BAM .............. What the heck?

[Fred420]

BAM ................... loud and clear.

Sunday at 9:15, Lynn and I heard what I thought was a pistol shot from out behind the garage. Looking around, we saw nobody and no holes in the walls or anywhere. So we opened the garage and we saw our PU tilted to one side. The valve stem was blown apart!!!! Now this tire is only 1 1/2 yrs old with less than 5,000 mi on it. We are fornuate cause we have been doing alot of out of area camping and have logged 3,100 miles so far this year.

Has this happened to you??

[fallsrider]

BAM ................... loud and clear.

Sunday at 9:15, Lynn and I heard what I thought was a pistol shot from out behind the garage. Looking around, we saw nobody and no holes in the walls or anywhere. So we opened the garage and we saw our PU tilted to one side. The valve stem was blown apart!!!! Now this tire is only 1 1/2 yrs old with less than 5,000 mi on it. We are fornuate cause we have been doing alot of out of area camping and have logged 3,100 miles so far this year.

Has this happened to you??

I've never heard of a valve stem blowing apart while sitting at home. Strange. You were certainly fortunate!

[wavery]

Maybe a rat was chewing on it :p . They love to chew on rubber.

I'd loved to have had a video of that :yikes: , if it was.

All kidding aside, be very thankful that it happened when it did, If you would have hit the highway and got the tire up to running temperature, at highway speeds, it would have blown for sure. Someone is looking out for you my friend. :sombraro:

BTW, I've never heard of that happening before. Sometimes the valve stem is damaged during installation but in that case, they usually leak. It may have been just on the verge and just finally let loose. However, I like the rat theory better :-() .

[brainpause]

Maybe a rat was chewing on it :p . They love to chew on rubber.

I'd loved to have had a video of that :yikes: , if it was.

All kidding aside, be very thankful that it happened when it did, If you would have hit the highway and got the tire up to running temperature, at highway speeds, it would have blown for sure. Someone is looking out for you my friend. :sombraro:

BTW, I've never heard of that happening before. Sometimes the valve stem is damaged during installation but in that case, they usually leak. It may have been just on the verge and just finally let loose. However, I like the rat theory better :-() .

I like the rat/mouse theory better. I don't think it would just blow on its own. Look at it closely.

Larry

[flyfisherman]

There are actually two type of valve stems ~ one is the regular type that are on most cars and trucks; also maybe on a lot of RV's that do not carry a high range psi, like for instance, my Starcraft's 12" tires which require 80 psi. In the case for these 12" tires, they require a high pressure valve stem ... or they will leak .... or go "BANG" when sitting, or worse yet ... while one is tooling down the road!

Easy to tell the difference ~ the regular valve stems are all rubber and you can actually bend them in the middle (of course they'll spring right back to their normal straight shaft!). The high pressure ones cannot be bent because there will be a metal shaft on the inside of the rubber outer casing. If it 'twere me I'd have the high pressure stams on all tires going to 50psi or higher.

One time I had a new set of tires put on the little Starcraft and they were leaking! I called Carlisle and raised sand with them and they had me check the stems and sure enough, my tire guru put on regular ones with the new tires. Then, Carlisle sent me four of the high pressure stems at no cost! (I ate a little crow) ~ Needless to say, the tire guru intalled them for me at NO Labor Charge!



Fly

[wavery]

There are actually two type of valve stems ~ one is the regular type that are on most cars and trucks; also maybe on a lot of RV's that do not carry a high range psi, like for instance, my Starcraft's 12" tires which require 80 psi. In the case for these 12" tires, they require a high pressure valve stem ... or they will leak .... or go "BANG" when sitting, or worse yet ... while one is tooling down the road!

Easy to tell the difference ~ the regular valve stems are all rubber and you can actually bend them in the middle (of course they'll spring right back to their normal straight shaft!). The high pressure ones cannot be bent because there will be a metal shaft on the inside of the rubber outer casing. If it 'twere me I'd have the high pressure stams on all tires going to 50psi or higher.

One time I had a new set of tires put on the little Starcraft and they were leaking! I called Carlisle and raised sand with them and they had me check the stems and sure enough, my tire guru put on regular ones with the new tires. Then, Carlisle sent me four of the high pressure stems at no cost! (I ate a little crow) ~ Needless to say, the tire guru intalled them for me at NO Labor Charge!



Fly

Fly,

I agree that steel valve stems are better. However, bicycles use rubber tubes and stems and are commonly inflated to 80#. I've never heard of them exploding either. My air shocks normally have 250# of air and they have plastic hoses & stems. Wouldn't you think those rubber valve stems should handle over 300# of pressure without bursting, unless it is damaged?
 :confused:

[flyfisherman]

Fly,

I agree that steel valve stems are better. However, bicycles use rubber tubes and stems and are commonly inflated to 80#. I've never heard of them exploding either. My air shocks normally have 250# of air and they have plastic hoses & stems. Wouldn't you think those rubber valve stems should handle over 300# of pressure without bursting, unless it is damaged?
 :confused:

For sure, your bicycle tires do go to a high psi, but they sure do not have to carry the weight you PU tires do. Likewise for the air shocks. As for the high pressure trailer tires, as they go a rolling down the road are subject to a lot more stress with the bumps and the trailer weight shifting from side to side. And the tire manufacturer's are the designers of the high pressure valves. I know for a fact the regular rubber ones will leak air (maybe at the base?), at least to excess, and in my case, changing out for the high pressure valves did make a BIG difference on my 12 inch tires. More importantly than ole Fly saying that's so, Carlisle Tire, for the real expert opinion, says that's what they were designed for and should be used on high pressure trailer tires.

[aw738]

My original tires and the Carlisles that I had to install last year after a tread separation both have rubber stems. I sell both types at my job and the rubber ones are rated for only 60lbs. and the threaded type are rated for 150lbs. Do the tire manufactures not know about this rating. I could not find a 5.30 X 12 tire and rim combo anywhere. So I bit the bullet and bought the tire and my dad and I installed it on one of my old rims to have an extra spare. I did install a thread in stem on this tire. Its a long way to NJ for the rally.

[AustinBoston]

I agree that steel valve stems are better. However, bicycles use rubber tubes and stems and are commonly inflated to 80#.

Real bicycle tires are inflated to 120 psi, and they have steel stems (at least all of the bikes in our house do).  Two Diamondbacks, a Trek, a Giant, and a Specialized all have steel valve stems.

Austin

[chip]

Real bicycle tires are inflated to 120 psi, and they have steel stems (at least all of the bikes in our house do). Two Diamondbacks, a Trek, a Giant, and a Specialized all have steel valve stems.
 
Austin

I don't know about "real" bicycle tires (I thought a real bicycle had two wheels/tires), but my mountain bike (Trek 830) with schrader valves have metal-lined valve stems.  My Klein (and my Falcon, and most road wheels) with presta valves have solid brass valve stems.  Both are capable of being pressurized higher than our trailer tires.  I don't pump any of them much beyond 100 psi, although they are capable of much more.  It's a comfort thing, adjusted by the need to avoid pinch flats (not an issue for trailer tires).
 
The answer to the question here is that the high speed tire/wheel combination on a trailer requires a different valve stem than does the tire/wheel combination on the TV.  The trailer/high speed/high pressure rim/tire combination requires a stem that is secured by a threaded nut the secures the stem onto the rim, opposed to being pulled, or levered, through the hole in the rim.
 
AB--Check the sidewalls of your bicycle tires.  You'll find max pressures there, just like on the Taj MaHaul.  Mountain bike tires are normally maxed out at about 65 psi.  Road tires, whether 27" or 700mm normally max out at 110-125.  (Some glue ons are higher.)  Max pressures will beat my nether regions to a pulp on Delaware roads.
 
Let's ride sometime...
 
Happy Independence Day!!:U :U