Tire Blowout while sleeping

[ELM-JLM]

[QUOTE=rvcycleguy;88852]I had two 15 inch 10 ply tires installed last Friday. Max pressure is 80psi. Your correct, not many convenience stores will have a compressor that will inflate more than 60lbs.

A good 12v inflater works well for me! Mine has a preset inflation dial and guages to 300 lbs! Its a Craftsman from K Mart!

[rvcycleguy]

thats good to know Earl. I will look that up and see if my local Sears has in stock for my TM two week vacation coming next month.

[kempert]

I had to replace one of my stabilizer jacks after using them to lift the TM in order to replace the tires. It would go up and down but would not lift the TM. As I recall, Ed told me that they were not designed to replace a jack and that's why the threads had stripped. Since then I've used bottle jacks with no further problems with the stabilizer jacks.

In 1963 I was part of a 4 man crew installing a nuke in the bomb bay, inside a man made cave in Germany. The sound inside the revetment was bone rattling. We jumped back to the sides of the revetment and began looking all over the plane for the cause of the explosion when we noticed the Air Policeman at the entrance trying to figure out which one of us to shoot first. No one said a word as we began walking toward the entrance. There we saw one of the bomb trailer tires had blown out. After the 7-high (any incident with a nuke) was cancelled, we were allowed to finish the installation.

[scrubjaysnest]

Originally Posted by Barb&Tim

.................snip.............

scrub, where did you find that reference to not using the jacks to change a tire in the manual?

I looked in ours and saw that they recommend using a bottle jack just behind the axle on the frame but could not find any reference to not using the leveler jacks.

Tim

This is really a two part answer, on page 11 step 4 the manual says "jack the tire off the ground. Trailer stabilizer jacks should be lowered for additionally safety."

On the jacks is a label that says "not for changing the tire" but then this is the same label that has you turning the jack screw counter clock wise to lower the jack and clock wise to raise it.

I haven't been able to determine a brand for the jacks or where I saw the 500# rating.

I carry a floor jack plus a couple of bottle jacks so for us when its our turn with the tires I'll just place the floor jack behind the wheel on the frame and then lower the stabilizer jacks before swapping out the tire.

I am taking my TM over tomorrow to get my tires balanced which the dealer did not do, no lead can be found when I put on my mud flaps. I guess when you buy a used trailer and the deal is new tires from the dealer they don’t have the machine to balance they just let it go. Good though to remember for other future TM buyers, check the lead after you buy used.

Now I have a question? Should I go to metal valve stems? and why... Every tire place I talk to here in Az. look at me like I am nuts, I have talked to 6 tires places, I think I am missing something on this. I NEED HELP FAST, I have 14 inch tires.... Thanks so much!

Dave

[Barb&Tim]

I personally feel safer with metal stems and judging from most of the comments that i've seen on the board -- others do also.

Rubber deteriorates over time, therefore old rubber valve stems can suffer the same fate as old trailer tires. If you are considering adding tire pressure monitoring to your trailer tires then it is a certainly recommended. The added weight on the valve stem from the sensor puts more stress on the valve stem.

Got mine at NAPA, but note the caution i posted here:

http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...4&postcount=37

Tim

[rvcycleguy]

On the jacks is a label that says "not for changing the tire" but then this is the same label that has you turning the jack screw counter clock wise to lower the jack and clock wise to raise it.

Sounds correct to me.... I crank the stabilizer screw to the right to raise it and crank it to the left to lower it. By cranking to the right, its clockwise and visa versa. The jack handle is going over the top and to the right if you were standing in line with it.

[Barb&Tim]

@scrubjaysnest

Thanks for the reply. I've checked for the labels but could not find any that stated "not for changing the tire", Just have the labels identifying the manufacturer.

guess they changed between 2010 and 2011

Tim

[wbmiller3]

Metal stems eliminate the failure mode that was epidemic a little while back, and are highly recommended if you get a tire pressure monitor, which I also highly recommend.