G614's - TPMS -Metal Stems - Tire Balance - Montana Owners Club

Gkerlin · 03-02-2012, 08:29 AM

This Weds we will say good bye to our 26' Cougar and take delivery of our new 2012 3455sa. We are looking forward to living in luxury.

As part of the deal I had the dealer replace the stock tires with GY G614's While he insisted we didn't need metal stems (Huh??) I insisted that I did and they are putting them on. I also insisted that I wanted the tires balanced and they said that they've never balanced a single trailer tire and don't have the equipment so I figure I'll do that later.

It's a shame that I seem to know more about this stuff than a reputable dealer.... go figure. anyway I digress.

My question is that I just ordered a TPMS - the TST 507 and this is my first time using them on a trailer.

How do they really affect tire balance? In fact how many of you balance your trailer tires in the first place? I'm wondering if I should wait to put them on till I can balance the tire with them on. Any thoughts on that subject?

**DQDick** · 03-02-2012, 08:44 AM

I use Pressure Pro, but I doubt there's any noticeable difference. My tires and wheels have been mounted and balanced both times and then I put the monitors on. No problems at all. The Goodyear dealer who put my tires on said they wouldn't put tires on a trailer that weren't balanced but didn't see how the monitor could affect the process.

HamRad · 03-02-2012, 09:19 AM

All my tires on the trailer are balanced. I use the PP tire monitoring system and have not noticed any problem with the balance. Good luck. Dennis

8.1al · 03-02-2012, 09:23 AM

It can't hurt to have the balance done with the monitors on so why not?

Gkerlin · 03-02-2012, 10:01 AM

"It can't hurt to have the balance done with the monitors on so why not?"

When I get the wheels balanced, I will of course do it with the monitors on the stems... I was really just wondering if I put the monitors on now with unbalanced tires, do they (the monitors) really throw things out of whack. Sounds like the don't make a big deal. I haven't gotten the TPMS system delivered yet, its coming Monday so I'm not sure how big or heavy they really are. When I pick up the new rig I guess 'll just put then on the wheels, drive the 6hrs home after we play for a few days, and then get them all balanced at home.

**DQDick** · 03-02-2012, 10:37 AM

They don't weigh enough to worry about. If you have to drag the rig thru any type of mud the mud that sticks on the wheels will have a bigger effect than a monitor would.

southern thunder · 03-02-2012, 10:58 AM

which TPMS did you go with?

Art-n-Marge · 03-02-2012, 11:34 AM

If you've seen how tires are balanced these days, they use a spin machine but I don't know how fast it spins, and it doesn't sit still like in the old days (remember the old bubble balancing machines). With these machines I've seen they can tell not only what edges need a weight, but whether it needs to be put on the inside or the outside - with stick on weights they've improved even that. That would hint to me as slight in weight a tire monitor weighs, I would have a tire balanced with the monitor.

I think the RV dealers don't balance tire trailers as an excuse and to save money on equipment, labor, time, etc. If you don't fight it, then why will they have to offer it.

When replacing an aftermarket tire, I don't think any of those technicians would do it without balancing it. I've never seen a technician NOT do that, whether it's a truck, auto, trailer or heavy duty truck. If I didn't see a balancing machine, I wouldn't buy tires from there for my vehicles or trailers.

RV dealers, sales people and many service personnel are just not honest enough. Their reasoning, excuses, justifications and flat wrong information is very unfortunate in the industry and I'm now smart enough to at least GO SOMEWHERE ELSE for the proper services I need. RV ownership sure has made me a much more intelligent consumer.

Gkerlin · 03-02-2012, 11:56 AM

Art I have to agree with you. I can take just about any sales pitch and ignore it, but when they were trying to tell me that the G614's did not need metal stems and that they were going to leave the stems the unit came with... well that kind of frosted me a bit. How many people would drive away with 110 psi tires, confident that they had made the investment and thinking that they were now covered, only to have the darn stems blow somewhere down the road. All to save what..... a couple of bucks per tire. I don't get it.

Oh well. I'm glad I have the G614's on there and real excited to get the new rig so I'm not going to let some ignorance spoil the moment.

It's hard to believe however that just a few short years ago I was in a truck camper. Score one more win for mama.

troutchasers · 03-04-2012, 04:14 AM

Greg... Are you placing monitors on just the trailer stems or are you putting them on the TV tires too? I'm thinking of waiting until I have the tires on the TV rotated and can replace the stems with metal ones. I would be traveling for a few months before getting monitors added to the TV. Not usre I want to do tham. Trying to decide if I should have do the TV tires right away or wait until I can rotate and replace stems. Thanks!

Gkerlin · 03-04-2012, 04:19 AM

I'm putting them just on the 5'ver. I already have a TPMS factory system on the F350

Gkerlin · 03-04-2012, 04:40 AM

One other thought... I'm less concerned with monitoring the TV as I can feel is something is not right with the truck. The trailer however could sneak up on you with a slow leak, especially on the passenger side where I can't see the tires as clearly as the driver side.

CORattler · 03-04-2012, 12:53 PM

Dick is spot on with this assessment.

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by DQDick

They don't weigh enough to worry about. If you have to drag the rig thru any type of mud the mud that sticks on the wheels will have a bigger effect than a monitor would.

seahunter · 03-05-2012, 12:01 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Gkerlin

I'm putting them just on the 5'ver. I already have a TPMS factory system on the F350

How did you get the factory TPMS on a dually? I was told the dually deleted the factor TPMS and I could not get it on mine.

Gkerlin · 03-05-2012, 01:52 AM

Greg,

Good point.... now you have me wondering. I traded in my 2011 F250 PSD for the F350 PSD DRW just a couple of weeks ago. My F250 had the system (proven when one started to lose air) and my Sticker on the F350 said Tire pressure monitor so I didn't think twice.

Now when I look at the sticker more closely it actually says "Less Tire Pressure Monitor". Looking on Fords Website it appears that you might be correct. They don't come out and say they are not available, but when showing the standard features it did not list them for the DRW.

I'm going to send my dealer an email and ask for sure but I'm thinking that your right. Thanks for your info. I'm still learning the new truck.

PS Congrats on the new Montana... I'm going to pick my new one up in 2 days.

troutchasers · 03-05-2012, 05:18 AM

Does anyone know for sure that the F350 Dually stems are not metal. I can only locate the outside stem and it appears to be metal, but I could be quite wrong about that.

Gkerlin · 03-05-2012, 05:41 AM

All of my stems are metal.

Art-n-Marge · 03-05-2012, 05:52 AM

Yes, recheck those tire stems! I had a vehicle that had metal (chrome) decorative sleeves over the rubber stems so that it looked like metal but it wasn't!

I'll always get metal from now on and pay as needed. I won't argue about it. The price is minimal in comparison to the benefit no matter what the psi. Even though there are rubber stems that claim to support the psi, to me, the metal should be stronger, less prone to cracking and thereby less worry free... I hope.

bncinwv · 03-05-2012, 05:54 AM

My advice is to not even consider putting a TPMS monitor on a stem that is not steel. Been there, done that along with others on the forum. Although the weight of the monitor will not affect your balancing, it will affect the seats of the rubber stems due to the forces applied during rotation. Slow leakage will be the result. I have always had the steel stems on the rig, but when I purchased my last set of dually tires, the dealer did not have any steel stems available. I went ahead and had the short rubber ones put in, put the monitors on and immediately suffered slow air leakage on the first trip, and of course it was on the inside dually. Stems are getting replaced with steel as a part of getting our annual inspection sticker. The only way I could remedy the slow leak was to remove the monitors and air up the tire.
Bingo

Gkerlin · 03-05-2012, 06:09 AM

I know for sure that my TV stems are metal as they are screwed down on the rim and don't budge but your point about being careful and checking is important.

When I put the LRE 80psi maxxis on my cougar I specified metal stems but the stems that they had would not fit the indentation of my wheels so I had to go with brass inserts. Better than rubber but still not what I wanted. That was why I didn't put the TPMS on the cougar.

On the positive side - I put over 15k on the maxxis last summer and they look brand new.

You may also like: