tireman9

We all have a little extra time so here is a suggestion. I posted this on my Blog last week but I know that not all of you read the blog so here is the info. Testing your TPMS. I bet almost none of you have tested your TPMS. This should be done at least once a year. Some nice afternoon when you have nice weather with your traveling companion in the driver seat. AND when you have access to air of high enough pressure to top-off your tires. Go to each tire and unscrew the external sensor and have the person in the driver seat let you know that they can see and hear the warning for each tire position. you don't even have to completely remove the sensor. You might even jot down the pressure level for each tire to confirm it is where you think it should be. Just unscrew the sensor enough to hear air leaking out. As soon as the monitor in the cab sounds you can screw the sensor back in to stop the air leak. Once you know that every sensor works you then need to go around and add back in the 5 psi or so that leaked out. Doing this will also confirm you have your low pressure warning level set properly as the warning should go off as soon as you lose about 5 psi. I cover how I suggest you set your warning levels in THIS post. Some have suggested that since they get pressure and temperature numbers on the monitor that means the TPMS is forking. Well, if you think about it there must be three different circuits in the sensor. One for Pressure, one for Temperature and one to compare or even calculate a pressure loss. Just getting readings of current Pressure or Temperature does not mean the pressure loss system is working or that the low pressure warning level is where you may think it is. Also when done adding air give each connection a spritz of Wiindex or soapy water or similar to confirm no air leaks. "Hey, Lets be Careful Out There"

Has anyone seen an all state inclusive list of driver license requirements for driving or towing an RV or even just a heavy trailer or truck? I have heard that one or more states have a requirement for driving an RV with GVWR greater than 10,000 Lbs. Am wondering if that would be different or covered if we were talking about towing a trailer with some specified limit. Obviously someone driving or towing as part of their job would have some special requirements but what about the rest of us driving ot towing our personal equipment. It would be nice to have that list available to all FMCA members here on the forum. Just a suggestion.

Sorry. I took the pictures without the TPM sensor installed as part of another project.

Whatever you use for the inner dual (long metal valve stem or a hose. there are TWO things to remember. 1. When you push an air chuck or pressure gauge on the end of the stem you may be over-stressing the mount gasket between the wheel and the metal valve. This can move or "rock" the mounting and stress the gasket or even work the valve stem nut loose 2 A long stem or the outer end of the hose MUST be firmly mounted or tired down or there will be vibration or movement that can result in the hose or stem rubbing or fatiguing. 3. With either system you need to hold and support the hose or stem as the force with the air chuck or pressure gauge can be significant Different wheel covers allow or require different solutions. You can see my two different set-up below. Note the small "L" brackets that are riveted to the wheel cover. About 30,000 miles with the grey plastic caps with no problems and 17,000 miles with the SS wheel covers.

Would help to provide a list of odometer miles and actions taken Example 0 Bought new (ODO) 1,000 changed OE Goodyear tires rebalanced (ODO) 2,000 Fronts removed for "Rivering" Bridgestone applied (ODO) 2,500 Front axle scale weight 9000 Rear 16,000# (ODO) ? First signs of Rivering on Bridgestone (ODO)52,000 Bridgestones show rivering as seen in pictures (ODO) 56,000 Motorcycle rack added to rear. Front axle scale weight 8,000 Rear axle weight 17,000# with motorcycle on rack Rear wear is separate issue so that may confuse the question on the front Rivering. Addition of motorcycle would unload front tires so the scale numbers are important if we want to know the contributing factors to the rivering. Did you note the comments on loading being a contributor to the Rivering? Also the level seen in the pictures thkes thousands of miles to get that bad. Corrective action (tire rotation F > Rear) should have been taken earlier. Normally class-A tires do not need rotation "Unless there are irregular wear conditions observed" per GY as I recall.

Looks like "River Wear". Sometimes the wear pattern starts out small but if not looked at these irregular wear patterns can grow and get worse. In General as long as the tire stays in the position where the condition originated it will only get worse. The level seen in Invent1's pictures took thousands of miles to develop. In the Tire Maintenance Council Condition manual they have an early life example that is identified as "Shoulder Step/Chamfer Wear Camber Wear" with the probable cause " Typical in slow wearing positions" Picture "River wear" could also be called "Erosion/Chanel wear" Slow wearing position with light loads and frequent turning. The variation or scalloping seen in Invent1 picture could also have out of balance of tire/wheel/hub/brake system or improper tire/wheel assembly.

I suggest you use your measured loads to learn the minimum cold inflation as published in the tables.. This assumes you will be carrying similar amount of stuff. Your morning "cold" inflation should be good at the "Minimum" + 10% just to avoid having to chase your inflation as Ambient temperature changes.

Yup that's how I did it when working with tubeless truck tires. Can even do LT & Passenger tires following similar steps but "Mounting machines " are faster.

Hope I don't cause any problems with this info. A number of years ago at an FMCA convention I signed up for the Pilot Flying-J discount card. I am not a GS member. Since I use gas neither the TCS nor TDS cards The Pilot card It's not a Debt cars but I must pay the balance in full each month. I don't automatically assume Pilot is the best price but sometimes it is. Also get a discount on propane and holding tank dumping. I do plan my stops which are about every 400 miles and use Gas Buddy in the evening if I expect to need gas the next day. Don't know if Pilot card is still available as neither Pilot or Flying J is listed for Tuscon. You may need to be GS member to sign up today. I'm afraid to ask as they might cancel my account.

Question on driving through Dallas with my Class-C. Direct through on I30 or longer route I635 around? I have no problem driving with traffic as go directly through Atlanta every trip to Perry.

OK Herman you got me. I will edit the post.

1. What is the actual age of your tires based on DOT date, not based on age of the RV? 10 years is a simple MAX age no matter what the tire looks like. 2. Tires need to be closely inspected for ANY irregular wear or ANY runout radial or lateral. This can be done on the fronts and doing a "Free-Spin" inspection as seen in the video in THIS blog post. 3. I have a post on how to spread the cost of changing tires over a three year period.while keeping the newest on the front. HERE Following this procedure also gives you the opportunity to inspect all tires and to have the interior inspected on at least two. If you find any indication of possible problem with the two that were dismounted I would suggest that all the tires are suspect. 4. You made no mention of using a TPMS. If you don't have a system GET ONE NOW. I have a number of posts on my blog about them. Also one oh how I suggest the warning levels be set. 5. Install NEW rubber parts for the bolt in valve stems (may not be able to get the rubber gaskets locally so may need to get new bolt in stems. People forget that the rubber part of valve stems, even the "O" rings and gaskets age out just as tires age-out. I have a couple of Seminars scheduled at Tuscon so stop in and say hi if anyone reading this will attend the Convention.

Background: Class-C w/40 Gal fresh water tank & 6 gal hot water tank. I Winterize with the pink RV antifreeze each year. (hot water tank in by-pass mode) I also normally only use local city water when filling the fresh water tank. Except when flushing the system I always use an in-line filter. Replace new each Spring. I will connect to campground water using the "city water" connection (through the filter) but don't add water to fresh water tank. Use gallon jug water for drinking, making ice, cooking or making tea or coffee. I have only had one problem with water and that was from the sulfur small from hot water after using campground water in Indiana and since I took a shower that meant the hot water tank had campground water in it. It took a couple fill and drain of hot water tank to clear the smell. Getting ready to flush system for my trip to Tuscon in a couple weeks. So again faced with the question of what to do. As I see it I have a few options. 1. Drain and flush lines and fresh water and hot water tanks with my city water Easiest and lowest cost. 2.Do #1 but do the Bleach 'Disinfect treatment 1/4 cup bleach per 15 gal water capacity. Let stand for couple hours before flushing out the bleach mixture. A bit more work and probably less than $1 3 Do #1 but use Camco TastePure per instructions. Reports suggest this is less likely to leave Chlorine smell Cost about $12 based of how much stuff needed per instructions. Finally fill fresh water tank and hot water tank with fresh city water through a new in-line filter. Comments appreciated.

When tires are off for inspection record the FULL DOT serial for all the tires and keep that info with your "Important papers". Never know if there might be a recall in the future and the only way to know if your tires are involved is if you know your full DOT serial.

Don't forget appropriate offset in addition to width.

Not all tire shops have the proper safety equipment for mounting and inflating BIG tires (anything over LR-E 80 psi)

I think if you look at the same size and Load Range you will find the load capacity for a given inflation to be the same for all tires and all brands EXCEPT for a few Michelin items. By "all" I mean 99.9+% so if you find an exception let me know as I don't recall ever seeing one.

You can follow Brett's advice right away. Then you can learn the How and Why of getting your proper inflation by reading my blog.www.RVTireSafety.net.

If you are looking at rear position then you need to compare the "dual Spacing" spec, not a measurement of a stack of tires. for your current and any proposed tires. Dual spacing is controlled by wheel offset. Also need to select tires that are rated for your wheel width.

Driving this time. Thanks for the offer of rides. Thinking to arrive 23/24 Will be on the FMCA Convention APP. and can message there

I will be offering two seminars on Tires in RV application plus two seminars on Genealogy. Be sure to check the info in the convention program. You may also find the FMCA Convention App useful. And helpful when you are planning which seminar to attend and where each will be held.

two comments I believe the Goodyear "Endurance" line is only the ST type tires not the RSA which I think are passenger tires. I think the idea of asking for a discount based on loosing a year of tire life is reasonable. I also would confirm, in writing that the GY warranty starts when the tires are applied and keep the sales receipt with the full DOT serials written on it just in case.

I would consider the use of Rettroband a bit like insurance. No one needs it till they do. Since I have never had a sudden front tire failure on any vehicle, I can only hope I respond appropriately. While it is possible to control a "BIG RIG" when a front tires "blows" your ability does depend on your ability to respond appropriately in the split seconds you have before things get out of control. I would think a big part of the cost is the band it self so it should be possible to transfer to a new coach as long as the size tire is matched to the band. While I have not watch a Rettroband installed and only seen the movie I would estimate about 1 hour per tire and at shop rate of $150 an hr it would probably be worth the effort to transfer to a new coach.

Sorry, I missed the comment on your duals. As I covered in detail in my FMCA Convention seminars and on my tire blog proper matching of duals is very important. The different temperatures and pressure rise means the load is not being distributed equally between each pair. One tire is larger than the other and is carrying extra load. The OC of the tires when inflated but not loaded needs to be within 3/4". This can lead to early life failure or even wear-out of one tire in a pair of duals.

I will be giving a couple of seminars (different topic details) on tires in RV application at Tuscon. Check the seminar schedule and check out the Convention app. Happy to answer specific tire-related questions anytime. Till then follow Brett & Herman's advice. If you are not going to run the Tire Placard suggested inflation, my rule of thumb for an estimate side to side imbalance is to assume 53% of the truck scale axle weight is on one side. Then consult load tables. You can learn more by checking out my tire blog.