First Flat

[Coloradoair]

I have my first flat (after 15K). It is really just a slow leaker attributed to a nail. I did get manage to get home and was wondering the best way to get the tire off and take it to the tire shop. Or should I just take the trailer in and have them patch or replace there?

I saw several recommendations about pulling the trailer up on blocks and then pulling the tire off. I have some leveling blocks that would get both sides up 3 inches of so. Will this work? I also saw that people have suggested jacking the affected side. I don't see a good place to put the jack and I don't think that I have a jack for the trailer.. Was I supposed to get one when I purchased it? I would think that I could use a regular car jack?


Would great appreciate as much guidance as possible.

Thanks,

[PLDodd]

I think you will find if you either pull up or back up onto the blocks with the good tire only it will sufficiently raise the flat tire/wheel off the ground for removal. Remember to break the lug nuts loose first! If you should have to disconnect from tow vehicle, chock up the other side real good. Since it is not on a jack or anything like that that could fall though, you are relatively safe should the camper roll a little. Had it happen to me, didn't need a jack. Good luck

[Andrew T]

Hi
Don't put the blocks on both sides of the trailer, Just under the good tire on the same side as the flat.

Andrew T

[TBRich]

You would not have received a jack with the Airstream. We have used the jack from our truck but after a blowout that we had to change on the roadside (it's a single axle) we got a small floor jack to carry.

With a multi-axled trailer the best way is to first loosen the lugs on the bad tire (to loosen them) then drive up onto a wedge or interlocking blocks to get the bad tire off the ground far enough to get it off the wheel and replace with a good tire... Be sure to chock the good side of the trailer so it can't go forward or backwards...so it won't roll front or back...

We lived through a complete blow out and changing the tire on the road, and you, too, shall live through this... Take it nice and easy and you'll get it done...

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, I bought a "Trailer Aid Plus" and it sure made it easy and simple to change tires. The tire shops were impressed too.

[Ag&Au]

I carry one of these:

Trailer-Aid PLUS -- Yellow - Trailer-Aid Store

For future tire problems:
Limping home on a leaking tire is not at all a good idea, especially with an Airstream. The aluminum is vey fragile compared to fiberglass and other similiar trailer construction materials. A tire that starts to disintergrate can do many dollars of damage in an instant.

I learned this the hard way with my 21' Bigfoot. The nail causing the leak came out and the quickly ensuing blowout damaged some rubber pieces of the wheel well and put a lot of black marks on white fiberglass. I am sure if the same happened in our Airstream, I would be looking at a multi thousand dollar panel replacement.

Ken

[Pahaska]

I went through this just today. My tire monitor started beeping and I was able to get off the interstate onto a good, flat, paved surface with 48 pounds still in the tire.

By the time I was arranging my blocks to raise the trailer, a nice, young man stopped and helped me take off the tire with the nail and mount my spare. He told me of a tire shop that was open today (Sunday), just a mile away. I had them throw away the old tire since I intended to replace it anyway after this trip. I had an unmounted new tire laying in the bed of my truck and that went on the rim. I came the rest of the way home (125 miles) with the spare on and had the extra confidence of knowing that I still had a spare if needed.

I think from now on, on any really long trip there will be a second spare carried in the bed of the truck.

[purman]

Originally Posted by Pahaska

I went through this just today. My tire monitor started beeping and I was able to get off the interstate onto a good, flat, paved surface with 48 pounds still in the tire.

I'm looking at getting a tire monitor. What brand did you get? and do you like it?

That thing saved you from shredding a tire. I like the idea.

[danlehosky]

This is one reason we went tandom.

Dan

[Ag&Au]

Originally Posted by danlehosky

This is one reason we went tandom.

Dan

Tandem is not going to prevent the damage caused by the flying and whipping fragments of a blown out tire.

Ken

[danlehosky]

No Ken, but it will keep you from swerving all over the road on your brake drum.

[Pahaska]

Originally Posted by purman

I'm looking at getting a tire monitor. What brand did you get? and do you like it?

That thing saved you from shredding a tire. I like the idea.

I have the PressurePro. It has saved me damage 4 times over the about 5 years I have owned it.

When at a red light, when on a straight stretch of road, and whenever starting up after a rest stop, I click through the tires, looking for any anomalies such as low or unusually high pressure in a tire.

[SilverRanger]

Originally Posted by purman

I'm looking at getting a tire monitor. What brand did you get? and do you like it?

That thing saved you from shredding a tire. I like the idea.

There are several brands available, but this is what I use. It has been very dependable for about 5 years now, and alerted me when I had a sudden valve stem failure a couple of years ago. I'm convinced it paid for itself that night. The tire dropped to 27 PSI, and if I continued riding on it, there would have been a blowout which would have very likely caused damage on a single axle trailer.

PressurePro Tire Pressure Monitoring System TPMS Pressure Pro

If it were to break down today, I'd replace it without hesitation. This time, I would likely get one that reads tire pressure, temperature, and has tire sensors that the user can change the batteries. My current one only reads tire pressure, and when the sensor batteries get weak, you have to exchange them for new ones at considerable cost.
Good luck with your selection.

[Ag&Au]

Originally Posted by purman

I'm looking at getting a tire monitor. What brand did you get? and do you like it?

That thing saved you from shredding a tire. I like the idea.

Jason

After some research, I bought and am pleased with the HawksHead Pressure track HD. HawksHead Pressure Track HD


Here is one thread of several on TPMSs:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f438...pms-70821.html

Ken

[twobikes]

Julien at Hawkshead was great at answering my many questions. Most of my problems could have been avoided if I had purchased the optional repeater. I found I need it on my SUV + 25' Safari even though the literature thinks is shouldn't be required. Since the repeater, the system has worked flawlessly.

[Ag&Au]

Originally Posted by twobikes

Julien at Hawkshead was great at answering my many questions. Most of my problems could have been avoided if I had purchased the optional repeater. I found I need it on my SUV + 25' Safari even though the literature thinks is shouldn't be required. Since the repeater, the system has worked flawlessly.

I believe that depends a lot on where your control unit is mounted. I have a longer trailer and longer tow vehicle than you, but have found no need for the repeater. I have the controller mounted on the bottom outside corner of the windshield on either the driver or passenger side depending on how many people are in the TV.

Ken

[TBRich]

Here's another Airstreamer who is a firm believer in TPMSs...we have PressurePros as well...have had them on the Bambi since Dec07... With only 1 axel, I want to know if there's a problem before ti gets to be a BIGGER problem. We have been saved once...a rubber valve stem failed...down to 14lbs within seconds... Thankfully we were at a stop light when it happened...pulled through the intersection into a paved parking lot and changed the tire. (I recommend metal valvue stems when using TMPSs that mount the sensor on the valve stems.)

That having been said, the PPs did not help when our single axle had a catastrophic blowout where we lost pressure instantly because of a tread separation ... and we were instantly riding on the rim. If we had multi-axle rig, however, we might not have known we had a blowout without the PPs, and we might have driven merrily along with a flapping tread causing even more damage.

[MrUKToad]

Originally Posted by ROBERTSUNRUS

Hi, I bought a "Trailer Aid Plus" and it sure made it easy and simple to change tires. The tire shops were impressed too.

That's a handy dandy piece of kit; very nice.

I'm always in awe of your coach's pristine bodywork, Bob, every time you post a pic. Would that ours was as nice!

[mefly2]

Originally Posted by w7ts

Tandem is not going to prevent the damage caused by the flying and whipping fragments of a blown out tire.
Ken
--------------------------------------------------------
danlehosky
This is one reason we went tandom.

Dan

Interesting dialog Ken/Dan ... we don't usually expect a blow out with tubeless tires and went back to the single axle Bambi for the opposite reason as expressed by Dan. Experience with multi axle tire pressure loss and/or failures leads us to prefer the almost immediate feedback when a tire loses pressure on one side of a single axle trailer. Proper reaction to the pull usually insures that tire damage - if any - is minimal on a single. The dual axles don't often give warning of a tire pressure loss or failure and it does go to "shredding" mode ... at least on our 28' tandem axle sailboat trailer and SOB TT... We like our TPMS for peace of mind, however.

[dkottum]

I see the "Trailer-Aid Plus" recommended. Will the "Trailer-Aid" without the "Plus" lift the tire enough to change?

doug k