RE: A few more tire questions
According to the Michelin website, these two tires have identical specs, with the LTX M/S boasting better snow traction and also denoted as Ford OEM.
The Suburban was DWs daily driver for the first 3 1/2 years we had it. When she got her Hemi Magnum in late 04 it became my daily driver. Last time she drove it, it had the LTX M/S tires, then I went to ProComp before the Revos I have now. She's not usually one to notice things like tires, but she had the truck out a few weeks back and offered an unsolicited comment about how good the tires felt in the rain.
Back to your point, I would choose the LTX M/S given the two finalists you have selected.
FYI, Tire Rack has these at $178 each, but there's a special offer until 5/31 that gives you a $500 travel discount card if you buy 4. Bridgestone is offering $100 cash rebate on 4.
RE: Refrigerator Tie-Down?
Agreed, in normal travels the fridge will stay cold for a day. What caught my eye was that fulltimedale said they would stay in one place for a few months and then move, making me think there might be multiple days on the road between stops. Maybe bad assumption on my part, but just wanted to point it out as a possible point of concern.
As you say, as long as the beer stays cold....
Point is that just adding holding tanks to a park model doesn't make it a travel trailer, regardless of how it's titled. Fulltimedale will no doubt have much fun with his RV, but was trying to help him think through some things he may not have thought of yet.
RE: 80% Rule Question
You guys are missing the point of the "80% rule". No one is suggesting that you should operate at only 80% of your ratings. The ratings are the ratings and there is no need to build in an additional safety factor.
However, as Crappie Fisherman pointed out, the only way to know where you stand with the rating sis to weigh your rig. If a truck is rated to 10,000 lbs, that rating is based on an empty truck and one 150-lb driver. Every pound you add to that truck subtracts from that tow rating. For example, my truck is rated to tow 12,000 lbs, but the GCWR is 19,000. That means if I load the truck up to its 8600 GVWR, I can onkly tow 10,400 and still be withinh GCWR.
I think the "80% Rule" is a shortcut to weighing your rig and getting the specifics....If the tow rating is 10,000, then buy a rig with trailer with a GVWR of 8,000 and you;ll be fine. This adds a fluff factor for loading the truck, etc.
The "80% Rule" was designed to be a guideline for matching a trailer and truck based on the tow rating of the truck and the GVWR of the trailer. This left enought wiggle room to allow for loading the ruck as well.
People take this out of context and get their panties in a wad because they think their truck can't handle 100% of its ratings. Not the case.
RE: Refrigerator Tie-Down?
Mike, that's great, except fulltimedale has a residential fridge, which means no 12v line and no cooling unless connected to 120V. Sounds like HyLine is a great company to work with and buy from. Better than Fleetwood that's for sure....
RE: Just replaced tires and have a question
The rim is only tested to hold the rated psi. More than that and it could bend the bead, separate if it's two piece rim, etc. Sadly, you won't know what the weak point is until it blows up.
Not saying that 51 psi makes it blow off the trailer, but you would be past the safe design specs of the rim.
RE: Refrigerator Tie-Down?
If you go with the brackets that needga$$ suggests, I would add both at the top and bottom. If just at the bottom, there will too much leverage from the fridge leaning and they just pull out. The strap sound like it's workable.
Make sure you secure the door closed as well, either with a bungee or straps.
Last but not least, be sure to secure the contents inside the fridge, you can get spring loaded bars at Camping World for this. Especially jars, etc, they will fly all over the inside of the fridge if allowed to.
As an aside, travel trailers have a 12v battery system with mostly 12v lighting, heat, and a gas absorbtion fridge that runs on propane or electric. In conjunction with the holding tanks, this enables a travel trailer to be "self-contained" ie operate in a field by itself somewhere. Most trailers the only thing that doesn't work with 120V power is the a/c and the microwave.
Park models are designed to be connected to utilities in a campground or other semi-permanent location. Not that this is relevant for you, but wanted to point out the difference is not just size.
You mention staying at a location for a few months and then moving on...you may want to consider a small generator to keep the fridge cold while enroute. You could fabricate a bumper mount for the trailer or run it in the bed of the truck (assuming you don't have a cap LOL) while underway. A Honda 2000 should do the job for you.
Have fun and post back once you embark on your adventure!
RE: Pullrite or ProPride
If you search, LAdams had a post a year or so back...he used to own a PullRite and switched to a Hensley. Summary, he likes the Hensley just fine but prferred the PullRite overall.
Personally, I think the ProPride is a better option because you don't have to worry about moving the spare tire and/or doing exhaust mods, plus you can move it to a new truck much easier. I don't have any direct experience with the ProPride, but I've had a Hensley for 7 yrs now.
RE: Just replaced tires and have a question
Ahhhh, the million dollar question. You no doubt missed the many other tire threads that discussed this. You should check the load and psi rating on your wheels before you go to a heavier tire because the wheels may not be rated for that pressure or load.
There will be a load rating stamped on the wheel. Sometimes it's on the back, and sometimes it's inside the rim so the tire has to be dismounted to see it.
8-ply tires are load range D that have a max capacity of 2540 lbs at 65 psi. Wheels that will handle D-rated tires are typically rated at 2600 lbs. I would definitely check the ratings before you air those tires up all the way.
RE: Hate our Automatic Awning
We decided to try the electric on our new Terry. Only used the awning once and we had a light rain. I noticed that water was draining off one end, but I didn't notice any struts or other mechanism that let the awning tilt and "dump" the water. It dumped a bunch when I rolled it up though! I never liked the idea of the awning tie-downs...it's it's blowing that hard that the awning needs to be tied down, it should probably be rolled in.
No doubt that the manual awnings have some advantages that I'm not seeing on the electric model, but I'm betting I'll find work-arounds once we get into the season. I think the ability to deploy/retract the awning by pushing a button inside will outweigh whatever drawbacks there are.
I had a 21' awning on our Sunnbrook, and that that thing was a beast. I;ve stood in the blowing rain rolling it up more times than I like to recall.
RE: Suburban Torsion bar leveling
Couple of things....many of the guys on the GM truck forum have "cranked" the torsion bars to level the truck when empty and fit bigger tires under the wheel wells.. You could do the same to the burb. I am not a fan of this. The rear leaf springs in the truck are designed to carry a lot of weight, hence the 8,600 GVWR and 12,000 lb tow rating. the truck will sit level when under a load, but have a forward rake when empty.
Regarding the lean, sound like something is not right there. I know the gas tank is on the left side of the truck, and when full with 38 gals will produce about 1/2" lean on mine when measured from the rear. I have not noticed any affect on the front though.
Also, you should be sitting close to those bump stops not right on them when empty. You may have a defective torsion bar or possible it just needs to be adjusted. I would take to the dealer or a good suspension shop and have them check it, and get an alignment while you're there. FYI, if you do decide to crank the torsion bars to level the truck, you will need an alignment afterwards to adjust caster/camber.
RE: 3/4 ton Suburban Autoride questions
That's absolutely correct. Both the 1500 and the 2500 Suburbans have an AutoRide option, but they work differently on each.
On the 1500, Autoride is basically air shocks in the rear with an onboard compressor that uses a ride height sensor to level the rig when it is loaded.
On the 2500's, AutoRide is a variable damping system. The shocks are filled with a ferrous fluid that changes viscosity in response to an electrical current. There are ride sensors at each wheel position, and based on input from those sensors, the ABS sensors, speedo, etc., the ride control computer (RCC) varies the shock stiffness several times per second. It's quite effective and makes the burb ride pretty nice for a 3/4 ton truck. FYI, it was a "mandatory option" with the 8.1, you couldn't order the 8.1L in a burb without AutoRide.
On the downside, I've had to replace both rear ride sensors on my '01. In fairness, they probably got sand in them, so I don't think it's a widespread problem.
Garden variety OBDII scanners can't read codes from the RCC, you need to have a GM Tech II scanner so it's mainly a dealer-only repair situation. If there is a problem, the message center will only say "service Ride Control". Other downside is the cost of the shocks...they are about $250 EACH. I've not been able to find out a specific service life on these things....a GM tech I know from another board says the average is 125K miles. I have 94K on mine now and think I will wait until either a) they start leaking or b) the message center says they are bad.
If you didn't get an owner's manual with your truck, PM me and I can e-mail it to you as a pdf.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y134/Burbman/0155.jpg width=640
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y134/Burbman/046.1.jpg width=640
RE: Recommendations for new tires
Really? No issues towing with retreads? Same load ratings? Which tread pattern do you run? Free shipping and 1/2 the price of new tires, I bookmarked that site! With the price of oil going up like it is, new Bridgestones will probably be $250 each by next year.
RE: Trailer tire pressure
Exactly. While inflation should be matched to load for any tire, ST, LT, etc., it's mostly an academic discussion for the large majority of 5ers and TT's for the reasons you mentioned.
RE: Recommendations for new tires
I'm probably the lone dissenter on Michelins....I had a set of LTX/MS in 245/75-16E and only got about 30,000 miles out of them. The wet weather traction really went downhill after they were about half worn, and I finally made the decision to dump them before they reached end of life. Based on treadwear alone, they probably would have gone 50,000 miles. I have since upgraded to 16x8 wheels and now run 265 tires. Last year I decided to try the Bridgestone Dueller Revo's and have been very impressed. Tread is a little noisy on the highway, but excellent wet weather traction and great offroad at the beach as well. A little pricey at $180/each but still less than the Michelins. IMO, Michelin has become so expensive they are no longer worth the premium they charge.
If you want more of a highway tread, the regular Duellers (not the Revo's) are worth looking at.
If you have a local mechanic that can do the mount/balance for you, you may want to consider The Tire Rack. Even with shipping and paying for mount/balance, I was able to save almost $100 on the set of Bridgestones vs. the best price I could get from the local tire dealer.
RE: Trailer tire pressure
Here is the Goodyear inflation table:
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y134/Burbman/2008%20Terry/GYTable_Page_1.jpg width=640
And here is the Maxxis table for ST tires:
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y134/Burbman/2008%20Terry/m8008load1.jpg width=640
The right way to do it is to weigh the trailer and adjust your tire pressure accordingly. In my case, I have only 7640 lbs on 5200 lb axles with D rated tires (2540 cap ea) so I have over 10,000 lbs of capacity. I am running at 60 psi instead of 65 to provide a little margin of safety.
My loaded weight was a fully packed TT with full water, so I'm confident I'll never be over 8000 lbs or so on the axles. As was stated, most TTs don't have the same amount of capacity and the tires are sized to handle the axle load with only a small margin.
In most cases, when you weigh the trailer you will find you need to run at the max psi on the sidewall anyway to safely carry the load. Do NOT run below the max psi unless you have carefully weighed the trailer and done the math.
RE: Things Manufactures do that make you go HUH?
"mickey of hooch?" Don't know that one....
I agree, I would rather do this minor work myself. Just easier than bringing it to the dealer, and I get to customize what I want. Plus, this isn't warranty work, so the dealer is going to charge you $95/hr labor. Kind of like calling an electrician to change a light switch. I'm convinced though, that you really shoyldn't own an RV unless you're pretty handy. Given all the stuff I've had to (or wanted to) fix, I can imagine that owning an RV and not being handy must be a very frustrating combination.
Part of the problem is that the engineers and designers that design these things have never camped a night in their life. Combine that with piecemeal production...I was reading an article about the early days of Sunnybrook and the comment that the struggling company was able to triple production when it adopted the "pay by piece" production system used by the other big factories...so paying factory workers by the piece doesn't really do much to incent quality. That unit's got to go out the door come heck or high water.
RE: water pump = earthquake generator
My set up is similar to Les'. You need to isolate the pump so the surges don't reveberate through the hard PEX plumbing. I used a stainless faucet hose from the local big orange store...
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y134/Burbman/2008%20Terry/IMG_1332.jpg width=640
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y134/Burbman/2008%20Terry/IMG_1333.jpg width=640
