A small piece of kit that gives huge piece of mind

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danbrown

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The other day I was wheeling the Bald Mountain Jeep trail in the GWNF (VA). For those of you who are familiar with it know that some of the mud/water crossings can become quite large.

About 1/2 way across one puddle (more like a small pond) the water was 1/4 of the way up my doors…and I got stuck. I was either hung up on a submerged log or rock. I had to winch out. All the while my JT was filling with water (cleanup included pulling and shampoo all the carpets, and draining and flushing the axels).

Once I got out I realized one of my back tires was completely flat. I thought I had cut the tire. Turns out I ripped off a valve stem.

The thought of laying in the mud to change out a 37” tire was not a fun one. I then remembered that I had a Colby emergency valve stem valve in my kit. What a life/time saver!

The Colby valve stems are those small pieces of kit that you will most likely never use. But if you have to you will be so thankful for having one with you. A very inexpensive piece of kind to say the least.

I highly recommend keeping a couple in your kit.
 

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KonzaLander

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In the last 20 years I have ripped two rubber valve stems off of wheels while on the trail. If it hasn't happened to you, know it is a real possibility and very frustrating when it does. I have been carrying some sort of Colby valve in my vehicles since they were an Indiegogo campaign in 2016.

If I tear off a rubber valve stem, I can simply push the remaining part of the valve stem into the wheel, install a Colby Valve and run the Colby Valve for the duration of the trip without needing to break the bead. When I return home I can then break the bead and install a new valve stem. Colby Valve even offers a valve for permanent installation if you desire.
 
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danbrown

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KonzaLander said:
In the last 20 years I have ripped two rubber valve stems off of wheels while on the trail. If it hasn't happened to you, know it is a real possibility and very frustrating when it does. I have been carrying some sort of Colby valve in my vehicles since they were an Indiegogo campaign in 2016.

If I tear off a rubber valve stem, I can simply push the remaining part of the valve stem into the wheel, install a Colby Valve and run the Colby Valve for the duration of the trip without needing to break the bead. When I return home I can then break the bead and install a new valve stem. Colby Valve even offers a valve for permanent installation if you desire.
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I replaced the Colby emergency stem with their permanent one. Just as easy to use, with the exception you need a 9/16” socket.
 
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El-Dracho

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danbrown said:
The other day I was wheeling the Bald Mountain Jeep trail in the GWNF (VA). For those of you who are familiar with it know that some of the mud/water crossings can become quite large.

About 1/2 way across one puddle (more like a small pond) the water was 1/4 of the way up my doors…and I got stuck. I was either hung up on a submerged log or rock. I had to winch out. All the while my JT was filling with water (cleanup included pulling and shampoo all the carpets, and draining and flushing the axels).

Once I got out I realized one of my back tires was completely flat. I thought I had cut the tire. Turns out I ripped off a valve stem.

The thought of laying in the mud to change out a 37” tire was not a fun one. I then remembered that I had a Colby emergency valve stem valve in my kit. What a life/time saver!

The Colby valve stems are those small pieces of kit that you will most likely never use. But if you have to you will be so thankful for having one with you. A very inexpensive piece of kind to say the least.

I highly recommend keeping a couple in your kit.
Click to expand...
Good advice, Dan. I agree. And this is my story about the these emergency valves. It's been quite a while since I've seen the Colby Emergency valves. At that time I thought to myself, yes, that's a great idea for the case that I will have a valve damage and a change of the wheel is not possible. Well, then I just ordered one. Looked at, yes looks high quality and is a clever idea. Ok, I packed it to the tire repair kit and there it lived quite a time.

Until I really had a damaged valve at the beginning of this year. Fortunately just off the highway and parked in the yard at home. It sizzled. Uh, a new pet? No, a damaged valve. Ok, I have this emergency valve in the toolbox in the rig came to my mind. So I cut off the old one, pushed the remaining part of the valve into the wheel, put in the emergency valve and pumped the tire up again with the compressor. The whole think took only a few minutes. Really great. Such a valve is always in my tire repair kit.

Changed the tires to new ones some time later anyway and replaced the valve with a standard one again then.
 
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old_man

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El-Dracho said:
Good advice, Dan. I agree. And this is my story about the these emergency valves. It's been quite a while since I've seen the Colby Emergency valves. At that time I thought to myself, yes, that's a great idea for the case that I will have a valve damage and a change of the wheel is not possible. Well, then I just ordered one. Looked at, yes looks high quality and is a clever idea. Ok, I packed it to the tire repair kit and there it lived quite a time.

Until I really had a damaged valve at the beginning of this year. Fortunately just off the highway and parked in the yard at home. It sizzled. Uh, a new pet? No, a damaged valve. Ok, I have this emergency valve in the toolbox in the rig came to my mind. So I cut off the old one, pushed the remaining part of the valve into the wheel, put in the emergency valve and pumped the tire up again with the compressor. The whole think took only a few minutes. Really great. Such a valve is always in my tire repair kit.

Changed the tires to new ones some time later anyway and replaced the valve with a standard one again then.
Click to expand...
rock crawlers just use the short valve stems so they don't get broken off.
 
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MidOH

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RoarinRow said:
Damn another thing I have to buy lol. Great idea, never head of these.
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You don't have to if you're on thickwall MT's. But they're a nice option and weigh nothing.

Thinwall AT's can be a pita to break the bead on with a hilift jack or axe, so this outside stem is a bit more valuable.
 
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old_man said:
rock crawlers just use the short valve stems so they don't get broken off.
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I had shorties on my old Rubicon which greatly reduced the odds of ripping one. One in a million chance? Yup, ripped it off while on Elephant Hill. K-puuuush. I have the shorties on my 80 series, and Colbys in my tire kit
 
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05EXCURSION

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danbrown said:
The other day I was wheeling the Bald Mountain Jeep trail in the GWNF (VA). For those of you who are familiar with it know that some of the mud/water crossings can become quite large.

About 1/2 way across one puddle (more like a small pond) the water was 1/4 of the way up my doors…and I got stuck. I was either hung up on a submerged log or rock. I had to winch out. All the while my JT was filling with water (cleanup included pulling and shampoo all the carpets, and draining and flushing the axels).

Once I got out I realized one of my back tires was completely flat. I thought I had cut the tire. Turns out I ripped off a valve stem.

The thought of laying in the mud to change out a 37” tire was not a fun one. I then remembered that I had a Colby emergency valve stem valve in my kit. What a life/time saver!

The Colby valve stems are those small pieces of kit that you will most likely never use. But if you have to you will be so thankful for having one with you. A very inexpensive piece of kind to say the least.

I highly recommend keeping a couple in your kit.
Click to expand...
This is a good kit to have. I keep a few extra valve stem and valve cores in my tool box
 
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danbrown

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old_man said:
El-Dracho said:
Good advice, Dan. I agree. And this is my story about the these emergency valves. It's been quite a while since I've seen the Colby Emergency valves. At that time I thought to myself, yes, that's a great idea for the case that I will have a valve damage and a change of the wheel is not possible. Well, then I just ordered one. Looked at, yes looks high quality and is a clever idea. Ok, I packed it to the tire repair kit and there it lived quite a time.

Until I really had a damaged valve at the beginning of this year. Fortunately just off the highway and parked in the yard at home. It sizzled. Uh, a new pet? No, a damaged valve. Ok, I have this emergency valve in the toolbox in the rig came to my mind. So I cut off the old one, pushed the remaining part of the valve into the wheel, put in the emergency valve and pumped the tire up again with the compressor. The whole think took only a few minutes. Really great. Such a valve is always in my tire repair kit.

Changed the tires to new ones some time later anyway and replaced the valve with a standard one again then.
Click to expand...
rock crawlers just use the short valve stems so they don't get broken off.
Click to expand...
The valve stem I tore off was a shorty. All it takes is the right stick or rock sitting at the right angle to hit the stem. Will probably scratch up your wheel as well trying to get to the stem. In my case the rock was under water, so I couldn’t see it to avoid it.
 
FishinCrzy

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Got some a while back after seeing this tread. I've showed them to a few people and noone had ever seen them before. I've never broken a stem, but it's too easy to have a contengency for it since it takes up practically no space. Chances are I would use them on someone elses rig. I don't generally go mudding or rock crawling. The trails I tend to ride are related to camping and fishing, go figure. I do tend to be in remote areas and like to think I have a plan for getting my ass out of a crack if need be. Murphy's Law is always in-play. Thanks for turning me on too these! That's what I like about OB. I have learned things here that aren't common knowledge.
 
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