2017 Spirit 31K Rear Wheel Covers

[shemphill]

This has probably been asked hundreds of times so please forgive my ignorance. We just bought a 2017 Spirit 31K on an E-450 Chassis. As you know getting to the Schrader valves through the wheel covers is difficult. Id like to be able to remove the wheel covers when I check/add air to make life easier. I have read several posts about removing the wheel covers that said there should be two of the fake lug nut covers that are marked with a notch. Those hold the wheel covers on. I should be able to remove those two and the wheel cover just falls off. None of the fake lug nut covers on the 2017 are marked and the center does not appear to be attached as I can flex it with the center cap all the way around.

Question being, are these just normal wheel covers that I can remove with the lug wrench or a hub cap tool? I don't want to start prying on them and bend anything so thought I'd ask.

Thanks!

 

[creativepart]

I don't know the 2017 Sprint personally, but doubt that those are wheel covers or hub caps. Unless you have real aluminum wheels those covers are called "Simulators" because they simulate aluminum wheels.

Rather than take them off every time you air up, which will be a big pain, you'll be better served with metal valve extensions that make tire adjusting much easier than removing the simulators.

There are external screw on extensions but I've not had any luck with those working very long. Instead replacing the stock valves with new extended valves is the way to go - though not inexpensive. I got mine on Amazon and then had Discount Tire put them on. But, Discount or Big O Tires may have the extensions in stock and you can just call them to determine if you need to supply them. The tires have to be demounted to add the new extended valves.

 

[Morich]

A somewhat recent post that might offer some pictures to look deeper?

Alcoa lug nut covers

Greetings I am going to try polishing the Alcoa wheels on our 2020 View. My questions are: -how do the lug nut covers come off? -are the center caps removable without unmounting the wheel? I have the wheels with 6 rectangular slots Did the wheel weights REALLY have to be mounted on the...

www.winnieowners.com

But then I might also throw in my thoughts on a different way to go as it cuts the labor of checking and trying to chase getting the correct air pressure?
It costs a bit more but does give a lot of value for the money!
I will never run an RV again without having tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS)!

Two big reasons for a tight person like myself to turn loose of that extra cash.
One is that it can save a huge amount of money if it prevents even one tire blowout! Second and what prompted me to go this way is how much less stress and work I have to do.
I have found that it is folly to try to set tire pressure exactly right before starting a trip.
Once I got a fulltime monitor to tell me what the temp and pressure were doing, I stopped chasing it as I found I was never going to get it totally right.
You may have some Texas experience and know how the sun changes the temperature of the sunny side of the car?
It does the same on your tires! So every time you go East to West, you get different temps in one side versus when you go West to EAST! When you park the sunny tires will be warmer than the shady side, so how do we expect to keep the temperature and pressure correct if it changes every time we change directions?


So I certainly do not want to run down the road with an inside dual that has lost air as that is one sure way to let a blown tire wreck the side of the RV as it leaves the rim!
I also don't want to be nervous enough to stop every few miles to check manually!

My preference is buying good insurance but the TPMS is far better in my view as it can actually prevent the loss, rather than just help me recover!
Put the car in the garage BEFORE the hail, rather than fight the repair?

How does this involve what you are asking?
Once you set the TPMS up and put the sensors out where you can reach them, taking the wheel sims off is really a RARE THING!
How do you check tire pressure? Just look at the dash monitor!

 

[shemphill]

Thanks! I can see where I can get a "Tire Minder" system fairly reasonably which will keep me off my knees checking tire pressure for sure. I'm going to talk to Discount Tire this afternoon about getting some extenders put on and I'll ask about the TPMS too. Thanks for the help!

 

[Morich]

Actually one of the harder parts of making it easy will be choosing which system and some of the details like how to mount the senser to the wheels. there are now loads of different brands and types as well as many different ways to mount them. My brother and I were both shopping at near the same time and we each bought totally different types of sensers for what we each felt were correct for us!
He was certain that he wanted to be able to change the batteries in them , while I was more concerned about getting them sealed well enough to keep water from getting in as we drove in water!

As it turned out, we both sold those RV before the issues came up to bite either one of us! His batteries never ran down to need change and mine never corroded!
Sometimes it seems the main problem is we put off doing SOMETHING!

And that is where we each may find a difference in what we see going forward. My main pain on setup was not the mounting, but adjusting the level for the various alarms like low or high pressure.
I started out with the idea that I wanted to know when the temperature or pressure moved off my set point and that turned out to be way too tight!
Our first surprise was the low pressure alarm going off near dawn on our first trip as the outside temps had dipped and it thought my tires were too low as they lost pressure!
Then we broke camp and left, only to find it thought they were too high as I drove and they warmed up!
At that point, I began to find the work I had done over the years to struggle to keep the right air in the tires was likely to not matter!

I have a bad knee and I thick you may like not crawling!

 

[shemphill]

It's funny you say that. We rented a Class A last year and took it down to Fredericksburg for my father's 90th birthday party. The next morning I woke up to an alarm and I had no idea what it was until I found the tire pressure monitor. It cooled down overnight and set off the alarm. HA HA HA. Yeah the Tire Minder looks like the sensors screw on to the end of the valve stems. Looks like a pretty simple setup provided you can get to the valve stems. I checked with Discount tire and they do stock some long metal valve stems that will make it allot easier. No

 

[Morich]

That's where some details can get lots of different ideas as we each think it over!
One of those details involves how to mount the sensors and what type stems.
Some feel solid stems are needed.
I find it very difficult to find a set of stems that fit all wheels, front, rear in and out are often slightly different and the holes in the sims and rims are slightly different, making each sensor mounting a trek to find the solution for each one.
There are always different thoughts on what amount of strength is needed in the attachment to keep the rotation of the wheel from moving the sensor around too much as that tends to make the stems move on every tire rotation.
Even a few ounces of sensor makes a lot of pressure as it swings around the tire at 60 MPH!
I spent way too much time at truck stops for a while and I tried looking at what trucks do as I think they will have more experience in one year than I plan to get in a lifetime!
So I see most trucks have their sensors placed in some solid way.
Screwed to a metal strap is common?

I go somewhat for the ease of shopping but also do some personal work to let the valve extensions fit most any direction or place I want to mount the sensors.

My way is not always what others favor, so this is just my way!
I find a quality braided flexible extension and bring the end out to a spot which I can reach easily for any sensor or air work I will need in the future. Then I cut a small section of thin aluminum angle stock, drill it to fit the stems and then pop rivet it to the thin metal wheel sims. Hacksaw, file, drill and rivet gun?


But when done, I have easy shopping for the extensions, screw them on the existing valves as a way to avoid taking the RV to a shop to have the tires removed and broken down to place any new valve stems and then when it is screwed together, I cut the chances of any leaks at that joint by adding a touch of blue Loctite to reduce any chance of them backing off to leak. I find it easy to twist, turn, or bend the flexible to reach any space where I put the DIY metal bracket with the sensor mounted firmly where I want it with no worry about it swinging far enough to break any spot in the stem.

It takes me a bit more work to set one up but I have never worried after it is in place.

Except for getting the alarms set wide enough to actually fit what I now see the tire pressure does as the day goes along!

 

[shemphill]

I hope you you are all safe out there. I was in between Fredericksburg and Kerrville on the 3rd-5th. We went down to participate in the Fredericksburg 4th of July parade. Tragic loss of life