Best Way to Check/Inflate Inside Dually Tires

[Gran Casita]

Hey Guys, I know I'm a little late to the discussion, but I had to solve a few similar issues on my 2017 F-350 DRW.

(1) My first issue was the Ford Owner's Manual is clear on mounting the outer valve stem directly across from the inner valve stem (not 180-degrees). I don't know what Ford's logic is here, but it's clearly stated in the manual. The only thing I can figure is that if you try to align them 180-degrees apart, the outer rim covers the inner valve stem, which is what happened once when a Ford dealer did this in Florida.

(2) My second issue was my truck was plagued with leaking valve stems on three occasions. The frequency of this problem forced me to dive into this a little deeper. I discovered the dissimilar metals between the metal valve stem & the aluminum rim was leading to galvanic corrosion which led to the leaks.

My Solution: I ultimately had ALL (7) of my metal valve stems replaced with the "tried-and-true" rubber valve stems and I have not had any leaky valve stems since. (Knock on wood!) Just ensure the tire shop uses the "high pressure" rubber valve stems, not the standard rubber valve stems. Once the rubber valve stems were installed, the tire shop sold me a single 6-in. metal valve extension that I could use to reach the inner valve stem without removing the hub cap. The rubber valve stem bends just enough to allow me to screw on the extension. Once the extension is on, I can reach it easily with any air chuck.

Note: When I was addressing the leaky valve stems, the tire shops and the Ford dealers ruined several of my rear hub caps when they would pry them off. They would either scratch the hub cap horribly, or both scratch & indent the side of the hub cap. This led to me cautioning subsequent tire shops to please be mindful when removing the hub caps. One tire shop had a great alternative to using a standard hub cap remover. (the one with the hook on one end & the rubber bumper on the other end.) This shop used a hook connected with a short nylon strap that can be used to yank the hub cap off without scratching the side of the hub cap, or leaving black rubber marks on the inside of the aluminum rim.

Finally, I too can vouch for the VIAIR air compressors. They get the job done on all of my tires.

Good luck & safe travels! -Diego

[keywestparrothead]

Always wondered why no one else had tried that yet, see them on all the trucks.

I was told by a truck store here that the add-ons will increase the number of potential leak points... I am still headed down the extension path myself for all the reasons ya'll are mentioning here :-) Mine is twice as bad because I added TPMS to all the truck tires as well, so I have to reach between the rears to remove and reinstall the TPMS every time I want to air up. My only concern is the extension running between the inner and the outer, will it become a FOD (Foreign Object Debris) magnet and rip off going down the road?

[keywestparrothead]

On the note, mentioned here several times, about the chuck being too long I think the issue is the pass thru valve stem. I had a problem with one of mine leaking and took it off. One less leak point and it reduced the lenght of the stem by about 3/8" Just something to think about. I also worried about putting a chuck on the dirty pass through valve and sending whatever dirt was there into the tire. Great thread and thanks for all the suggestions!

[orbiker]

I took the easy way out.....

Attachment 15206

I run Crossfires on my RAM 3500. Have been for years, and they were frequently on heavier trucks I drove. Pretty much as simple of a system as you can get. Once plumbed, you've got a single port on each side to air up or air down. My only criticism is that the Crossfire's hoses are not made in a smaller lengths more appropriate for the wheel diameters of 550/5500 - 350/3500 trucks. Being the engineer I am, I also made a tire filling setup such that I can balance the pressure side to side with no fuss. Two air hoses that are 6 feet in length with locking tire valve chucks thread to a brass wye, which is then fed by a single hose with a mechanical gauge tire inflator. I can feed the inflator with shop air or from the nitrogen tank, depending on what I'm inflating.

Can I get more user info about the Crossfire System?
How hard is installation?

Thanks, KEN

[orbsah]

I've had my F-350 for about 2 months now and I really like it. But the valve stems really had me scratching my head when I tried to add a little air. Lots of good discussion here and I appreciate everyone's comments.

[geotex1]

Can I get more user info about the Crossfire System?
How hard is installation?

Thanks, KEN

If you have means to pull your outer wheel and a ratchet and wrench set, you should have everything installed in 30min. You just need to do a little reconnaissance first for your truck so that you can order the right bracket to hang the Crossfire valve, and to get the correct hose ends for connecting the hoses to the valve stems. I mention you may need to pull the outer wheels. This may be necessary to get at the inner wheel's valve stem to connect the hose properly and rotate it to the best clock position as you need stems at 180 degrees to one another.

Check out this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qHOATSE9SA

For my RAM 3500 with the optional ALCOA wheels, they come with caps that cover the hub and the lugnuts. So to make an attractive installation on my truck, I purchased a set of cheap aftermarket copies of these caps and cut the ends out of them so that they would still cover the lugnuts and the side of the hub but leave the axle bolts exposed as I mounted my Crossfire valve to one of the bolts. I used some POR-15 on the end of the hub and bolts to make it a really nice install. I'll try to grab a picture tomorrow if it's not still raining.

[Brother_Bluto]

Had the dealer rotate my rear stems so they are 180deg apart, as well as my Centramatics upon delivery. I thought about extensions... but really need to replace every couple of years and right now I am finding that even with my fat hands... I can get my TST's on both the inner and outer even with the Centramatics on. It's a little bit of work, but doable. Using a Milton 553 so there is some distance between me and the tires when inflating.

[Fsalmy]

I took the easy way out.....

Attachment 15206

Are those the Wheel Masters?

I saw a recent Changing Lanes episode with Chad installing the Dicor valve stem extensions on the driver's side after 4 mo of testing on the passenger side. The Dicor appear very similar to the Wheel Masters with the exception of the mounting brackets. Problem is that the Dicor seem to be backordered, maybe not even offered anymore. https://www.rvautoparts.com/VHS-N3GC...er_p_6180.html

[KausalityKid]

I run Crossfires on my RAM 3500. Have been for years, and they were frequently on heavier trucks I drove. Pretty much as simple of a system as you can get. Once plumbed, you've got a single port on each side to air up or air down. My only criticism is that the Crossfire's hoses are not made in a smaller lengths more appropriate for the wheel diameters of 550/5500 - 350/3500 trucks. Being the engineer I am, I also made a tire filling setup such that I can balance the pressure side to side with no fuss. Two air hoses that are 6 feet in length with locking tire valve chucks thread to a brass wye, which is then fed by a single hose with a mechanical gauge tire inflator. I can feed the inflator with shop air or from the nitrogen tank, depending on what I'm inflating.

I have no doubt you are an engineer by your post . Only an engineer would take a perfectly working solution - that probably was created, tested, tweaked, and tested again by multiple engineers - and take it apart, add a little something there, a little something here, put it back together (hmm, wonder where these extra pieces I have left over were supposed to go? Oh well), yell 'Eureka, it's alive', and then never say a word when it breaks.

Just messing with you. From another engineer.

[geotex1]

I have no doubt you are an engineer by your post . Only an engineer would take a perfectly working solution - that probably was created, tested, tweaked, and tested again by multiple engineers - and take it apart, add a little something there, a little something here, put it back together (hmm, wonder where these extra pieces I have left over were supposed to go? Oh well), yell 'Eureka, it's alive', and then never say a word when it breaks.

Just messing with you. From another engineer.

@KausalityKid - Welcome to the forum! You are so very right, and I started doing that as a child to boot! My worst is probably when I am building a new hot rod or restomod. I get absolutely neurotic about the details... lol!