Access to Dually Air Valves - Montana Owners Club

pbahlin · 03-03-2010, 12:44 PM

On my new dually, the outer rear tires have the air valves facing inward. I understand this is normal for duallies. Mine came with valve extenders and no caps. They're the extenders with a little spring loaded ball valve on the tip to seal out dirt.

I'm having a problem attaching to these valves. I have a gauge with release valve and compressor fitting that has about 8 inches of tubing between output and gauge. The problem is that the tubing has to do a 180 in a little wheel cover cutout with my hand and tube in the cutout.

There's way to much going on here in a small space and I'm wondering what you all do about this? Are there right angle fittings for the valve stems or something to attach to my gauge. This is one of those safety items that was not designed with safety in mind. If it's really hard to do it won't get done as often as it should.

kilch123 · 03-03-2010, 12:54 PM

I use one of these:
Your picture is much too large. Please reduce it before reposting. Thank you.
RVWheels
[imghttp://images.campingworld.com/is/image/cwi/2000/2834nNEW.jpg[/img]

You can get them at any truck stop, and some RV stores as well

gojodo · 03-04-2010, 01:08 AM

My experience is that valve extenders leak and result in flat tires. I first tried to cure the problem with replacing my stock rubber valve stems with steel valve stems. That helped but the extenders still leaked. I finally removed them all together which stopped the leakage. However it didn't help the problem with checking the air pressure. So, I bit the bullet and bought the Pressure Pro System (air pressure monitoring system) which checks the air pressure in each tire on the truck and the trailer. If it varies by more than 10% is sends out an alarm and I can check it out. In order the check the air in the tires I still have to remove the hub caps and use one the the tools shown above. If you are interested in Pressure Pro here is their web site: http://www.pressureprosystem.com/ Good Luck John

Tom S. · 03-04-2010, 01:58 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by gojodo

My experience is that valve extenders leak and result in flat tires. I first tried to cure the problem with replacing my stock rubber valve stems with steel valve stems. That helped but the extenders still leaked. I finally removed them all together which stopped the leakage. However it didn't help the problem with checking the air pressure. So, I bit the bullet and bought the Pressure Pro System (air pressure monitoring system) which checks the air pressure in each tire on the truck and the trailer. If it varies by more than 10% is sends out an alarm and I can check it out. In order the check the air in the tires I still have to remove the hub caps and use one the the tools shown above. If you are interested in Pressure Pro here is their web site: http://www.pressureprosystem.com/ Good Luck John

Have you tried using some teflon pipe tape on the vavle threads and see if that cures the extender leaks?

HamRad · 03-04-2010, 02:22 AM

About four years ago we installed the steel valve extenders on our dually. They have worked perfectly. No leaks and relatively easy to access. Wouldn't be without them. Also very easy to install and uninstall. We've had to take off one of the dually wheels to fix a flat and the tire person was able to easily uninstall and reinstall the extenders out on the road with no trouble.

When it comes to checking the air pressure in the duallys the extenders make a world of difference. We've never had any of them leak.

Good luck,
HamRad

richfaa · 03-04-2010, 02:46 AM

We also have the steel valve extenders on our dually. They have never leaked.

DonandJudy_12 · 03-05-2010, 05:35 AM

We have the flexible stainless steel extenders that attach to the center hub- They are very easy to use and easily removed for tire repair, replacement or rotation- Would not be without them- Available at CW and most RV dealerships- Try them- You'll love them too- Just my 2 cents worth- Don

pbahlin · 03-06-2010, 03:04 PM

I took the suggestion of kilch123 (thanks for the tip) and got a new end for my gauge with the little 45 degree hitch on the end. It works great.

I'm going with this and not messing with extenders until the ones I have show me a problem.

Funny thing about this is that I never knew what the funny little end thingy was for. I've seen them for years in service stations, of course, but I just thought they were the product of some demented designer. Now that I have a dually I finally see what they're for.

So sad that I spent 64 years thinking that those things were for filling tires by crawling under your car to stick it through a wheel opening to get on a valve after several beers.

Bob & Lee · 05-05-2010, 08:41 AM

Ok I'm new to dual wheels.Had them rotated and the say the stems on the rear won't line up with the holes in the front.are they telling the truth? 08 Ford F350
Bob

skypilot · 05-05-2010, 12:21 PM

Bob: Two schools of thought (and training) out there. I was trained years ago by Firestone corporate and then the Army to put the wheels back on the rear so that both valve stems were in the same location -- easier to add / check air that way. Recently I've seen several trade articles, and some posts on various RV forums, where the current method is to place them 180 degrees apart. Supposedly for 'balance' issues. Personally, when I have mine rotated, I ask that they be put together and have never had a problem, nor a dealer refuse to do so.

RRman · 05-05-2010, 04:36 PM

I pull the Rims/Hubcaps off when airing up or airing down for towing or not towing. As a Retiree, the little extra time it takes to pull them off and pound them back on doesn't bother me. I have extensions on the stems, but they're tricky and I leave them on just for emergencies, otherwise I screw them off after I remove the rims.

skypilot · 05-06-2010, 12:15 PM

Balinout: I'm sorry -- I misread your initial post when I answered above -- sometimes I need to read what is written a 2nd time instead of what my brain thinks was written

...

If your compressor's fill guage and extension is removable, you can pick up a 'dual foot' attachment for a couple of dollars; will also need to get a 'dual foot' air guage. These have air fittings on both sides so that you can get to both tire valve stems -- I did a quick search at camping world and found this guage http://www.campingworld.com/shopping...re-gauge/34219 as an example.

Many of us with dually's have gone to the metal valve stems because even with these dual foot appliances, the valve stems still move quite a bit. The 'all metal' ones are rigid and you don't have the problem.

As for what Chas mentioned, on our Dodge's, the holes in the wheel covers are not all that large and I also find it easier to pull the covers off to get more room for my hands and the air hose / air guage.

FRED S · 05-08-2010, 09:22 AM

Bob and Lee:
Ford dually's with aluminum wheels usually require lining the valves up so the inner wheel and outer wheel valves are in the same hand hole or acess hole with each other. the inner and outer wheels do not have the same acess hole spacing so no other position works
Fred

5ER · 05-11-2010, 05:32 AM

On my F350 I had the valve stems placed together and apart. Either way, you could still check air pressure. The only way that I didn't like was when they mount the outer wheel and don't leave a handhole for the inner tire stem. This has happened several times and I had to make them remount the outer tires.

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