Trucks & Trailers - Flat Tire

Went to pick up my boat from where I store it and had a flat. This is a tandem axel and my tire repair shop is across the road. Took it them and they said it was leaking around the rim due to corrosion. These are galvanized rims. He said they cleaned it up and resealed the rim and I'm good to go.
Now I'm wondering if I should have them pull the other 3 and do the same thing.
Anybody seen this before? My rims do get wet on launch and I trailer 100%.

I never had that problem with galvanized rims. I would suggest checking the pressure from time to time and if you find one losing pressure, have it looked at.

I had just checked the pressure and brought them all up to 45 lbs 5 days before. This was more than a leak, it was flat.

Check them yourself for leaks periodically. You would be surprised how many tires have very small leaks around the rim. Use dish washing liquid and mix with water in a spray bottle.

Unless you do as polarred21 suggested, it may or may not have been the bead. Spray the entire tire and rim as well as valve stem.
It could have been the valve stem valve or seat in the rim.
It could have been a few grains of strategically positioned sand on the bead.
Could be leaking thru the sidewall.

If it is indeed leaking from bead corrosion, beat the area with a all rubber head mallet.
Really wail away at the rim/bead perimeter.
Often times the leak will go away, for awhile.

Often times the leak will go away, for awhile.


:rofl: oh, wow, talk about a comforting thought if the OP is planning a road trip, lol.

The alternative is to bite the bullet for 4 new tires/rims, though, and that's expensive.

I've had that happen as well.. Check them at the beginning of each trip.

Short term fix/preventative maintenance, pull all the rims, break the seals and inspect. Have some oil/grease applied to the bead (not that tire sealing goo) and you can get some more time out of it.

My long term recommendation, get a new set of rims - I really like the alloys now that I have a set.

:rofl: oh, wow, talk about a comforting thought if the OP is planning a road trip, lol.

The alternative is to bite the bullet for 4 new tires/rims, though, and that's expensive.

I have found that Leaks caused by corrosion on the bead tend to leak down more when setting still for prolonged periods.

The more the tire rim is used, the less likely it is to leak from corrosion in the bead area.

My guess is that frequent use keeps the tire bead moving back and forth ever so slightly as the tire flexes which is enough to keep the metal surface corrosion free via a polishing effect.

The longer it sets unused the corrosion sets in and causes a path for air to leak out.

So it could leak down sitting and then when aired up an used on a trip, the corrosion gets polished away into dust. And the leak might not come back until a long storage period.

Or do as ReelWork suggests and break them down, wire brush the rim bead, repaint and apply a sealer made for that job.

Thanks guys, I will probably let my tire guy break them down and reseal.

I am not sure I would worry about the other wheels but I would keep an eye on the tire pressure closely for awhile to insure they are not leaking. Might want to also consider how old your tires are and if you will need to replace them some time soon anyway. That be a better time to have your tire guy check all the wheels and clean them. If the tire was low in pressure when the boat was stored for winter, it would be easy for the tire to break its bead from weight of the boat and then lose all the air.

45 PSI for trailer tires... I would check your trailer book and the sidewalls of the tires because 50 PSI is usually the recommended cold tire pressure. Under inflation will destroy trailer tires and cause premature tread wear.

One more thing about low tires and falling air pressure...

Just had a tire valve replaced. It was installed right at a year ago, and that tire has had a slow leak for all of that time..very slight, just a pound or two a week. since I use my rig a lot, I am always checking it. Finally pulled the tire, and tire shop replaced the valve stem,..also told me ther is a BIG bad batch of them out there..one more thing we can thank our Chinese friends for..

I check the pressure every trip. The tires are late 2009 with about 2000 miles on them. They look fine. The rating is max 50 lb, I run them at 45, Is that a problem? The trailer is not loaded to the max either. It's a tandem 3600 lb with 2800 on board,