rayin

FWIW, Good Sam, wholesalewarranties.com and most others are actually brokers. We bought one when we bought our MH from Camping World. For us both purchases were a good deal. The ESP more than paid for itself during the 3 yr contract period. Our reasoning was, since the MH had been stored in the previous owners barn for 8 years due to poor health, things would break/fail. All claims were paid without question since we followed the claims procedure exactly, as detailed in the contract. This policy is inclusionary, everything is covered except what is listed in the contract as non-covered items. We also bought the gaskets and seals rider, otherwise if anything fails due to a gasket/seal failing, it is not covered; it's called consequential damage. That said, there are other places to shop for an extended service plan; wholesalewarranties.com is best-known for pricing and reputation. These companies are in business to make money, exactly like all life insurance companies, MH insurance, or health insurance.

Shade Pro makes a "curtain-style" tire cover that simply attaches to the side of the MH and shades the tire from sun rays.

Read the Michelin RV tire brochure to read what they say about the Service Life of Recreational Vehicle Tires. I could type/copy it here, but I sense you would believe Michelin more than me. Trailer tires-ST tires have heavier sidewalls to withstand side forces better than LT tires, IF they are inflated to sidewall listed maximum air pressure. Many years ago I watched a truck N 5er make a spot turn on a wide street in Van, TX (July). I have no idea what tire pressure the owner ran, but in the middle of that spot turn one trailer tire lost pressure due to the bead losing its seal. That was what Roger referred to as "interply shear", I call it side stress on the tire. In Tireman9's defense, we post here for free-well pay dues, Roger is a commercial member, which if I recall required paying to participate in the forums. His experience and knowledge is IMO unsurpassed by any member of the various RVing forums.

I appreciate the explanation. I should have realized advertising is-ah, advertising, not necessarily the whole truth. Whatever it is must be good stuff, it still looks like "real" leather after 19 years. I could have been saving money, I've been using Leather Cream cleaner $$ on it all this time.

Read the advertising brochure link in my sig. and give me your opinion, it says "Leather Villa Furniture" Under "driver conveniences" and "interior" sections.

I remember it that way too; Ford set the Federal Tire Placard tire pressures below what Firestone said was minimum air pressure for the weight of the Explorer. Some tires rolled off the rim as a consequence, resulting in Ford Explorer roll-overs.

X3! My cousins all go camping locally Easter weekend, for the last 5 years it has been raining, temps in the 40's, and windy here. We have stayed home. Isn't the video cell phone call a great invention?

Actually Michelin says annual de-mounted inspection should begin at 5 yrs of age. https://www.michelintruck.com/assets/pdf/bulletins/TB_Service_Life_RV_Tires.pdf That increases your total amount by 2 yrs of costs. I have read posts that told of a tire company paying for RV repairs due to tire failure, but we both know about believing everything we read on the internet_.

My wheel is leather-covered, it's -er, cream colored to match all the leather seating. I can't imagine a black wheel again(been there done that) either.

Thanks Marine! I'll keep your experience and advice in mind if/when my inverter fails.

As Carl alluded, how long since you performed an air brake check? If the air brake system has a leak, that can affect the air springs because the air brakes have priority over air suspension when air is being lost at an excessive rate. To further touch on what Richard said; a few years ago a worker in N. Indiana was suffocated when the MH he was underneath lost air, which allowed the coach to pin him enough that he could not breathe.

FWIW, when I was in high school I worked for the local Goodyear tire store one summer. I did light work and changed car tires, they would not allow me to work on truck tires citing safety reasons. One day a man was inflating a truck tire that was inside a pipe cage, the tire exploded and the man lost his right hand. I see a valid reason for Rogers pictures.

Richard it looks like you intend to run all new wiring to the headlamps, which is a great idea as wiring can deteriorate over time and create higher resistance. Thought you might get a chuckle from this:

Thanks for the invitation Roger, regrettably we are unable to attend. I would enjoy attending your seminar, the day I stop learning is the day they close the lid on me. Something many do not understand is tire punctures, they allow water to enter the steel cords if not properly repaired with a Plug N Patch. My wife has never fully recovered from the auto wreck 3 years ago, probably never will. We can only do short trips now ~200 miles, due to her back pain, and the TBI left her with a speech impediment that makes her uncomfortable around others. Those tires on my cargo trailer are still inflated, but after sitting outside for 3+ years-unmoved, it's next tow will be to have new tires installed; might have to remove them and just take the wheels to the tire shop. I think Carlisle is the mfgr that says ST tires should be replaced every 3 years, poor memory these days.

On the topic of roof coating; I have an old cargo trailer with a fiberglass roof, in 3' sq sections. All the seams are leaking so I'm going to try something this spring. I have a can of "FlexSeal(it DOES contain petroleum distillates) white coating, I'll clean off old caulk and paint the seams with FlexSeal liquid. If it destroys the old trailer roof little is lost; but I'll make a new topic post of the results either way. I would not attempt my MH roof even if it does well, FlexSeal liquid in a 1G can is $90 now.

I just signed into my Safeco account. Low and behold the header says "Safeco Insurance, a Liberty Mutual Company".

This will reinforce what Bill said: https://www.truckinginfo.com/154830/mismatching-dual-tires-a-sure-fire-way-to-kill-two-tires-at-once

We just proved there are different ways to say the same thing, should we blame it on geography? I just had a thought, is the ECM another item that is not disconnected when we use the "salesman switch"?

Actually the hard (factory) data remains locked in memory, what it must learn is the drivers style. Immediately after a battery reconnect, the ECM reverts to factory settings it takes approx. 100 miles for the ECM to "learn" the drivers habits and style.

That would sure negate the ability of a foreign power to disable our current military navigation systems(GPS)

I bought Sailun S637 regional tires, they perform wonderfully, better than the previous Goodyear RV tires. Carl is right about sitting outside, my cargo trailer sits outside with direct sunlight on passenger side. Those 2 tires are severely weather-checked and cracked, the North side tires look like new; I"ll be replacing them this spring.

I agree with Carl. Now you may even buy an adjustable thermostat. Either way it must be tight against the tank and well insulated to work properly.

Thank you for the detailed articles. This reminds me to clean my Spartan radiator "sandwich" again this spring., and what to do if I encounter problems. I use aerosol air conditioner coil heavy duty cleaner. My hydraulic filters are stacked inside the reservoir. Wish I had spin-on.

How much cooling can occur when the radiator coolant is at/near 195°? My 02 Chevy Duramax dually has a separate transmission cooler in front of the radiator.

Xantrex is an excellent product, if my obsolete RS 20000 SW ever dies, I'll replace it with Xantrex's new equivalent. Their customer support service has helped my with every question. EDIT: Donco made me re-read my Xantrex owners manual, I was wrong, it does not say it is a pure sine wave inverter, it simply says "sine wave".