Slow Tire Leak

[J&G]

Got my new Escape less than a year ago. Have about 10000 miles on it. On a trip now and have to add about a pound of air each evening on passenger side front tire. Should I put on the spare? Do I need to know anything special about changing a tire on a trailer? I have never done this before. Gloria

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by J&G

Got my new Escape less than a year ago. Have about 10000 miles on it. On a trip now and have to add about a pound of air each evening on passenger side front tire. Should I put on the spare? Do I need to know anything special about changing a tire on a trailer? I have never done this before. Gloria

Do you have aluminum rims ? We have had issues with slow leaks with aluminum rims .Removing the tire and cleaning the rim solves the problem for a while . Also check your valve stem , they often develop slow leaks . Tightening the insert in the stem may solve the problem . On my wife's car I have to fill the tires weekly , they loose about 5 lbs pressure in that time frame. We carry a 12V DC air compressor when traveling , it has come in handy on several occasions.

[advenas]

One thing I've always put on my tires.....go buy the metal valve stem caps with the neoprene seals in them...they cost a few bucks. The cheap plastic ones they put on at the tire store don't seal well and its been my experience valve stems leak a tiny bit. The neoprene seals sure work.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by J&G

On a trip now and have to add about a pound of air each evening on passenger side front tire. Should I put on the spare?

I would only bother with putting on the spare if I wanted to take the leaking tire off for examination or repair... but if I left the leaking tire in place I would certainly check it more often. It's certainly worth some effort to figure out what is going on.

Originally Posted by J&G

Do I need to know anything special about changing a tire on a trailer? I have never done this before.

• Most trailers - including this one - do not come with a jack or have a well-planned place to put a jack, so a lot more attention to jacking up is required than with a car. Since the Escape 19' has tandem axles, the usual workaround to this is to run the good tire on same side of the trailer up on a ramp, leaving the one you want to change hanging in the air.
• Unlike a car or pickup truck, the trailer doesn't come with a wrench for the wheel nuts... so you need to get one of those if you don't have one already.
• The wheel studs and nuts are larger in diameter than those on a typical car - they're sized like a pickup truck. That means that more torque (more force or a longer wrench) is required to remove them and to properly tighten them, compared to a car.
• When the wheel is re-installed on a modern car or truck, the wheel fits the hub in a way that ensures that the wheel is centred on the hub. With the trailer, there is nothing in the hub and wheel design to do this alignment, so a lot more effort and care is required to get the wheel properly centred and the nuts properly seated. This is why the nuts are supposed to be re-torqued after driving for a while - they probably didn't seat properly when the wheel was first installed.

It might look like a long list, but changing the wheel (tire) on a trailer is a completely manageable task. This might be an opportunity to learn how to do it, rather than at the side of a highway later.

[J&G]

Thank you all!

[Ron in BC]

As Brian said plus;

Running one wheel up on blocks does save jacking the trailer up. A piece of 2 by whatever isn't usually quite thick enough to lift the other wheel quite off the ground. A piece of 3/4" material plus the 2 by material for a total of 2 1/4" is usually enough although it also depends on the whether the surface is a hard or soft one.

Also, if you're going to get familiar with the process buy an inexpensive torque wrench. That's a topic that's been hotly discussed on the forum.

And, of course, when the wheel's still on the ground, loosen the lugs.

It's a good skill to have and knowing how to do it will give you peace of mind even if you have a good car club plan. Sometimes you might not have cell service.

Ron

[cpaharley2008]

If there is a object causing the leak, towing can only do more harm as the hole will become enlarged. If you can not find anything in the tire, take it to a tire store where they can place it in water and find the leak source.

[Iowa Dave]

If I know I am loosing air from a tire I avoid the immediate chance of it getting worse by getting to a tire store or place where I can get it fixed. I am not able to live with " I should have". Maybe it's because I fixed hundreds of flat tires as a young guy who worked in a genuine service station. Slow leaks don't get slower. YMMV
Iowa Dave

[thoer]

Originally Posted by Iowa Dave

If I know I am loosing air from a tire I avoid the immediate chance of it getting worse by getting to a tire store or place where I can get it fixed. I am not able to live with " I should have". Maybe it's because I fixed hundreds of flat tires as a young guy who worked in a genuine service station. Slow leaks don't get slower. YMMV
Iowa Dave

I second everything Dave said! I had a very slow leak that turned out to be drywall screw in the tire, and it suddenly became a flat tire (luckily in the garage) when it wore the hole bigger around that screw.

[J&G]

Thanks sgain, everyone. Got the spare on and took the leaking tire to be checked. It had a nail. It is repaired but can I use it as the spare and keep the spare on where it is instead of going theough the whole changing tire process again?

[thoer]

Gloria, as long as you spare is the same size as the other tire, there is no reason not to leave it on and put the repaired one on the spare holder. Just be sure to recheck that the lug nuts are tight after you drive it a bit.

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by J&G

Thanks sgain, everyone. Got the spare on and took the leaking tire to be checked. It had a nail. It is repaired but can I use it as the spare and keep the spare on where it is instead of going theough the whole changing tire process again?

Yes and another reason to have all 5 wheels matching.

[Iowa Dave]

Yes you can leave the spare on. I am assuming it's the same size as the four originals on the ground. And since
It's As new as it is it might be preferable to run it on a continued basis rather than go back to a tire that's been fixed as a runner. You might want to check tire pressures all
Around just so the spare you are now running is fully inflated and check the one you had fixed in a couple days to make sure it's staying up. YMMV
Dave

[Iowa Dave]

Wow advice from three old guys who have had a lot of flat tires in their 150 combined years of driving. What's a "boot" any way?
Dave

[thoer]

Originally Posted by Iowa Dave

... What's a "boot" any way?
Dave

How some Canadians say "about"?

[escape artist]

Originally Posted by Iowa Dave

Wow advice from three old guys who have had a lot of flat tires in their 150 combined years of driving. What's a "boot" any way?
Dave

Hi: Iowa Dave... A "boot" is where you keep your tyre. A bonnet is where you keep your motor!!! Its about all that combining. Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by thoer

How some Canadians say "about"?

I think some inThe Marimes might, but we all say a-bowt around here.

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by thoer

How some Canadians say "about"?

Yah, similar to Americans saying "ruff" instead of "roof"

Ron

[thoer]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

Yah, similar to Americans saying "ruff" instead of "roof"

Ron

Creek and crick.....

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

Yah, similar to Americans saying "ruff" instead of "roof"

Ron

Or pronouncing the French word, foyer, as foy-yer instead of foy-yay.