Missions and Valve Stems

[Jolu]

Today I replaced my Mission tires with Coopers, LT 235/85R16 SRM II. They appear to be good tires. I had Coopers on a motorhome that held up very well. The 85R16s are about 3/4" taller than the Mission 80R16s. I know that Cooper has been known to stand behind their tires and they are made in the USA. All four have a mfg. date of 29/08. That is pretty fresh.
I had about 8000 miles on the Missions. They appeared to be in good shape and probably had many miles left on them. But you never know what the odds are. The tire dealer did say that the valve stems installed with the Missions were only rated for 60PSI. Go figure! I have been running 80 PSI all along. So the tire dealer did install new metal valve stems. JB

[bsmeaton]

Hmmm - I wonder how he could tell they were rated for 60psi?

BTW - what is the max load (weight) on your new coopers?

[Jolu]

Brad,
The SRM II is rated 3042 lbs @80PSI. I think If I had a larger Monty I might consider a tire with more of a load rating. I'm no tire expert but the SRM seemed to fit the bill for me with the 2955RL.
As for the the valve stem, I just took it the dealer knew what he was talking about when he said the valve stem was only rated 60PSI. He has been the manager of the tire shop for more than 25 yrs. JB

[bsmeaton]

Those tires should be fine for that rig. I was just hoping you had found some rated for 3500 lbs so I could buy some ! Guess I'll still have to go to the G-rated.

I was just curious on the stems - because they do have rubber stems rated for the high pressure. My truck and Monty have them. Last time I did tires, the metal stems would not fit on my 2003 wheels.

[hazmic]

Brad anything rated for more then 80psi are supposed to metal ones. Correct me if I am wrong but I think this is a government rule. I have metal ones in both the truck and trailer.

[bsmeaton]

Are you talking metal core or all metal with rubber seals? Mine are metal core rubber that pop in like every other valve stem, but then I guess I only have 80psi tires on the monty and truck.

[SlickWillie]

quote:Originally posted by bsmeaton

Are you talking metal core or all metal with rubber seals? Mine are metal core rubber that pop in like every other valve stem, but then I guess I only have 80psi tires on the monty and truck.

IIRC the ones that came on the Mountaineer were rubber with a brass core. For some reason, I seem to recall they were rated for 80PSI, but really weren't worth a crap (don't recall if my tire man told me that or it was on the stems). I actually kept a couple a long time, thinking I might send them to NHTSA, but finally discarded them. We have steel wheels, so I went with the metal with the compression nut. No problems since changing them.

Seems the tire man told me he had the same in stock, but wouldn't use them unless customer requested, as he had many that leaked.

[richfaa]

The rubber OEM valve stems on our mission tires were clearly stamped rated for 80psi. We did replace them when we got new tires, the same Coopers as above, as they all leaked.

[hazmic]

I use the all metal one with the compression nuts. The rubber ones can blow out. When going down the road the centrifugal forces will want to bent the rubber ones out and then leak where they go into the rims. I have always used the metal ones[tire dealer recommends this] and have had no issues. If they are recommended for 80 psi then when running down the road the tire heats up and also the pressure goes up and then you are over the limit. Do you see 18 wheelers using rubber stems?

[Jolu]

Rich,
Did I understand you correctly, you put the Cooper SRMIIs on your Monty? JB

[Jolu]

I guess most of us now have another thing to worry about. All these new $50K trucks running around out there with the rubber valve stems pulling the Monty with the metal valve stems. I think I'm going to sell them all and get a houseboat. Then I won't have to worry about the metal stems breaking off if something hits them or the rubber stems heating up and blowing out. Although I might have a hard time setting up the HD dish on a tripod. I give! Of course this is all in humor and I hope no one gets pushed out of shape. JB

[richfaa]

Jolu... yes we did, had them on since Oct of 07.Been using Cooper tires on all our vehicles for years with very good results. I would say we have @ 7K miles on them with no signs of wear.

[SlickWillie]

quote:Originally posted by Jolu

I guess most of us now have another thing to worry about. All these new $50K trucks running around out there with the rubber valve stems pulling the Monty with the metal valve stems. I think I'm going to sell them all and get a houseboat. Then I won't have to worry about the metal stems breaking off if something hits them or the rubber stems heating up and blowing out. Although I might have a hard time setting up the HD dish on a tripod. I give! Of course this is all in humor and I hope no one gets pushed out of shape. JB

Houseboat? Sounds like a great idea to me. If I could just talk DW into the idea. I've dreamed of sailing the southern portion of the ICW for years. Would need sails now, as diesel is too high.

[bsmeaton]

I don't know Hazmic, I have found that if I don't decorate my valve stems with little red dice valve caps like the truckers do, I don't experience the centrifugal force problem.

Jolu, Trackvision for your housebout - it tracks satellites over the waves

[hazmic]

I will have to see if I can find the dice. Remember waaaaay back when Standard Oil had caps that looked like crowns,white,red,and gold. The metal one's have chrome caps though.