Briarhopper

Rich, As an added precaution, you may be able to add some shielding to protect the alternator from excessive heat. Just depends on if the heat causing the problem is being conducted, convected or radiated. Radiated: May be able to shield the alternator from the source. Convected: Need more cool air, maybe from a deflector, air scoop. Don't really know, just depends on how your engine compartment is designed. Conducted: Might be able to add something to the alternator mount to draw heat away. Example: We used to put clothes pins on a steel gas line to prevent the gas from boiling and creating a vapor lock. Just some thoughts that might be useful. Stuart

Herman, was that late April 2010? Had the same window awning deal in NM on I-25N. Wasn't so much the awning flapping and banging as the eastward list of the coach and the westward rotation of the steering wheel that drove me into a rest area for the duration with a handfull of other RVs. Next day I heard the Walmart in Deming was running off RVs to make room for regular shoppers. Then an Iowan (Hawkeye) wind pulled the main awning out a couple feet. I think perfect timing between road bump and wind gust was the culprit. I crawled onto the coach with rope and duct tape, essentially wrapped the end of the canopy after working it back in. I'd probably wrap the ends with double sided velcro if I thought I might have a repeat. These were AES, but to be fair both times were broadside winds, and during the New Mexico adventure, NWS Deming recorded sustained winds of 45mph and gusts to 63mph. Oh yes. The main awning had the velcro straps around the main arms, which may have been what kept the awning from leaving the coach in Iowa.

Couple of extra thoughts that may be useful. A reading with any type of radiometer (infrared thermometer) cannot be considered reliable without a calibrated instrument and proper adjustments to compensate for emmisivity, atmosphere, etc. Thats not to say a reading with your handheld point and shoot unit will not be good enough. Many measurements are for comparison or trending and even without adjustments, they can tell you one area is warmer or cooler than another, one tire hotter than another, etc. If there is a surface you are unsure of you can place a piece of electrical tape on it ( I use Scotch 33). If it reads the same on the tape as off, the surface is readable with the IR. Another option to verify the readibilty of a surface if you have a contact thermmometer would be to compare the contact reading with the IR reading. If the same you can read the surface with the IR. There are changes in readability as surface temperture goes up, but for most of what we use point radiometers for on an RV the difference would not be great, so you can check your surfaces when they are cold if it is safer to do so.

I hear you both (Brett and Roger), but I’m not sure you can convince me that a tires capability does not diminish over time. Mathematically, it can’t start at one point and be at the same point when it finishes. Perhaps we can work that one out over a cup of coffee some day. The original post was more or less to make anyone aware; who was not already, that tire speed is a factor in a tires capability to carry a load, and that motor home tires usually run closer to their max capability (load and speed) than do smaller vehicles. My Jeep is like an ant as the tires on it could actually carry the weight of 2 Jeeps at 112mph. That’s the tires capability, not to be confused with the Jeeps capability or my driving capability. I count that as safety margin. To get to the same load capability, I’d need 18 wheels on the motor home and I’d still be running near the max due to the lower speed capability of the larger tires. So, if your GVW is anywhere near your GVWR, maybe give yourself a little more safety margin and not try to pass Bill.

RIch, Your test sounds interesting. I am curious how many miles you have run the tires and if mostly highway miles??

Welcome. Short answer is it depends on where you will be towing. Different locations have different laws and regulations and I think some do require all axles have brakes. So, if you are going to be towing in a certain area, check out the laws in that area. There are numerous topics already posted in this forum that discuss dollys. When I searched for "dolly brake" it found 24 topics. You might also post what you are towing and towing with and get some feedback from folks who have similar vehicles.

Was hoping The Tireman would show up at some point. Appreciate your input. Since my last post on this topic, I have gained some more info that I can throw in. I did a more thorough inspection of my own and have found no visible signs of any problems with any tires, new or old. Did discover the 2nd older tire is 2 months newer than the 1st (effectively same age). Spoke with two more (total of three) professionals, who had no issue with the configuration. Also spoke to the previous owner. They had bought the coach in 2006 and replaced the 2 front tires at that time. Last year they hit an exposed corner of concrete in a construction zone and blew one of the inner duals. So, moved the newer front tires to the inner dual positions and bought four new tires. Would have been nice if they had bought four new XRV's as I think they are better suited to our driving. I have always kept an eye on my tires, and especially when on the road traveling and have caught a failing tire in a rest stop walk around (trailer we bought so unknown tires). So, my plan is to run the tires as is, keep a closer watch on all tires, do a thorough inspection at every multi-day stop and a tire pro inspection once a year. I’ll monitor the wear and if the inner dual Michs wear faster than the outer dual Bridges, I’ll likely move the fronts to the duals and buy 2 new front tires. Somewhere I read the idea of knowing your tires. I don’t think I’ll name ‘em, but I do plan to get to know ‘em better.

I should have said the XRV should wear longer on the highway. However the tread design may not stand up as well to urban driving turns and cornering and so could wear faster in urban driving.

Per michelinrvtires.com the XZE is in Regional tire compared to the XRV which is in their Long Haul group. By that distinction the XZE would be more suited to road and driving conditions encountered on shorter runs and urban areas, whereas the XRV more suited to the highway miles. My speculation is the XZE will have tougher construction to stand more abuse but would wear faster on the highway and the XRV wear longer but less able to withstand the curbs and potholes of urban driving. Note: The 255/80 is a larger diameter tire and could affect your operation and handling and will affect your speedometer. Might want to check with the coach builder before making the change just to be on the safe side. Also confirm the 255/80 is suitable for your wheel widths unless of coaurse you are buying new wheels.

Been there as I am sure many here could echo. Most of the equipment we looked at had fairly good instructions, especially the base plates, which instructions include vehicle specific photos. My wife and I installed the base plate on our Jeep Patriot in about an hour over the time the instructions indicated it would take and it still looks like a Jeep (would have been a funny video I'm sure). Not much to do on the tow bars themselves but bolt it into the coach. I had plans to do the brake system myself, but decided to let the pros monkey with the more technical gizmos, partly due to the liability of such work, but mostly because I had slipped into vacation mode in the sunny South. They also ran a line to power the Jeep taillights, turn signal/brake lamps in sync with the coach. Safe and happy motor coachin'

Brett, Naw (no), 75 is about 10-15 mph above my intended speed. Reason I posted is you see and hear about traveling at higher speeds and we do have speed limits of 75 and over. More important to the average folk might be as I read it 75mph is the max for new tires, ideal load and inflation as well as a chassis in excellence condition. So, an individual could be exceeding the capability of there tires at a much lower speed.

A combination of recent posts and my own recent issues forced me to look more seriously at tire specifications. Something I did not realize and have not seen mentioned is that motor home tires and I think truck tires in general have much lower speed recommendations than smaller vehicles and tires. Glancing at Bridgestone and Michelin it appears a majority of the tires that would suit motor homes have a maximum speed of 75mph or less. Bridgestone's tire data book reads, “Your tire’s actual speed capability may be less since it is affected by factors such as inflation pressure, load, tire condition (including damage), wear, vehicle condition (including alignment), driving conditions, and duration at which the speed is sustained.” May be common knowledge, but I figure err on the side of safety and post. It would be interesting to hear if anyone has tires with a higher maximum speed???

Hitching Post in Ocala. Just a little up the road maybe, well maybe a bit more than little. We had a brake system installed there in February and I was pleased with the overall experience. I am pretty sure they do hitches, tow bars, etc. There were helpful with advice before and after the install.

We looked at the Focus last year. Don't remember the exact instructions, but seems there were specific things to do in a certain order. Miss the order and you reduce your towability, either mph or distance. Could possibly account for transmission issue. Have not looked under the hood of one. If there was a safe spot to place it, could you mount a discconect for the negative battery cable so you could just throw a switch as opposed to the unbolt and bolt activity??

Great News. Been there, done that on the red-facededness. Seems I do more of those as time goes on. On the bright side, we all learned a few things and it was a cheap fix, which is the best kind.

Occasionally there is reference in discussions about using an infrared thermometer (spot radiometer) to check the temperature of something; tires, wheels, transmission housings, etc. An IR thermometer is a great tool and can help diagnose a problem or prevent a failure, but there are several things that affect infrared readings. Two things are very important and fairly easy to control: distance and surface. Distance is how far the thermometer is from the target. Any decent IR thermometer will have instructions and in those instructions it will give spot size or distance/spot ratio, which is the size of the area the instrument reads at a given distance (or distances). My spot radiometer has a ratio of 8:1 which means at a distance of 8” it reads a spot of 1” diameter, 16”:2”, 32”:4”. At 8 feet it reads a 1 foot diameter spot. The important note here is that it is not reading the tiny dot made by the laser pointer. Too far away and the spot being read may be very large and not yielding a reliable temperature of the target. More important is the surface of what is being measured. The instructions might mention emissivity, but can get fairly murky in this area. The main point here for RV folk is that bare metal or metal-like surfaces do not emit radiated energy like other surfaces. They reflect the energy from the surrounding stuff, so a reading on a chrome hub cap will be reflected temperature from the road, the sky or maybe even yourself, but not a reading of the true temp of the hub cap (chrome or aluminum wheel). Take a reading on a smooth metal surface like a clean (unpainted) oil pan, transmission pan, and it will likely read cooler or hotter than it actually is, depending on the reflected temperatures of the surrounding equipment. Tires, painted or textured surfaces generally reflect less and give better readings. Smooth, bare metal or metal coated parts (chrome) do not yield accurate readings of the target. If you want to test this for yourself, take readings on your chrome hubcap from several angles; one straight on, one from a high angle and one form a low angle. Each will likely read differently even though you have the laser dot on the same point. I uploaded an image of a chrome hub cap and wheel taken with an infrared camera. The three temperature points are all going to be relatively close in actual temperature, but each reading is influenced by the reflected energy: SP1 is off my hand, SP2 off the ground and SP3 from the sky off the top of a lug nut cover. Stay close to keep the spot size small and avoid bare shiny metal, chrome, etc. If in doubt, use a contact thermometer if safe to do so. Hope this is useful.

Perhaps someone towing one will reply, but just in case, I'll toss in my thoughts. The manuafacturer is the best source if you have a particular vehicle in mind as you do. If you already own it and have a manual, check there first. If no manual in hand, you may be able to view one online from Toyota. If the manual does not address recreational towing (aka flat towing, four wheel down towing) then a good dealer could probably help. Toyota is known for good customer service, so you may be able to call them direct. There is a company, Remco, that offers towing equipment and they have a online applciation guide. Just Google Remco. Even if you find info on a non-Toyota web site, would not be a bad idea ot confirm the information with Toyota, because some vehicles that can be towed have very specific instructions. My thoughts. Hope they help.

Hey, there’s nothing like an intriguing mystery to keep the gray matter flexible. Interesting that there was a spark when you hooked up the ground cable which would indicate a flow of current, but no current anywhere now. The 12.7 volts also indicates no current draw on the battery. Have you or can you verify voltage is getting past the thermal circuit breaker?