Metal Valve Stems

[DonPd]

The last time I purchased tires I installed metal valve stems. That was five years ago and I will be replacing the tires soon. Do I need to replace the metal valve stems also. They have a rubber seal and can it go bad?

[jcurtis934]

They aren't that pricey and all things age. I would always put in new metal stems when changing out the tires...better than getting a flat or even a slow leaking tire that has a chance to ruin the tire and bits of monty. John

[Happycamperscolorado]

i would replace the stems.

[joe1047]

hello,
I had the rubber ones that came with the tires on my 2008 Everest for 6 years and no problem. the last year we had the trailer I installed tire moniters on the rubber valves, within a few trips , the valves started to leak.i changed to meatal valve stems and never had a problem again. then we got the new Montana and I had the dealer put the metal ones on because I installed the tire moniters on the valves.make sure if you intend to put the tire moniters on your rig , to have the metal valves put on. hopes this helps.

[1retired06]

New stems

[PackerFan]

X2 on the new stems!

[WaltBennett]

OK, here's the deal. Tire sellers really want to just rip out the old stems as that's the quickest way to deflate the old tires. Rubber stems aren't rubber anymore and won't last more than five years at best before leaking, AND you really don't want to try filling to 80 or more psi with them - they just wiggle around too much. The metal stems from Tredit are all metal save for the seal in the valve itself and the gaskets against the wheels - almost any 'metal' stems at a tire dealer will be only metal clad and not solid. They should be good for at least a couple of sets of tires, although you may have to replace the valves.

Finally, from my personal experience, if you take your wheels/tires to a place to get new tires (because they won't jack the 5er) be absolutely, positively, FIRM that they are NOT to trash your Tredit stems. A Firestone store did that to me even though I'd insisted I didn't want new stems. The old ones were cut off with bolt cutters.

Forgot to add - if you can't find solid metal stems locally, contact Tredit. They'll sell you the right length ones for about $2 each plus shipping.

[DQDick]

Since the seal is rubber or similar material and the cost is minimal compared to the tires I replace the stems when I replace the tires. Heat and sum will age anything, why risk it over a few dollars.

[WaltBennett]

Maybe I should explain it a bit further. Any valve stem has a little screw in valve inside that can age and need replacing periodically. They are less than a buck each. The valve stem body that comes on a Tredit wheel is solid metal and fastened onto the wheel with a nut. There are a couple of rubber gaskets to seal it though, and these are compressed when the stem is fastened. They aren't really exposed to weather much and are made of a material that withstands heat, just like many of the gaskets on your engine. The all 'rubber' or metal clad ones are another thing entirely, and I wouldn't have them on anything but a daily driver vehicle since they won't last much more than five years.

[DQDick]

Here's another consideration. Your trailer tires aren't supposed to be on your rig longer than 5-7 years anyway.

[WaltBennett]

That's true, but my personal experience with those so called 'rubber' ones was with our previous TT. The early spring of our fifth year of ownership (bought new) had all four tires either flat or getting there quickly. Every valve stem was leaking from checks in the sides and base. Had to jack the thing up and take the wheels to a local tire store to get them replaced. The manager told me about the expected life time of the even the new ones - 5 to 6 years at best. They inspected the tires and those were all fine at 5 1/2 years of age.