Way OT: Making a trailer nose or jockey wheel tyre deflation-proof

In my experience they crack anyway. It's only cosmetic in this application and as I only use mine as a static support it doesn't matter if air is lost. Agree that maintaining pressure in yours is desirable.

Why is the air being lost? You mention filling the tube with foam so presumably have a tube - is the tube holed or just deteriorating?

Replace the axle with a bar/tube retained in a dismantlable manner? Through diametral holes at each end with clips or pins, or threaded axle ends and nuts. It's probably a good idea to have enough space for a washer at each end too.

I suspect that properly filling/expanding the tyre will prove difficult. You could try pumping some air in after filling with foam and before the foam 'sets'.

I suspect that it's poor quality inner tubes as I have tried replacing the tube a couple of times with no noticeable increase of inflation life.

Good idea!

Yep, that's pretty much what I was going to try.

Cheers

Richard

Stating the obvious but you have checked there is a thorn or something sticking out inside the tyre that punctures the tube the moment it's inflated inside? Have you checked for a puncture in the tubes?

Surely a tube/tyre full of expanding foam may as well be a solid tyre? Not sure a rock hard pnematic tyre is much different to a solid one on soft ground. I can see that a pnematic tyre on hard/rough ground would be an advantage.

I'm surprised the puncture gloop didn't work. One thing I can think of though is that this tyre/tube won't be rotated at anything like the speed a road tyre will be so maybe the gloop isn't distributed properly. Deflate the tube, squeeze out as much air a possible inject the gloop then massage it around to get a good distribution?

Further to this if you remove the tyre and then run the back of your hand round the inside of the tyre you will be able to feel anything sharp sticking through it.

Also you're not nipping the tube with the tyre levers when refitting the tyre are you? A practised technique is required for this; you have to be really careful on a small tyre.

Thinking outside the box - contact a local engineering company and get a 1 inch (or whatever size suits) disc of solid nylon bored through the center the same size as the 'axle' of the jockey wheel.. Use this - it aint gonna get a puncture, and it will still roll.

You can always get it turned up to any shape, even counterbored each side and fit a pair of bearings. What ever floats your boat.......

Nope. But it won't last long in service - the foam breaks up.

OTOH, a jockey wheel doesn't do much service, it might be OK.

But a high density polyurathane foam would do a lot better.

Hence the use of mousse tubes to prevent flats but have a non-rigid tyre. They break up too, but not as fast as expanded polyurathane foam.

This may be a better idea, or not. My caravan has quite a high nose weight. So while it is not in use and just standing, I relieve the weight from the pneumatic jockey wheel tyre by placing a block of wood beneath the end off the jockey wheel post, just thick enough to keep the tyre off the ground. Then it doesn't matter if the tyre loses pressure, as there is no weight on it. I just check and re-inflate if necessary before moving the 'van. Simples - squeak!

Neil

(Reply via group please)

I can buy a solid nose wheel without trouble. Unfortunately only about 1.5" in width and with square edges. I want a solid version of the balloon tyre currently serving as the nose wheel.

Richard

Ditto.

I have a second prop stand on the nose section of the trailer and use that to keep the weight off the tyre. It's not easy to re-inflate the nose wheel as the tubes which fit the rim have an odd valve which will not fit my car tyre inflater, although the garage unit works fine. Problems problems!

Richard