'03 Dually 4x4 Tire Rotation by Dealer

[DuallyFox]

About 3 weeks ago I had my truck serviced... to include having the tires rotated. I haven't been home much and only drove the truck home and a little around town (with no load) but today I decided to check the air pressure. Here's what I noticed:



1) The extended valve stems were not removed from the rear tires before going to the front, so now they are on the front tires. I should have noticed this but didn't (it's dark a lot up here in Alaska now). Of course this means the rear tires had the stem caps. I switched them.



2) No tire pressure adjustments were made after the tires were rotated. This means that each set of rears were at a different pressure (55 and 40). Tire pressure problem now fixed.



3) Last issue... the outside rear tires (facing outward) are marked "side facing inwards. " Is this because of the dually factor or is it because the OWL is white on the other side. I don't know.



I'll forever kick myself for not checking the work but do you think any harm was done? The dealer is going to rotate the rears tomorrow but the service tech didn't seemed concerned over the phone and implied that the tires are ok but they will move the rears around to make me happy.



What do you think... am I making a mountain out of a mole hill?

 

[Bill Stockard]

The '03/04 dually Laramies have a different tire rotation because of the OWL tires. The diagram is in your Owner's Manual.



I rotate mine myself, check each tire carefully for cuts, abrasions, nails, etc. while its off the truck, adjust pressures, and tighten the lug nuts with a torque wrench... not my air powered impact wrench. I do use the air impact to remove the lug nuts, however.

I also replaced the el-cheapo rubber valve stems with steel ones.



Bill

 

[DuallyFox]

Bill,

Roger. I'm very familiar with the owners manual. It was my choice, for a lot of reasons that apply to me, to have the dealer rotate my tires.

My issues have to do with (dealer) the lack of attention to detail and not following the book. If I had done it, these would not have been issues... but I didn't and therefore, they are. -Roy

 

[Casey Balvert]

Since the truck wasn't loaded and since you didn't put a lot of miles on it I doubt there was any damage done to the tires. The problem as I see it would arise in the different wear rates due to the different pressures in the rear tires. However, I would take it back to the dealer and tell them exactly which tire goes where and have them change it. While they are doing that have a nice little chat with the service manager. No excuse for that kind of sloppy work. FWIW



Casey

 

[rbattelle]

Dually,



I agree that there should be no harm done to your tires. However, if I were you I'd be really ****** that a dealership can't even be trusted to do something as simple as a tire rotation and not screw it up. This dealer is obviously lazy as all get out. I don't necessarily blame the technician for this, I think the blame lies squarely on service dept. management. A good service manager will ensure his people are performing to exceed customer expectations.

 

[rbattelle]

Wow! I never knew there was an automatic sensor on these boards! The "******" in the above post was a slang reference that in proper medical terms would be "I'd be really urinated... ". Wow! That's actually kind of a cool feature of Vbulletin! I always assumed when I saw that people were doing it voluntarily. You learn something new every day. :-laf :-laf :-laf

 

[InThinAir]

So this is probably a stupid question but I just purchased my first dually on Friday. And thinkin was never a strong part of my character. How do you check the tire pressure on a a dually? I looked at the rear wheels and I can see the valve stems, the outside Valve stem points directly in towards the truck and the pressure guage that I use cannot reach in there, backwards I guess. I can see that the inside valve stem points out but is also way in there. So do I need a special pressure guage, and do I need a special tip for my compressor to fill them? I guess some kinda double sided pressure guage will work? Any suggestions?



---Doug

 

[daytripper63]

If raised letters on tires now facing inside after rotation from front to rear then tire is now turning opposite direction of original wear

Not 100% sure if this is still a no no with radial tires but years ago doing this would cause radial tires to separate.

 

[Casey Balvert]

Air, you need a special dual headed truck gauge to check the pressures.



Daytripper, I don't think that changing rotation direction is an issue with modern radials.



Casey

 

[Fireman]

Fox,



That is why I perform all of my own routine maintenence, it eventually gets done right . Yes I occasionally make mistakes, but I recognise it and correct them. I would not do busness with an outfit that couldn't get a simple tire rotation right. There is no excuse for the way you were treated. It is unfortunate that most shops let their guys get away with such 1/2@$$ed work. I would keep looking untill I found someone that will do the work right .



Fireman

 

[rbattelle]

Changing rotation direction must not be a problem anymore, because in the required tire rotation patter put out by DC the front tires swap sides and move onto the back, which means they rotate in the opposite direction.

 

[KCJackson]

Originally posted by DuallyFox

3) Last issue... the outside rear tires (facing outward) are marked "side facing inwards. " Is this because of the dually factor or is it because the OWL is white on the other side. I don't know.

If you have the Wrangler GS/A tires (which have asymmetric tread), you must rotate them so that the more aggressive tread is on the inside - has nothing to do with the white letters.



With these tires, the only way to rotate them is to X-cross the fronts with the inside rears, and swap the outer rears side to side.

 

[JWChessell]

Real Dual Wheel Tire Air Pressure(s)

InThinAir:



You need to make up your own tire air pressure gauge. You need a double-headed female receiver, one that you can put on the rear tire stems, either pushing in towards the center of the truck when you check the outer tires, or pulling back towards you when you check the inner tires.



Purchase an 8" to 12" piece of 3/8" brass pipe to make an extension between the female receiver and the gauge. Seal with teflon tape.



Purchase an air pressure gauge with a 3/8" male nipple that will register to 100 lbs/sq in. Try to find one that will hold the reading until you release it with a push-button or valve. That way you can take pressures in the dark and read them with your flashlight after you've obtained the pressure. It's also very handy in the daytime, as it's usually very difficult to see the face of the gauge without releasing the air pressure.



When your rotate or change rear tires, make sure the spaces between the wheel spokes line up evenly on the outer and inner tires. Otherwise, you'll find yourself crawling underneath the vehicle to measure the inner tire pressures.