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  1. #1
    Site Sponsor Steven@147's Avatar
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    Well Crap! Ram Tire Puncture

    This last weekend we were out with the RV. Had a great time with the Texas Alamo Chapter Escapee's group. Went to go in town with the truck and just happen to manually check the trucks tire air pressures through the EVIC, the right rear outside dual showed 37# Crap! Went back to the campground and found a screw in the tire. Very hot this weekend, heat index over 100 degrees made it a real pain and sweat job. I carry a tire plug kit, so got the tire off and plugged it for now. Got the tire plug inserted deep in the tire so the increased air and weight pressure wouldn't blow the plug back out. First time I had the new trucks tire jack kit out and used it, worked ok. Damn just hate to plug a relatively new tire.

    Tire Plug Kit - Good thing to carry with you, reamer T handle, plug insert T handle and a pack of 6 or so plugs. Used our VIAIR 12V portable air compressor - worked great. Went the rest of the weekend and towed the RV back home, no more problems. Kept and eye on the truck and RV tire monitors for any more problems.

    Through this hot and sweaty job (just glad I wasn't towing the RV at the time) I kept thinking why didn't the truck TPMS system alert me to a low tire? Well I have since found out it depends on whether you have a TPIS (Tire Pressure Information System) or TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System) the TPIS system doesn't have alerts it only displays the tire pressures. On Ram 3500 trucks or over 10K GVWR they only have a TPIS system and rotating the tires correctly becomes and issue.

    Oh and with duals, be sure when you put the tire back on you get the air valve stem in the right place on the duals (valve stems facing eachother accessed through the same hole in the rim) I almost put the tire back on wrong with the sweat dripping in my eyes, but caught my mistake before I tightened all the lugs.
    Last edited by Steven@147; 07-16-2019 at 11:31 AM.
    Steve & Tami Cass - Escapee's, FMCA Members, Texas Fulltimers Since July 2020
    2019 Solitude 3350RL S-Class, 2018 Ram 3500 DRW, Laramie Longhorn, B&W Companion, Texas Class A Non-CDL Drivers License
    Sharing the Fulltime Lifestyle - www.youtube.com/@tsrvadventures3219/videos, Nonprofit Channel

  2. #2
    Site Sponsor Steven@147's Avatar
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    Now I know to check the trucks EVIC tire pressure screen often since there are no warnings with this system. We usually leave the EVIC on the fuel mileage screen, can't do that anymore if I want to see what is going on with the trucks tires.
    Well I have learned something else on my 3500 Ram DRW I hadn't really thought about, tire rotation. Since I have the Alcoa rims you can't do a normal 6 tire rotation because the rear dual inner rims are black steel. So in that case for the front tires you swap the front Alcoa rim/tires side to side. Then for the rear dual rim/tires you swap the inner black steel rim tires side to side, and the rear outer Alcoa rim/tires side to side. At least that is what is in some FCA owners manuals. I suppose you could swap the outside Alcoa dual rear rim/tires to the front and front Alcoa rim/tires to the back outside dual.
    The only other conventional way of rotating the tires is to have them broken down and have the tires moved between the rims. Well I'm not going to do that. I figure just moving them to a different place is sufficient.

    I've also learned the Ram TPIS gets confused sometimes and reports erroneous tire pressures or when swapping rims or putting on the spare ( I ran the spare a little while when the left front tire got a knot on it a week ago) and it takes it several miles to get itself straightened out. This time after I plugged the right rear outside tire and put it back on and aired it to 65 psi, I noticed on the EVIC the other three rear tires were reading 71 PSI. I hadn't even touched them. Checked them with my Viair good gauge and they were actually 65 PSI. After we drove the truck for several miles it finally got itself right, 65 PSI in each of the rear wheels and 80 in both fronts.

    Never even crossed my mind, TPIS Vs TPMS on 3500 Ram trucks, rotating tires when we bought the truck with having different steel and Aloca rims on the truck, I was more concerned about payload and towing cap. Live and learn.
    Steve & Tami Cass - Escapee's, FMCA Members, Texas Fulltimers Since July 2020
    2019 Solitude 3350RL S-Class, 2018 Ram 3500 DRW, Laramie Longhorn, B&W Companion, Texas Class A Non-CDL Drivers License
    Sharing the Fulltime Lifestyle - www.youtube.com/@tsrvadventures3219/videos, Nonprofit Channel

  3. #3
    Site Sponsor gbkims's Avatar
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    I've got the steel spare up on the front left and moved Alcoa that had been the front left over to the right front side for awhile.
    The EVIC gives a reading for front left and dashes for the front right that's back under the truck right now.
    That threw me at first till I realized what it was doing, no reading for the old front right since it's not rotating and showing the right front tire reading as front left.

    Also weighed the tires while I was swapping them around: Alcoa 67.5 lbs, Steel 83 lbs.
    - Gene

    Kim & Gene
    2015 Reflection 317RST
    2017 Ram 3500 CC LB 4x2 6.7 CTD AISIN 3.73 DRW Auto Level Rear Air, BD3, Prodigy P3, Aux Tank

  4. #4
    Fireside Member 1st Cav Duke's Avatar
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    Glad you caught that and got it taken care of before it went all the way down. Tire blowouts a major worry in the back of my mind. My new Chevy one Ton doesn't even have a Tire Pressure monitoring system. Chevy One tons don't come equipped with that particularly important SAFETY SYSTEM! Just found that out.

  5. #5
    Site Sponsor Steven@147's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by gbkims View Post
    I've got the steel spare up on the front left and moved Alcoa that had been the front left over to the right front side for awhile.
    The EVIC gives a reading for front left and dashes for the front right that's back under the truck right now.
    That threw me at first till I realized what it was doing, no reading for the old front right since it's not rotating and showing the right front tire reading as front left.

    Also weighed the tires while I was swapping them around: Alcoa 67.5 lbs, Steel 83 lbs.
    Well that is confusing as heck.I wonder if the TPIS will update and get it right eventually. That is not too bad 16# difference in the rims, I wondered about that.
    Steve & Tami Cass - Escapee's, FMCA Members, Texas Fulltimers Since July 2020
    2019 Solitude 3350RL S-Class, 2018 Ram 3500 DRW, Laramie Longhorn, B&W Companion, Texas Class A Non-CDL Drivers License
    Sharing the Fulltime Lifestyle - www.youtube.com/@tsrvadventures3219/videos, Nonprofit Channel

  6. #6
    Site Sponsor Steven@147's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 1st Cav Duke View Post
    Glad you caught that and got it taken care of before it went all the way down. Tire blowouts a major worry in the back of my mind. My new Chevy one Ton doesn't even have a Tire Pressure monitoring system. Chevy One tons don't come equipped with that particularly important SAFETY SYSTEM! Just found that out.
    Yup! Glad I wasn't towing at the time! It would have been a real PITB with the 5er hitched up.
    It just irritates me to no end. I have never had so many tire puncture problems as we do since moving to TX. Yes its not a very pleasant experience and can be dangerous changing flats on a TV or an RV depending on where you happen to be at the time.

    I have tried to be as prepared as can be if the situation happens again, and it will happen again. I have the triangular warning signs to place out. I have a bright orange reflective safety vest to wear. I thought I had all the tools and jacks necessary and a flat board to place under the jacks if necessary, but found for this incident I was missing a 22 mm socket to use on the torque wrench to attach to the truck's factory lug extension tool to go deep in the rear duals. I just used my trusty old fashion cross bar lug wrench tool to tighten the lugs. I torqued them down correctly later. The socket is in the tool kit now and I got some more of those really sticky tire plug packs.
    Steve & Tami Cass - Escapee's, FMCA Members, Texas Fulltimers Since July 2020
    2019 Solitude 3350RL S-Class, 2018 Ram 3500 DRW, Laramie Longhorn, B&W Companion, Texas Class A Non-CDL Drivers License
    Sharing the Fulltime Lifestyle - www.youtube.com/@tsrvadventures3219/videos, Nonprofit Channel

  7. #7
    Seasoned Camper Bob/OlallaWA's Avatar
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    Don't be fooled by the bright orange vest. Stay out of the traffic area, stuff happens and the vest won't stop anything. Drive on the flat to a safe area away from traffic.
    2019 GMC 3500 HD:)
    2016 Reflection 313RLTS:cool:

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