Third Flat on the same tire

Hello all,

We had a tire blow out in March on a long trip. We had the spare put on using roadside assistance, and then stopped at a nearby Camping World to have all of the tires replaced (they were over 3 years old, so we figured it was time).

We made it the rest of the trip without incident (well, without incident with the RV - the next day we had to replace all 6 wheels on the dually!), but on the road to our house, the same tire on the RV went flat. Now, we do live on a mountainous gravel road. We've been in and out dozens of times without issue, so we weren't sure what happened - especially on brand new tires. We had roadside out again to switch us to the spare. The dingaling botched the change and cross threaded the bolt or stripped a lug nut (or some such mechanic-speak that my husband seemed to realize, but I am clearly not so educated). So we had to take it in to their garage and get it fixed by an actual mechanic and not just their roadside tire change guy.

That was yesterday. The mechanic took the entire wheel apart and fixed the roadside guy's mistake. Everything ran smoothly to our house, but this morning we noticed that the SAME tire is flat AGAIN!

What on earth could be causing this? I feel like there is something structurally wrong, but I don't know where to look. And the mechanic didn't notice anything obvious yesterday when it was all stripped down.

On the second flat, my husband noticed that the air seemed to be coming out of the center of the tire - where the tread is at its thickest. He's out now looking at the new flat to see if he can determine anything.

I figured I'd check with you smart folks to see if anyone can help us troubleshoot.

It sounds like you could have a cracked rim. Did they put the repaired tire in a water tank to check for leaks?
Do you use a tire pressure monitor system that will warn you if the pressure drops?

Peace
Dave

Possible a cracked rim but you might also replace the valve core for the tire. More than once I have had new tires put on and found on was down the next morning due to a bad valve core.

Howdy!

We had this problem on another 5er we had. Pin hole leaks in the rims. Treadit replaced all four rims no charge, I paid for the mounting. The second set of rims one cracked months later and treadit again replaced all four rims no charge except for mounting. Both times Treadit replaced the rims my 5er was out of warranty. Treadit sales most rims for RV’s so it’s nice they stand behind them. It’s worth it to contact them if that the problem you are having.

” Happy Trails “
Chiefneon

Thanks all!

It turns out it was the valve stem. Thank goodness! We're all set and good to go!

Not what shops were replacing your tires but a reputable tire would have recommended changing out the valve stem during tire replacement. If they didn’t, it’s time to find a different dealer. Valve stems/cores are the number one cause of leaks. Followed by an outside influence i.e. nail/screw. Pourous aluminum wheels or cracked steel wheels are very uncommon, but do happen.

Glad and to hear your problem COULD BE solved. If they only replaced the valve stem on the one tire I would highly recommend changing the others as they were also subjected to the same conditions as the one replaced. The cost is minimal considering the hassle of having flats or ruining a newer tire. Just my opinion though.

In my case, Discount got a bad batch. Most tire shops change them out as a matter of course but sometimes they just go bad right out of the box.

Lynn1130 said:

In my case, Discount got a bad batch. Most tire shops change them out as a matter of course but sometimes they just go bad right out of the box.

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I’m hoping they installed the correct stems. Rubber snap in valve stems are ok for up to 60 PSI, the snap in metal valve stems are ok for up to 90 PSI, and the bolt in metal are required for PSI over 90.