pressure every day and you are actually down 17psi, then you probably have a slow leak. Would stop at a truck stop or truck tire outlet and check it carefully with a technician for a nail or a cut. Since it's a driver, you might get away with airing it up and waiting for an encore. You can usually limp to a truck stop or tire dealer on the other dual but it's taking a chance.

Thanks for all the advice! Is there a way to check online for a truck tire outlet or a place that can service my tires that is on my route? I guess I'm not sure what exactly I am looking for. It's not like I'm driving my car and can stop at any old service station.

Oh, and I'm putting 120 in my drive tires because that is what Marathon said to put in. No other reason. I do need to get my bus weighed. Where do I do that? Flying J? Any old bathroom scale? I know I'm on the heavy side.

Thanks!

Adam

[dalej]

I do need to get my bus weighed-Adam


Adam, if you can make it over to Spearfish, we are have a bus weighing on Tuesday morning. We will learn what weights are on each tire and what should be in the tires for air pressure.

If not we can post our results and you will see whats the correct pressure for each tire.

[Ray Davis]

Adam,

Most major truck stops have scales. I'm sure the TA truck stops do for sure. It costs about $8 to weigh your coach.

It's not quite as good as a complete independent wheel weight, but better than not weighing.

Pull on to the scales. There are generally 4 independent scales there. Arrange your coach so that each axle is on a different scale. That way you'll get a weight for all three axles. Divide by two will give you a per tire weight (approximately assuming equal loading).

Then, use the pressure charts Jon posted to correctly set your tire pressure.

Ray

[Ray Davis]

Adam,

A google search of "mobile truck tire service near Baraboo WI" leads many possibilities, although none right there.

Try calling:

Pomp's Tire Services‎
2301 Kilgust Rd, Monona, WI - (608) 222-6763‎


They are about 50 miles away, however if they can't help I would assume they could refer you to someone who could.


Ray