Anyone having issues with tire valves on Featherlite trailers?

Nine months after purchasing a big horse dual axle trailer, on her  first ever  long haul  8 hour run to Florida my wife lost two tires on opposite sides within 30 minutes of each other. This Sept, on our third  long  haul trip,  we came back from NJ with an empty trailer and lost one tire 6 hours into day one and a second six hours into day 2 - again on opposite sides. We couldnt determine the problem with the first two tires, but on the second trip both tires had the valve split well above the wheel insert , where the rubber bell straightens into the steel valve.  

We always run 80lbs cold on the original 235/85 LTx16's per Featherlites repeated guidance. In desperation I installed bolt-in all steel valves rated at 100 lbs, while still running  80 lbs in the tires.  But since this I have no assurance this will work I called  Featherlite on Tuesday. Featherlite says they have never heard of valve problems before, must  be one offs, and 80lbs is correct despite two tire dealers cautioning me that both wheels and tires are max rated at 80 lbs.

Co-incidently, last nite, wednesday, friends called while towing a Featherlite trailer from GA to PA. Lost one valve around 2pm and second around 10pm. Any ideas, we cant carry enough spares for a day trip!

steve

Drivun ... Welcome to the forum..

You're on the right track with the valves.  I don't remember where I saw it... but the rubber valves are only rated for a max of 60 psi.*  Above that pressure, only a metal clamp in tubeless tire valve will do.  Perhaps who ever is mounting the tires for Featherlite is not aware of the pressure limits of the rubber snap in valves.

 Edit * See article posted below for valve pressure rating 

Did a little searching... Here's the rest of the story...

Take special note of the paragraph 4th from the bottom of the article.

From this site >> http://www.babcox.com/editorial/tr/tr20134.htm

Customer Pays With Cheap Stems By Larry Carley The consumer media has given a great deal of ink and air-time recently to the issue of tire safety and the various factors that can cause a tire to fail. But one item most of these reports have not touched upon is the valve stem. Think about it. The valve stem is what keeps the air in the tire. If the valve stem doesn't seal properly and leaks air at the base or thorough the valve core, the loss of air pressure can cause the tire to run hot or go flat. A low tire is a dangerous tire, especially when driving at high speed during hot weather or when a vehicle is heavily loaded. "Though the valve stem is the least expensive component in a tire/wheel assembly, it's also the most important," says Steve Zimmerman of Tuffy Manufacturing in Akron, Ohio, a supplier of tire repair products and equipment. To most people, a valve stem is a valve stem - they all look the same so the only difference they see is the price. But one of the most serious safety issues facing our industry today, he says, is cheap, low quality valve stems that are coming in from offshore manufacturers. Zimmerman says many of these products are made of inferior materials that don't stand up well to ozone, heat and cold over time. Yet many tire dealers don't realize there is a difference - a huge difference - in the long-term reliability of some of these valve stems. Bigger Difference Than Price Quality name-brand snap-in valve stems from reputable suppliers for passenger car/light truck applications typically cost from 16 to 25 cents per piece in quantity vs. maybe 11 to 12 cents each for "no-name" imported stems. For grommet-style truck valve stems, a quality brand may sell for $1 each compared to 60 cents or less for a no-name brand. A few cents difference in price may not seem like much, especially when most tire dealers charge $2.50 or more to their retail customers for an installed valve stem. But when you're talking hundreds of valve stems over a period of time, the pennies add up - especially if a tire dealer is replacing valve stems for a large fleet account at no cost to the customer. Frank Banzanhof of Schrader Bridgeport International Inc., Muskegee, Okla., a manufacturer of OE valve stems, says many import stems are made of natural rubber rather than EPDM, a tougher synthetic rubber used in most quality valve stems. EPDM has a much broader temperature range than natural rubber, and remains flexible in the coldest weather. It also resists ozone and chemical attack that deteriorates natural rubber. "The materials they are using will not pass the SAE 1205-1206 ozone requirements, which is a standard created by the Society of Automotive Engineers. No vehicle manufacturer will accept a valve stem that doesn't meet this standard." Banzanhof cautions that using valve stems made from low quality materials is asking for trouble. After only two years of service, natural rubber valve stems dry out, he says, becoming hard and brittle, allowing for cracks and leaks. Unfortunately, there are no government standards that apply to valve stems. The Tire & Rim Association publishes a yearbook that lists standards for valve stem dimensional tolerances, but the group does not get involved with performance standards. Finding Quality Stems So how can a tire dealer tell if he's buying a quality valve stem? Banzanhof says to ask the valve stem supplier if their product meets the SAE 1205-1206 standard. You should also ask if company that manufacturers the valve stem is QS9000 or ISO9000 certified - both of which require meeting stringent quality control standards, procedures and recordkeeping. Tire dealers should watch out for no-name valve stems, according to Norm Prinzo and Dave Magoulick of the Akron-based Myers Tire Supply. "If you don't see a manufacturer's logo or country of origin on the product, I'd be very suspect of it. If there's no identification on the valve, who's going to stand behind it if there's a problem?" asks Prinzo. "A no-name valve stem may look and fit okay today, but how long will it last? The life of the rubber is determined by time and temperature. Many tires last a long time - up to six, eight or even 10 years. Truck applications are even more demanding because of the miles driven, heavy loads and extreme operating environment," said Magoulick. Valve Stem Replacement Most valve stem suppliers say tire dealers should always replace the valve stem when replacing a tire. Valve stems should also be inspected anytime a tire is balanced, repaired or dismounted. A valve stem that's cracked, damaged or leaking must be replaced. Before installing a new valve, inspect the hole in the rim for nicks, burrs, corrosion or other roughness that could damage the new valve or prevent a leak-free seal. Most valve stems are coated at the factory to maintain their appearance and to ease installation. If a lubricant is used, do not use a petroleum-based product (rubber absorbs oil). Carefully pull the valve into the hole and make sure it is properly seated. On some light truck applications, special "high pressure" valve stems may be required (refer to the pressure rating of the tires). Most passenger car and light truck valve stems are only rated to a maximum of 65 psi, so if the vehicle has high load tires it will require high-pressure rated valve stems. Never assume the old valve stem is the correct one for the application because it may have been replaced previously. Use a replacement valve stem that correctly matches the type of wheel and vehicle application. Many alloy wheels require a clamp-in style valve stem with a threaded metal nut. On heavy-duty trucks, make sure the valve grommet is the correct size for the hole in the wheel, and that the valve stem is properly positioned for balance and to allow easy air pressure checks. Finally, make sure the valve core is fully seated and does not leak air once the tire has been mounted and inflated. And always install the cap to keep out dirt and moisture.

Maybe...  My '85 Chevy 3/4 ton has metal stems & tires that Chevy says to inflate to 80 psi on the door placard.  My '01 Chevy 1 ton dually has rubber stems & tires that Chevy says to inflate to 65 psi (see correction in first post) on the door placard.

Hi Steve,

Not that this is your trouble but something of the same nature. I purchased a 95 Cherokee 3-horse slant all al.about five years ago and had the tires replaced within a few days of purchasing it. I had special trailer service tires put on locally and when returning from my first long trip had run on a mostly flat tire long enough to ruin the sidewall in that tire. Took it back to the tire store and wasn't sure what caused the leak to start with but noticed the valve stem was cracked. Went ahead and bought a new tire after about 230 miles of use on the flat one. Around a year later coming back from the same campground my wife had a flat and ruined the sidewall on another tire and when I looked it over good had the same problem with the valve stem cracking and loosing air. This time when I took the tire back to the tire store I confronted the dealer about this problem and he admited that they probably didn't replace the old stems cause" some people don't want to pay the extra for the new ones".

Needless to say I wasn't to pleased with the idea that i'd spent that much money to be safe while travelling with the horses and the tire dealer wanted to rip me off for the cost off 4 new valve stems.

It was a joke to tell me that they'd leave the old ones in cause people didn't want to pay the extra for new ones.

He did replace the second tire after some harsh words between use but I'd never buy from them again.

But enough rambling about that and to say to be carefull to not step on the stems when opening trailer windows etc. and that as a previous poster noted that the 80# stems are at least mostly metal except for the actual part that seats in the rim. Sounds like that your problem should be solved with the 100# stems you have now. My tire dealer did replace the remaining three stems while replacing the last tire and I never had any more trouble with flats up untill the time that i sold the trailer this past fall.

Hosspuller,

Great article on valve stems,very informative,glad you posted it.Since my troubles with this i've paid much closer attenion to whats being done to my tires and or vehicle when took to the shop.No fun looking at a brand new tire flat with the sidewall ruined when you just got the things put on about a week earlier.

Just a side note, I've not had this experiance since the last tire replacement and as mentioned in my last post the trailer has since been sold , but in others experiance is it allways that difficult to tell when your tire is running low on air as it was on this particular type of trailer? This trailer had rubber torsion axles rated at 7000# and was fairly light weight. The tire would be very low and you'd never know it. Just wondering if all the rubber torsion axled trailers are all this way.

                                             Ardly

As one who has worked with tires for years, I can assure you that there are many rubber valve stems available that are rated for 100 PSI, and these are the type stems that trailer manufacturers use. Metal valve stems can also have issues with sealing to the rim, so they also are not fool-proof. If you couldn't determine the problem with your first set of tires, then the problem wasn't valve stems. Tires can fail for many reasons, but valve stems problems are extremely rare. When tires fail on trailers you need to look at tire pressure, load, speed, and ambient air temperatures. When you do your "long hauls" stop periodically and check the temperature of the tires. If the tires are hot, Slow Down!! Before you leave on a trip make sure the trailer is being towed level, inflate the cold tires to the maximum pressure as listed on the sidewall, and watch your speed. Everything becomes more critical when air temperature and speeds increase. Violate any of these rules and you will lose many tires on "long hauls", and it won't be due to valve stems!

Thx all for your thoughts. I pull 150 mph at Road Atlanta and Watkins Glen in my BMW  before hammering on the brakes and turning right, so I am a big believer in quality wheels, tires and now valves!

hospuller: Great article ! Bang on ! But sad there are no standards when you think about the impact a faulty valve could have on the lives of our animals and our loved ones. And there is no way I can identify the maker of a shredded valve.

xyzer & sporty; Wasnt the wheel cover. My wife runs without them so she can torque the wheels regularily with the torque wrench she keeps in the trailer. Lost two tires and saved two.

ardy; I agree- always replace valves w/new tires. Its cheap insurance. Mine were original valves in original wheels with original tires. The appearance of deflation on the tire of a dual axle trailer with no load was slight, and on the move I dont usually adjust my mirror to look at the bottom of my tires. Luckily because we turned into a gas station both times, the tires rolled slightly. We now kick our tires every stop -about every 2 1/2 hrs.

mechguy: Agree with all your rules. But per my above comments I seem to be already following them all, and none of them address how to prevent the two split valves I had in my hands. Cant confirm the first two tires were lost to valves because all I got to see were two sets of sidewalls my wife returned with. Interestingly the new tires got new valves, and on the second trip it was the two remaining original tires and valves that both blew. That seems to eliminate my driving style as there is a definite pattern with the failure of all four OEM assemblies.

Closing thoughts: My friends called tonite to say they ended up splitting three valves and investing $100 on their day trip back from PA.  Whats that article about the "Customer Pays "?  steve 

Mechguy,

Maybe I didn't make myself perfectly clear on my last post. When I reffered to not being able to tell about a low pressure situation on this particular trailer I was reffering to the way that it handled during towing.

Both incidents where we ruined a tire there was little to no indication that the tire was low while traveling down the road,(no sway,noise,pull,etc.).But yet by the time it was realized that the tire was low it was long to late.

I did not mean to imply that the tires were not gauged to begin with. Simply that there was practically no differance in the towing when they went low. To further clarify my particular case, the valve stems were not checked on the remaining three tires until the second tire failure at which time I realized that they were obviously old and very much dryrotted with distinct cracks incircling the intire  stem all the way thru the stem

As posted earlier I never considered that a tire dealer would leave old tire valves in the rim with new tires.

Believe me I check now.

                                                      Ardly