andyshane
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Posts posted by andyshane
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We've got two Havanese, a 5 year old and a pup. Havana took to the motorhome immediately, thinks that the sound of diesel signifies the start of a road trip; kind of awkward with the UPS guy when he looked down and she was sitting beside him, waiting to go...
She likes to ride on the dash on our DP, a minor mishap would send her into traffic; so, I fabricated a custom harness that she slips easily into. It has a single velcro belly-strap and nylon stiffener to protect her spine. Deceleration is distributed from neck to hips, unlike commercial canine harnesses, which simply encase the shoulders. The primary tether is pleated, so in a serious mishap, the harness has a shock-disipation function.
Heather, the pup, is in a pet carrier that is belted to the sofa. When she gets to be a year old, I'll tailor a second harness to her. In fact, I'll do two new harnesses and rig a crash-test dummy, like a sack full of potting soil, destructive-test the prototype with a 30-foot drop to simulate a moderate impact...
While each of our canines is different, EMS personnel tell stories of disoriented pet tragedies after animals have survived a road mishap. Granted, some will stay glued to their owners; but, others have darted into traffic or simply fled in a panic. While they are our children, first responders are going to look at them as mere pets. The latter concerns me as much as the primary safety issue. I hope we've prepared sufficiently.
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Has anyone had luck preemptively contacting dealers, offering to wait until it's possible to get fresh tires? When I read more articles in the paper like this, rolling the dice on DOT dates is no longer an option.
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I'm currently processing claims paperwork for Carlisle tires, having joined the ranks of owners who've suffered blowouts running on Carlisles (they came with my 2011 Roadmaster 2000-1 dolly). We had two blowouts in six months, perfectly-maintained new Carlisle tires that were kept indoors. Along with contacting the dolly and tire manufacturers, I've filed a complaint against Carlisle with the NHTSA. Evidence suggests it is an unsafe tire, my experience affirms that conclusion.
A friend is doing research for tire replacement on their trailer, sent me the following excellent link that explains DOT codes and lists American-made tires.
http://www.americanmadetires.com/where-tires-are-made.html
Our independent searching has come to the same conclusion: Goodyear Marathon. But, there is a fly in the ointment: at present, there are still failure-prone Marathons that were made in China out there, being sold. They are currently being made domestically, reportedly with higher reliability; but, it's hard to find the American ones. In the interim, I had to settle for Karrier Loadstar, which owners report enjoys good operating safety and reliability, even though... you guessed, it's made in China.
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Safest way is to weigh each wheel position and then go to your tire manufacturer's Inflation Chart to determine the MINIMUM PSI...
Brett
Didn't Michelin just change the verbage in their new materials from "minimum" to "recommended"? In fact, I think either their engineering or legal staff made them purge the term. That said, I still add an extra 5psi as a technique, just to get my running temps down and to hedge for a time when I'm a few pounds low.
Their latest is at this link, the inflation and load tables; and, all their safety stuff for RVs.
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I just spent time with a Rev owner with your tires, same vintage, he was experiencing classic Goodyear wear problems. Our rigs were side by side, he was drooling over my Michelins of the same age with no visible wear.
If I recall, folks believe Goodyears are less tolerant of non-optimum inflation. It shows in the form of scalloped marks on the outside edges of the tread.
I'll replace mine with the Michelins, without a doubt. I like our tire specialist's advice: replace steering tires at 5 yrs or half tread, whichever occurs first. Manufacturers might give longer spans; but, with the steering tires, I'd prefer to err to the conservative.
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We ditched the dreadful stock mattress, bought a new plush-top for our master bedroom, carefully inched the old master bedroom queen-sized around the entryway horizontally and to the rig's bedroom pedestal. With the slide closed, it gently presses our drawers and keeps 'em secure and quiet en route
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We discussed this problem at my former forum, I was surprised at how often it happened. In my own case, we sometimes get the famous "Blue Screen of Death," that grim mainstay of Windows personal computers, and cure it by turning the system off then on.
Cleaning and tightening the connections is still an open item in my maintenance logbook, 'hope this effectively stops the nuisance.
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We've had two explosions in the last three years, one with an obvious source of ignition near the battery.
In the second case, last Sunday, I simply sat down in my wife's 2010 Honda and turned the key. It was just like a car bomb, only non-lethal: the battery casing split along its top edge and an acid mist hung over the front of the car like smoke. No damage to the paint, thanks to immediate rinsing by yours truly. I immediately installed a replacement, was relieved to find everything was fine.
HERE is a discussion of explosion causes and effects. I'd rank motorhomes as a steeper risk than automobiles for such events during periods of inactivity due to way we use them. Before we get too technical, I'd like add that we all know what safety measures to employ; it's just a matter of disciplining ourselves to consistently apply them.
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I think the floorplan is fantastic, dispenses with many of the shortcomings inherent to the last decade's offerings, ie watching TV underway. Wonder about the low torque/lb ratio. I mean, we have 30% more power in our Fleetwood and I judge it as marginal.
But, an interesting design that could impact the Class A scene. I look forward to reading more about owners' experience with this model.
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Attention Owners Using Carlisle Tires on Dollies and Trailers
I have just reported the second catastrophic failure in less than 3,000 miles of a Chinese-made Carlisle "Radial Trail" ST215/75R14 to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This latest incident occurred on a driver-side dolly tire inflated to DOT sidewall pressure operating on Interstate highway pavement at 57 mph. In both cases, the tire has appeared to wear normally, has accumulated less than 3,000 miles of service, maintained an operating temperature of under 130F during its brief life cycle. In both cases, the failure was violent enough to cause damage to the dolly structure.
An initial glimpse at entries in various forums shows that dozens of owners have had this same kind of experience with low-mileage Carlisle tires.
The record has clearly shown that Carlisle tires currently installed on Roadmaster and other dollies represent a hazard. Check your equipment.
Followup information, 22 May 2012
Nancy from Roadmaster asserted that I'm the first to experience such a failure using their dollies. She referred me to Carlisle for warranty coverage. Just a few hours after establishing email contact with Carlisle, a customer svc rep contacted me. The rep has scheduled a UPS pickup of the second tire carcass for tomorrow morning, and is starting the claims process for me. A claims representative is to be in contact with me, next.
After reading dozens of owner opinions, I opted for the Karrier Loadmaster tire at Northern Equipment. Their low price is counterbalanced by the fact their stock is 4 years old. Since my dolly is indoor-stored, I put the tires on, despite their age.
In the photo: failed tire in background, with surviving Carlisle and new Karrier Loadstar.
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Stuart,
The placard PSI is based on each axle being loaded to its GAWR (Gross Axle Weight Rating). It may be close, or (hopefully) will be off with your actual weight being under the rating to give you some safety margin.
On my own rig, I have a huge gap between the rig's GAWR and our normal max loaded weight, ie all tanks full, all our gear, the four of us aboard.
Were I to use the placard weight, my ride would be needlessly harsh and the contact patch for my tires (surface area of tread against the pavement) would shrink. In the longer term, I'd begin to notice abnormal tread wear, losing the center/middle of each tire first.
If the gap between your operating weight and the placard is narrow, it might be best to inflate to the higher value, like we normally do in passenger vehicles. It's all situational, there's no right answer for everyone.
This is one of my favorite topics, as a lifelong safety officer, then author, now manager (that's what us airline swine do, really). Kudos to you guys for such a high level of expertise, near total absence of misinformation. That translates into a safer operation, more enjoyable RV'ing!
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There is a volume dealer in the vicinity you mention that has had a couple of offerings with things like duct-taped headlights, corrosion layered over with undercoating, etc found on their lot.
Not sure if these items were performed by the dealer from whom they purchased, or in their own shops. In any case, as always, be careful.
'Just checked with a private dealer, he's not heard of a professional inspector in that area.
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Man, did we ever talk this to death in the other forum...
Here, too. We have some great tire expertise at FMCA, they'll be joining us shortly.
The consensus is to err high when deciding which psi to use, for a host of reasons. I'll touch on a couple, our friends will add some more. While we should never get to the far right edge of the chart, remember not to inflate over that figure (also stamped on the sidewall). As a personal technique, on both RVs and my aircraft, I try to inflate once the outside/shop temp is about 65F. The important thing is, inflate them "cold" (before driving more than a mile, says Michelin). For safety, many manufacturers recommend using a locking chuck with the gauge mounted at the other end of a long hose (mine is five feet). I believe the consensus of most tire manufacturers is, if you have to put 20 psi or more in, the tire is considered a "run-flat" and must be inflated by a professional with the right tools (it can kill you, inflating it).
First, nobody knows your loading as well as you; but, we all run the chance of having a bit more weight on one side than the other. To that end, let's pick out a weight slightly higher than half of the scale readings to arrive at a worst-case axle-end weight. For example, if we toss in another 10% in the case of the steer axle, that brings you to 7,227 lbs, or 110psi. For those of us who haven't done axle-end weighing, establishing an assumed axle-end weight that includes a surplus for lateral imbalance is a good safety technique.
As we talked about recently here, some experts also suggest adding a bit of extra pressure for the forgetfulness factor: if your tires lose a bit of pressure between checks, you're covered. Whether you wish do to this or not, depends on your own maintenance habits. So, you might hear folks tell you to bring the steer tires up to 115.
Of course, surplus can come in two forms: pressure you add above and beyond the manufacturer's recommended value, and that which the table gives you by virtue of where you fall in the weight category.
Such would be the case with your tag: I'd accept the difference between 4,270 lbs and the table's 5,375 as all the margin you need, inflate them to 75 psi. Not lower, since the tire was not tested/certified at less than 75.
One thing I like to do: get a little IR scanner to gage the temp of your tires, at each safety check. If the temps go much over 120F, consider adding a little air. Scanning with sun on the tire might give a false high reading, base your action over several checks.
More guidance from Michelin is HERE.
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We just put several hundred miles in the span of three months on a TireTraker, good performance. Interestingly, I haven't yet mounted the signal booster; yet, we get signals from the dolly and toad. Very valuable, since usually the first sign you'll have the a dolly tire has failed is light-flashing/waving/horn-blowing from other motorists.
One slight problem: a sender stopped transmitting on the first trip, I noticed that a battery bracket leg had become detached, offered to solder it in my shop, if the company approved the procedure.
They said "No," and had one in the mail minutes later, with a pre-paid envelope enclosed for free return.
Two observations: the temp-sensing function of stem-mounted senders is as worthless as mounting an ashtray on a motorcycle. Make sure you shoot tire surface temps with an IR gun to affirm proper inflation*; and, a good trick is to measure tire pressure at 70F after the rig has sat overnight, use several different gages to refine inflation to the exact value mandated by the TIRE manufacturer. Then, climb into the driver's seat and make a list of the pressures shown on the TPMS. We printed a little card, that stays in the cockpit. Those numbers, not the gage-verified mandated inflation, are what you should see, at the start of a day's driving.
Of course, we all know that the pressures will increase underway, and that we never bleed air from hot tires... (A question on your CDL test, in some states).
* Tire surface temps over 120F suggest the need for more inflation. Caution: Shooting tires on the sunny side of the coach can result in a false elevated reading.
Fodder for the Never Again Collection, from yesterday's 80 mile drive: Traversing construction in the awful and perennially beat-up west side of Weatherford, Texas, we approached an intersection in which our side had narrowed to one lane bordered on the right by a concrete barrier. The light was three cars ahead, and opposing road slightly offset to the left. As a result, when the light turned green, traffic crossing from the right saw they wouldn't be able to make a right turn on red and stopped well short of the intersection, allowing us a wide swing to get the toad around the barrier making the 90 degree right turn the GPS demanded. I cleared to the left and hugged the left side of my narrow lane to start the swing, and suddenly noticed the lead vehicle halted to the right had moved forward into the intersection!! Predictably, the line behind him immediately closed the gap. Rather than abort and opt for the straight-through track, I swung within ten inches of his fender, crawled forward to assure the dolly and toad didn't catch the barrier... The moral of the story is to have the right-seater call out such an intrusion, teamwork that might one day prevent one of those dreaded traffic-blocking episodes we all have nightmares about. As my Prevost-owning neighbors attest, removing a toad amidst changing lights and a blaring symphony of horns is not fun.
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Several years ago I also bought an airplane in which we've done extensive travel (including across the pond to England). Again the memories are priceless. I always said my airplane was going to be my motor home when I retired. I retired a few years ago and we did in fact buy a motor home which we enjoy immensely. I still have the airplane (a Mooney 231)which sets lonely in its' hanger most of the time these days. Soon to be for sale. When we bought the motor home I simply took the position that that money was gone. Only the memories justify the expense and they are worth every penny. We only go around once.
I don't know what avgas is there, Bruce, but we're paying $4.70 wholesale. We both (ours is a '53 Cessna 180) cruise at about 10 gal per hour. So, the planes use the same amount of gas as the MHs, but cost more to fill up. While they generally appreciate albeit slightly, contrary to our depreciating coaches, small aircraft still lose to RVs since you have to rent cars, go to restaurants, get hotel rooms with the plane. We too have happily traded small plane travel for RVing, and haven't looked back.
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Michelin rep at HQ and dealer both stated that the XRVs offer a "better" ride for motorhomes and lower heat build-up vs the XZE...A good lead-in for my shameless product promotion of the year: the folks at Temp Gun have been wonderful to me, just sent us a new unit and carrying case gratis only because my ten year old PE-1* was showing an error code none of us could figure out.
This is the perfect tool for RV'ers interested in taking tire safety to the next level: on hourly safety stops, I "shoot" all the tires and brakes. Heat buildup is a harbinger of tire pressures that are low for the load. A 120F max tire temp affirms correct inflation regardless of tables, axle-end weights, etc. The curative effect of just a few psi in response to an elevated temp is impressive.
* Purchased for doing aircraft fabric repair, where precise iron calibration is a matter of life and death. Well... ugly fabric versus a decent job. I'd begun using it when we started RV'ing and found it to be the perfect solution for temp-sensing on the road, flawlessly accurate and not much bigger than a Bic lighter. One-button operation, auto-shutoff, no contact with the sensed surface and $30 price make it a best value.
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Andy, as long as there s no play / wiggle in the ball joint all should be well. When its time to replace one, you will know when you do your walk around so to speak under the coach and one of them moves. You get the, that is not right feeling real quick.
The fact that it was covered in grease,that would keep the dirt and water out of the pivot area. The seals are there to keep the grease confined around the area.
Rich.
P.S. A man after may own heart. Nothing like knowing your machine is ready to go.
The little things can eat you up !!
Hear, hear! And, the little things are those generally that each of us can detect, if not control. I highlighted the part of your response instrumental to all of us, doing our Pre-Trip Inspections. Herman, I was leaning in that direction, called Spartan to confirm my decision. Even then, I cleaned and purged then inspected each close-up. Even then, they'll each get a lot of attention from here on.
Thanks for the thumbs-up, all: the wife and a girlfriend (hers) are next up for a 400 mile trip (I'm in recurrent training then), I want them to be safe.
(Thanks, Dwight! Hey, that's my middle name. 'Born to college students, to smooth the way Mom and Dad named me after each grandfather.)
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I noticed during a check of the front suspension that my tie rod end boots were tattered. There was lots of grease around them, fortunately.
On the advice of MH owner friends, I just dropped my tie rod, glued on universal boots purchased for $8 from the auto parts store.
It required a Pittman Arm Puller, the larger size, loaned from the store. And, an impact wrench was required to break loose the castellated nut, re-torque it to the specified 250 in lbs setting.
The new boot doesn't have the stiff ring molded into the upper edge, but has a thicker wall than the notoriously flimsy stock items.
According to Spartan, if the boot has been broken for an unknown period, the tie rod end must be replaced. Their technical manuals have specifications for assessing wear that necessitates replacement.
Since mine were both tight and encased in grease; so, I repacked them, and returned to service. I just came in from a test drive minutes ago, and all seems well. Pictures are at my online Picasaweb album HERE.
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Hi Gramp's,My wife Susan and I never camped or owned any type of RV. We took the plunge two years ago and after driving our RV up to Palm Springs Ca. and back, we are kicking ourselves for not doing this along time ago. Sure it cost us money but we had done our research and talked to class A, B and C owners and the bottom line seemed to be that your paying for a life style and the people we talked to said that they wouldn't trade it for anything else. We have a rainy day fund where we put x number of dollars away each month and if the RV needs something it comes out of there.
Have a great day
Smokeater75 Kane and Susan 2003 Monaco Windsor.
I couldn't say it better myself. Look at the model Kane and Susan own, too. That speaks volumes. They reached back seven model years, I'll bet got a lot of bang for the buck.
For us, if the airline biz doesn't totally crash & burn, we're hoping to buy a 2009 42 KFQ Monaco or equivalent. It'll have ended the freefall portion* of its depreciation, yet be new-feeling and have the features we want. The NADA book says that every six months we wait, it settles another $10K. Wow.
* After five or six years, depreciation should settle in at 3-4% per year.
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... I've also heard at a FCRV rally that some insurance companies may deny coverage to us if we do not have the proper license to be operating our MH's. If you think that insurance companies may not do this just ask some of our friends along the path of recent hurricanes regarding what their insurance companies do regarding crossing the "T's" and dotting the "I's"when the loss is significant. I'm also aware that you can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink. Please check fellow FMCA members before the need.
Warren Leith F403214
I just got my Texas Class B, the wife and a fellow MH driver buddy are dragging their feet but will eventually follow suit.
Really, it was no trouble. The examiner relished every moment of being away from her spot behind the counter, we had a great time. Now, I don't have the specter of not being in compliance hanging over my head.
While claim denial is unlikely, the attorney watering flowers on the patio behind me says that it is within the insurance company's rights to deny the claim.
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...But for me on a motorhome, I'm going to do everything I can to avoid a travel problem like tire separation. I am not going to take them to their extreme limits.If you know your tire's history well and you have taken excellent care of them and you want to wear them further, that is completely up to you and the chances you are willing to take. There is no perfect answer. The Rubber Manufacturers Association cannot even make the call. Manufacturer brands disagree. We will surely not settle this question here.
Okay, that does it for me. Thanks for the singular best post I've read among thousands. You've affirmed the course of action I'll take from here on, when it comes to tire safety.
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Start by trying to identify where and when you get the smell.The where would include sinks, shower drain, wash machine drain, under sink check/vacuum breaks, etc.
The when would include when parked, when moving, when vent fan is on, etc.
Super suggestions; we might add tank quantity high or low to the list of "whens." Our graywater system will belch into the coach four or five gallons from being full. At all other times, you can't smell a thing. It's a very handy tool, but was a bit confusing at first.
(BTW, if you can't smell the blackwater tank when flushing with the bathroom fan turned on, you might have a plugged vent.)
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The wife and I talked about this, shared some memories of one town in NE Texas where we seemed to catch every red light. After two or three jarring stops, I "parked" in the slow lane at a little under the speed limit, life got easier.
It's not too hard to spot these units. I see their red light camera and raise them a 15-ton rolling speedbump
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Andy,
...A truck will go over a scale once, settle the load into a stable pattern which is then pretty much constant until delivery. In contrast, we RVers tend to measure the axle end loads once (or maybe if you're really diligent once/year) and then go on our way. Part of that "on our way" likely includes shopping trips, souvenir collecting, etc., as well as maybe tanking up more water than normal for a convention or the like. Those actions end up adding to that initial spot weight. The safety factor is more a safety for our behavior than because the tire charts are wrong.
Perhaps you are more careful in what you do with, or bring into, your motor home in terms of weight. I'm still learning after only 3 years of fulltiming and adding/subtracting things as I go so the safety margin is worthwhile for me.
I too am learning, eager to come up with good answers.
The tech team at Michelin got back to us with the following quote (I highlighted "correct"):
The amount of air pressure required in each tire on an RV depends on the weight of the fully loaded vehicle. Therefore, the RV has to be weighed loaded by individual wheel position. Correct procedure on weighing the RV can be found in our RV Tire Guide under "How To Weigh The Recreational Vehicle". Once the actual corner loads are known, thecorrectair pressures can be determined. Use the RV load and inflation table () to establish the air pressure for the heaviest side of the RV. Match the opposite tire(s) across the axle with the same pressure.It is acceptable to add a small amount of additional pressure as a safety margin.Salient to this, is that users can define "margin" first, eg outright extra psi or the difference between their axle-end weight and that allowed in their chosen table block; then, they can decide what is appropriate to their pressure-checking and loading habits.
In my own case, given that I manually check my tires each trip to within 2 psi of optimum, and have virtually no load variance, that my tire wear is perfect and there exists a few hundred pounds per axle-end surplus until the next higher value is called for, I'll stick with the table. For the average user, however, I think the technique of going 5 psi over the table value is probably good insurance.
Special thanks to Michelin HQ for weighing in on this one. Given the hundreds of user reports floating around out there in various forums, it is obvious that Michelin is indeed the current best choice, for RV owners.
Beware Of Van Horn, Texas
in Laws and Legislative Action
Posted · Report reply
Does any police department have jurisdiction on private property?
As a property owner, I invite you to my house and tell you to park in my driveway. Then, my local police rush to the scene and write you a ticket for being there? I don't think so.
Ticketed in a Pilot parking lot, my initial response is xerox the ticket and mail it back, informing Van Horn you've sent the original to the owners of the truck stop with a request that their legal team return it unpaid to City Hall with a reminder that they invite the traveling public to sleep there. Personally, I'd also suggest that Pilot's legal eagles -- they love doing stuff like this -- frame their reply in such a way to clearly convey the notion of an abrupt and unwelcome underside insertion of said document, figuratively speaking
How 'bout FMCA demands a list of ticketees under the Freedom of Information Act, see if truckers are excluded, ergo RV'ers targeted. I'd say there is a lawsuit there, if that is the case.
StopCityFraud is a site whose members fought back.