skipnchar
Topeka or somewhere else
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Joined: 12/17/2003
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In MOST cases scraping bottom when DAMAGE occurs it is not from the scraping but from the IMPACT. You'll still have the impact only more often. It may make less NOISE than previously but don't see it protecting anything other than the paint job on whatever is scraping.
2011 F-150 HD Ecoboost 3.5 V6. 2550 payload, 17,100 GCVWR -
2004 F-150 HD (Traded after 80,000 towing miles)
2007 Rockwood 8314SS 34' travel trailer
US Govt survey shows three out of four people make up 75% of the total population
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Dakzuki
Carnation, Wa, USA
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skipnchar wrote:In MOST cases scraping bottom when DAMAGE occurs it is not from the scraping but from the IMPACT. You'll still have the impact only more often. It may make less NOISE than previously but don't see it protecting anything other than the paint job on whatever is scraping.
I beg to disagree. It all depends on what is going to hit first. I would much rather tag the skids/wheels rather than my generator exhaust, waste plumbing, or bodywork. Many Cs are like that. Nobody advocated banging the skids/wheels into the deck. Go slowly and when they hit evaluate the situation. If you can keep going, go for it, if not, reset. Anyone that is driving fast enough to have a hard impact with the rear is already in trouble wheels or not. If you are going fast enough to hit the wheels hard enough to do damage, you certainly would have done damage without them. A few extra inches is not going to help.
2011 Itasca Navion 24J
2000 Chev Tracker Toad
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TippleUnduly
Cranbury, NJ
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Joined: 04/14/2004
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After dragging my tail on a couple driveways, I added a pair of the Paxton wheels to my B+. Must admit I now "roll my tail" just a bit more often, but take comfort in knowing things are rolling back there instead of scraping. So far they seem to be doing the intended job!
Bill K
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the_armadillo
SE Texas
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Our RV has a very long overhang behind the rear axle which is fairly low. Previous owner had dragged the tow bar and even minorly damaged one corner of the rear fiberglas cap. We are always watching for troublesome dips especially when entering/exiting truck stops and parks. I mounted some of the heavy duty 3 inch steel non-swiveling Paktron rollers prior to the last trip and glad they were installed. We touched down on the rollers entering a fairly innocent looking driveway into Walmart in Del Rio, TX. No damage and am very pleased with this mod. Highly recommend them. Even if in the future we were to get hung up in some dramatic fashion that would leave the drive wheels without traction, I would rather deal with a towing situation than a major damage repair.
* This post was
edited 11/16/11 06:48pm by the_armadillo *
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EMD360
Tempe, AZ
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Armadillo, would like to see a photo of your install and where the 3" rollers are mounted. Do you know the weight rating for those?
We certainly were not barreling down the mountain when we hit bottom. Here is a photo of our RV roof from the trail. You can see the mountain road in the background.
The wheels are a $30 investment due to the Amazon factor, and really worth it if we can minimize future damage and continue to camp in remote areas.
Love the photo of the tiny skid for that huge plane! Wow, really amazing what technology is out there.
Here is the damage to the rear sad to say.
It cost me $75 in materials to fix the rear end the last time and I thought that was very reasonable. So I'll just have to do it again. Not the greatest news, but not the end of the world. If I can avoid this in the future, even better. Of course this time the bumper is mangled too.
But I'll see if we can bang it back out and just replace the mounts. Otherwise we'll try one of those PVC fenceposts I think! I'm so glad you all are willing to comment and suggest your ideas.
We're hooked!
2003 Itasca Spirit 22e
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the_armadillo
SE Texas
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I'll have to look to see if there is a weight rating on the box this week-end but the wheels I bought were made for large Class C and DP Class A. I'll try to post a picture of my install as well. When I purchased these wheels, I went back and forth at how to install since on our rig all that is back there is the receiver hitch and the fiberglass rear cap. The wheels were made to mount with HD U-bolts around the receiver cross tube but that would not work in my case due to where the cross tube is located and the manner in which it has plates for mounting trailer air brakes and electrical connectors. My hitch is a 20,000 lbs Reese hitch which has very stout side plates which are welded to the Freightliner frame. After looking at the frame and the receiver hitch, I had some custom plates welded up out of 1/2 inch plate which bolt onto the outside of the side plates using the same grade 8 bolts that hold the cross tube.
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EMD360
Tempe, AZ
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That jet skid looks tricky, way too small for that big heavy vehicle. Yet it almost did the trick. I wonder if it damaged the runway too.
Anyway the wheels came and they look big. By the way, are Paxton wheels are particular type of wheel? I couldn't find out just by googling.
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navegator
San Diego CA.
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To the tail draggers, try to place the rollers displaced a couple of inches in relation to each order from theire center of rotation so that both do not contact the ground at the same time when the RV,s center line is at 90 degres to the slope, that way when the rollers manage to lift the chasis traction wont be lost due to both rear wheels being to high.
Also never enter or exit ramp type driveways dead center, always at an angle, done that been there, I have a small 24 footer with a black PVC tube for the drain hoses under the rear bumper, if it touches, I know that I messed up, PVC tube is cheap to replace.
Hope this hellps a litle. from navegator
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EMD360
Tempe, AZ
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Ah, that makes a lot of sense. Don't want both rear tires high at the same time. Seems that the scrapes that we got happened one wheel dip at a time though. Typically from a hole or boulder in the road so I never would have thought to apply this idea back to a dip on pavement. We go over neighborhood speed bumps all the time with no issues and they are approached dead on. But maybe sloped in a more friendly way with no dip either.
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Dakzuki
Carnation, Wa, USA
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EMD360 wrote:
Love the photo of the tiny skid for that huge plane! Wow, really amazing what technology is out there.
Even the airplane tail skids have their limits. Hit them too hard or drag them too long and damage will happen. I was aboard a 747 for a really long (intentional) tail drag and we messed it up good. Kept the tail down too long. Here is the same test on an A380. They got it a bit wrong too and tagged the tail of the plane aft of the skid. BTW, that is a special flight test "super skid" for just such a test. Enjoy.
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