tireman9

For those that have weights, I would appreciate it if you could post or PM me the "4 corner" numbers and if you also have CAT scale axle only numbers I would be interested to see how well they match. I have 4 corner on my coach. I also get axle reading once a year to confirm I do not have "weight creep" that might necessitate another 4 corner weighing.

I have never used the rubber "bushings" as they do not provide a fixed firm mounting for the end of the hose. When installing the "L" bracket just be sure the hose is not touching the wheel simulators. My hoses have never shown any sign of contact or rubbing with the wheel or simulators. NOTE the pictures were taken with my TPMS sensor not shown as I happened to take these when the RV was parked for the Winter.

RE mounting tires w/DOT "out" This is not an issue if the dealer provides you with the DOT noted on the tire invoice and if they give you the tire registration form as they are supposed to do. If you don't know about tire Registration you should. Read about it HERE. I have seen a suggestion that you keep tire DOT info on your smartphone and I have previously suggested this info should be kept with other important info and papers. Tire invoice is important if you ever have a warranty issue. Don't forget that "out of the duals is not the same as for the fronts.

My goal was to try and help fellow FMCA members have a single place to go ( this forum thread) to get the latest info on what toll roads were 100% electronic. I know that Massachusetts Turnpike (I90) is as are two tunnels and a bridge near Boston. I believe there are some roads in TX that are "cashless" but do not know which. There may be other roads that are also "cashless" as I have heard a report on IL and IN but do not know for sure. I am hoping that those members who know the facts will post the information.

I would take RT 62 N to Canton, then I77 N to I76 East. Go East on 76 to Ohio Rt 11 (small detour in Youngstown) then North on 11 to I90 and NE to Niagra This will miss the congestion in and near Cleveland.

Have you had problems with Electronic Toll Collection or ETC? The Aug FMCA magazine had an article on toll collection in some states. E-ZPass is used in Northeast states. Other states use different systems. Some folks report problems of no good advance notice on some toll roads that the tolls will be collected by tracing your vehicle license number and mailing you a bill along with a "Service Fee". You can help your fellow members by posting the requirements on roads you know about. Please make the first line in the post about the State, Road, and date For example Mass, I90, Aug 2017 Then you can add details such as "Mass TPK is now 100% ETC" More info at EZDriveMA.com Hopefully, this thread will become a place to go to find the latest info on ETC for FMCA members. Thank you in advance for your contribution.

Until you can get "4 corner weights" I suggest getting individual axle weights. Then assume one end is carrying 53% of the total. Use that number when consulting the Load Infl tables. That's your minimum cold inflation but I also suggest you add 10% (but not exceed tire max) to give a margin. I also suggest you start reading my RV Tire Blog. Also put Perry GA next March on your calendar and come to both of my RV tire seminars.

Yes, people can have problems with flex hoses. But it is also possible to be pushing close to 100k with using hoses on 3 different vehicles with no problem as I have. IMO the key with hoses has a few steps. The outer end MUST be firmly attached to the hub or wheel. I do not trust the rubber donuts as they do not firmly hold down the outer end of the hose. Do not over or under tighten the hose onto your metal valve stem. I find that tighten till no air leaks then go 1/4 to 1/2 turn more. Check with a spritz of soapy water or household cleaner that will show bubbles. Finally be sure to support the hose whenever adding or checking air pressure. Simply pushing on the end of the hose can weaken and possibly fail the hose mount. I also prefer the pressurized hoses over the "airless" hoses as the long inner rod in the airless style, can bend and malfunction.

Here is graphic of dual spacing The OP was looking at going from 275/80R 22.5 to 295/75R 22.5 which is a change from 12.24 spacing to 13.19. You may need to think in reverse. Let's assume that with the 275's you have a physical 1.00" clearance down at the bulge in the sidewall near the road. This dimension is controlled by the offset of the wheels. So if you don't change wheels and put wider 295's on the new clearance will be 1.00 - ( 13.19 - 12.24) or 1.00-0.95 or a final clearance of 0.05"

I also thought the "flap" would seal and guide the water away but in my case the "flap" ended up pointing inward and created a funnel to guide the water inside the coach above the gear rack as seen in my "before" pictures. I had applied a slide seal lube spray but that did not help keep the lips pointed outward. Maybe there are other designs for seals that need different approach. I'm happy with my "fix" for my design seals.

Glad you have confirmed your new tires meet the "Minimum Dual Spacing" requirement. The simple tire comparison web site is reasonable for cars and Light trucks but they only offer an approximation and do not tell you the Minimum Dual Spacing. A failure to consider this dimension can lead to tire "kissing" and potentially two failures. 255/80R22.5 have a MDS of 11.30" and 275/80R22.5 have MDS of 12.24 Since the spacing is controlled by the wheel offset it is sometimes possible to make such a change if the wheels were designed for the wider tire but used by the RV company for the narrower tire.

Many seem to understand the 7 to 10 year life of rubber in tires but seem to forget all the other rubber components in a MH. Rubber is organic and unlike inorganic parts has a limited life. Your slide seals are 15 years old so ys, it's about time.

I took a look at sales volumes from RVIA. Basically Motorhomes account for about 12% of total RV market with Class=A half of that percent. How many current FMCA owners started out with a Class-A as their first RV? Might it be possible to grow rather than shrinking our membership if we didn't turn our back on 90% of the RV owners? Look at current attendance trends for FMCA events. Attendance numbers are not growing. Our last 4,000 attendance was ten years ago. I can't even imagine a Convention with 5,000 never mind 7,000

There are a number of potential causes of water leaks around a slide-out. One cause is that the slide seals do not properly "flip" when the slide is run out. This can actually create a funnel effect that aims water toward the interior. I discovered this on my coach while at FMCA Int'l at Indy. As a design engineer I decided to just eliminate the problem by ensuring the seals "flip" and point out when the slide is out. "Folded flap" shows one side of slide with much of the flap still folded inward. "Folded Flap 2" is other side of slide and even the top part of the flap is not flipping out. I found some 15/16" x 8' polystyrene batten wall molding (Lowes #1422) that had a nice rounded profile and is only 3/16" thick so the flaps can slide over the molding easily. After applying some exterior grade 3M double sided tape and locating the inner edge of the flap when the slide was slid in. Note the rubber marks seen to right of molding in picture "RV flap guide 1" I attached some pieces of the molding that would be inboard of the flaps when the slide was fully in. I angled the molding so it would gently "roll" the flap outward when the slide moves out. End results are seen in "RV Flap guide" & "RV Flap guide 2". You can see the flaps are fully out and should direct any rain away from the seals. Total cost about $12. No special tools required as the Polystyrene molding cuts with a utility knife. Just be sure the sides of the slide are clean with no wax or dirt so the tape has best chance of staying attached.

While it is good to know the weight of the car on the dolly, what is really needed is the total weight on the dolly tires. Next time you get fuel I suggest you run across a scale and get just the weight on the dolly axle with the Jeep on the dolly. What is the DOT serial date on your dolly tires? What inflation do you set the dolly tires at? I also suggest you get 2 more TPMS sensord for your system and add the dolly tires to the monitor. While you are at it you might also add 2 sensors to the rear tires of the Jeep so all your tires on the ground are being monitored (RV, Dolly & Jeep)

At Lenoir City SW of Knoxville Totality for us starts 2:32:42 EDT and ends 2:34:40 just a bit later than Lebanon. This site is great as it uses Google Earth so I can check our location to within 5m so know exact time and duration.

Ya draining is not possible. But I have one of those cleaning tubes that flushes lots of water deep inside the tank so I do get all the sediment out. Of course the salad croutons float for a while then they get soggy and sink so I have to squirt a bit more to get them out the drain.

OK guys. Thanks for the ideas and recipe for salad dressing. We are in TN right now awaiting the Eclipse tomorrow. We should have 2:30 of totality (behind the clouds that are sure to blow in over-night). Anyway I take it from the suggestions you feel that my flush didn't get rid of whatever is causing the sulfur smell. Just drained the tank and found the Hot Rod has some crust on it (mineral residue.) Fresh water from CG now in the hot tank so no smell so far but I know the tank still needs good cleaning with vinegar / Hydrogen perox. Wayne's link was actually helpful. Not sure if he intended that or if he wants to give answers more along the line of Herman's. Seriously... The link gives the Vinegar/water proportion and I can do that. Will drain tank and clean the HotRod then add appropriate amount of Vinegar then fill tank from water at home. Will also flush the lines with air as if winterizing while I am at it will be sure to drain holding tank too. (get as much potentially contaminated water out as possible. Next time I won't be lazy but will drain water if not going out within a couple weeks. Thanks to all - Except Herman of course.

Last year I was at campground in Goshen. Connected to their water. Didn't notice any issues but a few weeks later at W. Springfield I noticed a strong sulfur smell from hot water. At the time I thought the problem was from the Goshen water. Drained and flushed hot tank and problem went away. or so I thought. This year, as in the past, I filled tanks with water from home (good city water with no odor issues) Went to Indy and no issues. I did not drain hot or cold water Did a test and both cold & hot three days ago and had no obvious odor. Note I did not heat the water before the test. This morning at CG in KY after hot water heater was on we get strong sulfur smell but only from hot water. Heater is Atwood 6 gal. I am using a "Hot-Rod" electric water heater. Have used this heater for years with no problems. ALL water run into the RV goes through a Camco water filter. Suggestions appreciated

At work we had test chamber 12" reinforced concrete + 1/4" steel plate on tire side. Also to lower explosive force tire was filled mostly with water. This left lower volume of air to expand with explosive force. Could test up to 1,000 psi. I worked 5 floors up and we could hear the boom when they did a test.

This is why you should not inflate large tires from 0 psi. I would not consider any of these folks true "professionals"

Herman, for you they probably give a 1% discount

There is almost always some lower cost tire available. At least lower cost with initial purchase. One thing many forget when selecting a brand is availability of either warranty support or of just finding an identical tire if you get a puncture and just need a replacement. "Mud-Wumper-4" bought from "Billy-Jo-Bob's Cheap tire and Bait Emporium" may be low cost but you may not find anyone else that stocks the Mud Wumper line and it will cost you an extra $200 for shipping a tire across country.

At the pressures most Class-A RVs run I doubt that you will see any difference in ride with a change if tire Load Range if you don't increase the inflation. I know for a fact that in some cases it is possible to change Load Range of a tire with the only change being the bead wire which will have zero impact on ride.

I know that many call it "grease" but it is definitely NOT stuff like axle grease. I have seen some folks suggest WD-40, Pledge Windex etc but some of these alternatives in addition to not "sticking" the tire to the wheel can actually damage the tire. "Murphy's oil soap" is a vegetable based lubricant. It is available in a thick past in a bucket (probably where some thought it was grease). It is water soluble. It is also available in a lighter liquid form in many grocery stores for cleaning wood floors etc. There are a number of similar products sold specifically for mounting tires at NAPA, AutoZone, O"rilly;s etc. I have seen some independent tire stores trying to cut corners that use non-tire specific lubricants. A number of years ago I even recall a tire & wheel assy factory letting the bean counters select a lower cost and soap option that ended up with a recall as tires would go out of balance. If you seem to have a vibration issue that keeps re-occurring marking your tire and checking for slip is a good way to check. Zero slip is what you should see. You might get a bit more if you jam on brakes when tires are first mounted but normally I would expect less than 1/2" at most.