I thought it would be great to add a set of TireMinders to my trailer so I would know the pressure and temp during travel. Install went great. They read perfect and seemed to be working well.
We left for the lake the following weekend. Tire pressure was at 110 psi all the way around and temps were great. After about 30 min. on the highway, the alarm started going off. One of the tires was down to 94 psi. I watched it over the next 30 min. and it was dropping about 2 psi every 5 minutes. Pulled over, checked the tire for nails, screws, glass... you name it. Couldn't find anything! Aired the tire back to 110 psi and went on our way (Dad has one of those fancy Motor-coaches with the compressor on board...).
At this time, there was a BLACK storm heading our way, so we just wanted to cruise through before we were clobbered with hail. I got stuck behind a semi doing 65 mph for a while and things were going great! The tire was holding air and I thought maybe I didn't tighten the TireMinder on the valve stem all the way or something. Then I was able to get around the semi and jumped back up to 75 mph. The alarm went off again after 30 min! What!!
Pulled over again and aired the tire back up and continued on our way again (remember- we are outrunning a nasty storm still). It's pouring rain, getting dark, no one is open, and we are having tire issues on our first trip.
Something to me wasn't adding up.
1. There was no air leaking before the TireMinders were installed
2. No piercing object was found in the tire- tread or sidewalls.
3. The tires are 2015 Good Years that are in good shape with stainless valve stems. Not an old-tire/stem problem.
4. The darn thing only leaked when above 65 mph!!!
The next morning, I grabbed a squirt bottle with soapy water in it and crawled around all 4 wheels spraying and moving the valve stems around. Come to find out, the leaking tire was caused by a loose valve stem nut! The added weight of the TireMinder on the valve stem in combination with the centrifugal force of anything over 65 mpg caused the darn thing to leak. I tightened all the nuts on the valve stems and haven't had a problem since. All tires held air great! I love the easy fixes!
I now have a nice Porter Cable air compressor that will air up to 150 psi that I will keep in the trailer. I would have been in trouble without my Dad there to help us out.
We left for the lake the following weekend. Tire pressure was at 110 psi all the way around and temps were great. After about 30 min. on the highway, the alarm started going off. One of the tires was down to 94 psi. I watched it over the next 30 min. and it was dropping about 2 psi every 5 minutes. Pulled over, checked the tire for nails, screws, glass... you name it. Couldn't find anything! Aired the tire back to 110 psi and went on our way (Dad has one of those fancy Motor-coaches with the compressor on board...).
At this time, there was a BLACK storm heading our way, so we just wanted to cruise through before we were clobbered with hail. I got stuck behind a semi doing 65 mph for a while and things were going great! The tire was holding air and I thought maybe I didn't tighten the TireMinder on the valve stem all the way or something. Then I was able to get around the semi and jumped back up to 75 mph. The alarm went off again after 30 min! What!!
Pulled over again and aired the tire back up and continued on our way again (remember- we are outrunning a nasty storm still). It's pouring rain, getting dark, no one is open, and we are having tire issues on our first trip.
Something to me wasn't adding up.
1. There was no air leaking before the TireMinders were installed
2. No piercing object was found in the tire- tread or sidewalls.
3. The tires are 2015 Good Years that are in good shape with stainless valve stems. Not an old-tire/stem problem.
4. The darn thing only leaked when above 65 mph!!!
The next morning, I grabbed a squirt bottle with soapy water in it and crawled around all 4 wheels spraying and moving the valve stems around. Come to find out, the leaking tire was caused by a loose valve stem nut! The added weight of the TireMinder on the valve stem in combination with the centrifugal force of anything over 65 mpg caused the darn thing to leak. I tightened all the nuts on the valve stems and haven't had a problem since. All tires held air great! I love the easy fixes!
I now have a nice Porter Cable air compressor that will air up to 150 psi that I will keep in the trailer. I would have been in trouble without my Dad there to help us out.
