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five

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Posts posted by five


  1. Thanks for the comments...no Tryon, BTW.

    After several calls and a half dozen selections from the verbal menu, I finally got a real live person on the Michelin 800 #. I don't think they want their people doing any talking, this guy was very hard to understand. Anyway, he found a local Michelin RV dealer and gave me a case number in the event I have a warranty issue. I went by and talked to them today. Sounds like the plan is to do on axle balancing and go from there. Going to take the MH there next week. I'll keep you posted.


  2. As an add on to what Kent said, you really don't have much choice when it comes to MH engines. You can either find the floor plan you like and take the engine it has, or find the engine you like and take the floor plan it has. This is not like car shopping where you have a choice of engines. Usually the manufacturer is going to put an adequate engine in the vehicle to do the job. We opt for floor plan over engine...so far it's worked out fine. We figure we'll spend more time living in it than driving it.


  3. JMHO of course, but that's too old and too many miles for my liking. Granted, that big diesel has lots of miles left on it, but the coach has been lived in for 200k...that's lots of travel and lots of use. The average motor homer puts 5 to 6k a year on a MH. This one has doubled that average. If you are serious, check the tires (the dates), batteries and a function check of EVERYTHING...from toilets to refer to Aqua Hot to water system leaks, stove, etc. There has to be some heavy wear on the inside of that coach...even if it is a Prevost.


  4. Our new to us MH has a shimmy at around 60 mph, but not all the time, about half the time. The steering wheel vibrates quickly moving back and forth and moves no more than a quarter of an inch. The tires are Michelin 315/80R22.5s, 18 months old, not over loaded and properly inflated. So...do I get an alignment check to include thrust alignment, it has a tag, or get the front wheels balanced? Can they be properly balance while mounted, or should they be removed to be balanced?

    Comments appreciated, thanks.


  5. I have looked at that video a number of times on various forums. It makes no more sense now than when I first saw it. Probably for the first time ever, I'm going to have to disagree with Brett, assuming he supports Michelin's philosophy of adding power in the event of a blow out. I had a right front blowout in May of this year on a very busy interstate. We were cruising at 60 in the coach pictured here, with the cruise control on, well within the tire's weight limit, it was properly inflated and had not aged out. We had just crossed a small bridge, and the emergency services driver thought we had run over something that caused the catastrophic failure. When the tire failed the steering wheel started vibrating rapidly back and forth with a slight pull to the right. I immediately tapped off the cruise control and, as we slowed, gradually moved to the shoulder. The biggest problem we had was that the shoulder was very narrow, with a 45 degree angle drop off. My Velvac mirrors have three lenses, the bottom is oriented on each respective tire, so I could see exactly how far I needed to get off the hard stand before I started down the embankment. Even getting as far as I could into the grass left us dangerously close the highway. Every 18 wheeler that went by, shook the entire coach. The emergency services driver managed to get the remnants of the old tire off, and the new tire on, without removing the rim.

    As I look back on this experience, the last thing I wanted (or needed) was more speed, or thrust, it would have caused more damage and exacerbated the problem. At no time was I in danger of loosing control of the coach or was the vibration or pull to the right severe. Attempting to accelerate or increase thrust never entered my mind. I have been flying helicopters and airplanes for 45 years and have had my share of exciting experiences. Never have I needed more speed..."slow down and put it on the ground" went through my mind as I inched my way off the interstate. And that's what I did.

    The Michelin video sounds good and looks good, however, all the scenarios are scripted with safety the primary consideration. It's like a lot of "school solutions," every aspect of the demonstration is planned. However, based on my experience, regardless of the physics, when doing it for real, I doubt it's merit, it just doesn't make sense.

     

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