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Wheel Pants Woes

R

RFSchaller

Well Known Member
Those wheel pants look great, but today I had a low tire and had to add air. What a pain in the butt compared to my Cherokee. Has anybody come up with a convenient way to add air? I thought about a door or access cover, but it seems like I wouldn't be able to reach the cap the get it off the stem. How about extensions on the stems? Any ideas, guys?
 
Drill a 7/8" or 1" hole to match up with the valve stem. Use a snap in plug from Home Depot to cover the hole. Use a straight piece of rubber hose to install and remove the valve cap and use a screw on valve stem extension to add air.

Total, you'll spend $15, and your biggest challenge will be finding the correct distance from the axle centerline to drill the hole.
 
Try one of these!

Or you could order one of these from Cleveland Tools.:)
Oh and leave the valve stem caps off!;)
06ec613937d6f98f6aaf687b5eaf84ee_zps736aac1c.jpg

2014a29eb8546c80b38aa5f2e68ef374_zpsbfd8eb09.jpg
 
Hey John,

That's cool.

Could you please provide a link to that item?

Thank you in advance.


Drifty :)
 
Get good tubes

Regardless of your choice of valve stem access, the best insurance against frequent re-airing is a better-quality tire tube. The Michelins on my 6A required airing only a couple of times a year.

RV-12 is still riding on stock Vans rubber for now...

Jim
 
The outboard fairing mount, forward section has a hole in it large enough to insert and use the inline airchuck previously described. Transfer that hole to the front outboard wheel pant and drill it. Use the aforementioned snap plug and your done. I filled my tubes with nitrogen and it lasts much, much longer between fillings.
 
remember those flat rubber plugs in the bottom of piggy banks?
here is a site that has them nationalartcraft.com

bob noffs
 
Jetguy said:
Here's the link for the Tire inflation tool from Cleveland Tool.:D
http://www.cleavelandtool.com/Analog-Tire-Inflation-Tool/productinfo/VSI40/#.UiXh8n-ZaCg
Click to expand...

Also Order the valve cap tool . It works great even with the yellow valve stem caps (a little larger) with a little fine tuning with a unibit.

VSSET_sm.jpg


I carry the extension and cap tool in the plane in case I am out flying and need air. The gauge tire inflation tool in the hanger.

Item #: VSSET
$22.00


Mark you tires with a vertical mark to align when rolling the plane to get to the valve stem ( I used silver sharpie )
 
Dvalcik said:
Also Order the valve cap tool . It works great even with the yellow valve stem caps (a little larger) with a little fine tuning with a unibit.

VSSET_sm.jpg
Click to expand...

Just to share an experience for others...

This would be a good thing to have rather than leaving the valve cap off. I used to do this, and eventually enough grit and grime got into the valve that after filling the tires one day, one valve would no longer seat properly. Came out to the hangar the next day to a completely flat tire. Installed a new valve and was good to go, but it wouldn't have been convenient if I was away.
 
java said:
Just to share an experience for others...

This would be a good thing to have rather than leaving the valve cap off. I used to do this, and eventually enough grit and grime got into the valve that after filling the tires one day, one valve would no longer seat properly. Came out to the hangar the next day to a completely flat tire. Installed a new valve and was good to go, but it wouldn't have been convenient if I was away.
Click to expand...

If you use an air nozzle that has a manual flow valve (like the one from Cleveland Tool) and give a blast of air before pushing the nozzle tight on the valve stem, it will blow all of the crud out of the valve stem before blowing it inside. I have been doing this for over 20 years on RV's and have never had a valve leak.
 
So how do you line up the valve stem with whatever hole you've created in the fairing? Sounds like a lot of back and forth pushing and peeking.

Also, how do you check your tires' condition - tread, cuts, etc?

I have three finished and painted pants sitting on the shelf. They look great, but I have no desire to install them. Sound like one more PITA.

Bob Bogash
N737G
 
NASA515 said:
So how do you line up the valve stem with whatever hole you've created in the fairing? Sounds like a lot of back and forth pushing and peeking.
Click to expand...

Dave already gave the answer...

Dvalcik said:
Mark you tires with a vertical mark to align when rolling the plane to get to the valve stem ( I used silver sharpie )
Click to expand...

Move the airplane until you see the mark at the bottom of the tire.
 
It costs to look cool!

Going fast and looking cool has a price.:eek: In this case more maintenance.:rolleyes:
 
OK, dumb Bob already figured out some sort of scheme like that. BUT - as they are wont to say - the three tire stems aren't lined up together. More pushing and peeking to get the marks lined up for each tire.

I think I'll stick with my short pants, to keep Antonio happy.

Bob Bogash
N737G
 
I put valve access holes and grommets in our RV-6 (pre-pressure recovery) fairings (we call them 'spats' in the UK). Never used them.

It was far quicker to remove the fairings than try and line up the hole, remove the dust cap etc.

I agree with others: I prefer to inspect the tyre ('tire') and brakes, remove any grass, mud etc from the fairing.

So on the 12, we just remove the front half of the fairing, inspect, clean, check the tyre pressure, refit the fairing half. I reckon it doesn't really take much longer than with an access hole by the time you've lined it up etc.
 
I have a set (2) of those spring-loaded round buttons/doors posted earlier that I'll sell for $25.00 if you are interested. Never used of course. They are the same ones pictured in the previous post. Includes mailing to the lower 48.
 
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