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Forum
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RE: LT tires for 5th
Sidewall design - try flexing a Sailun sidewall. I’ve had tire shops that have older equipment struggle with 3 techs to mount/dismount them. Definitely very stiff sidewalls.
Regarding pressures, you can find Sailun psi load tables and air down if you don’t need 4400lb per tire. Lately I typically have been running 95-100 psi on our 7k axles.
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MNRon
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04/22/23 01:11pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: LT tires for 5th
StirCrazy - good comments here about LT vs ST specs and testing. What hasn’t been mentioned yet is that ST have stiffer sidewalls for the tire scrubbing that will happen on tandem and triple axle trailers. LT are designed with more margin and to higher standards, but they are designed for a different application than ST. I would recommend sticking to ST, and specifically recommend looking at Sailuns (that I have good experiences with - besides, much cheaper than a good LT tire).
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MNRon
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04/22/23 08:47am |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Micro Air
S/w - software, f/w - firmware, h/w - hardware
I have had load support on and Magnum has kicked out genny and only run from batteries as genny voltage dropped too much. Then it won’t let genny back in because same happens each cycle.
I have not seriously throttled input current though (ie - 50% of genny capability or less), this *might* prevent genny voltage from dipping too much? I’ll give that a try next time in this situation. If that doesn’t solve it then I’m probably limited to either wiring in an inverter bypass, or changing to a more robust generator (Honda’s seem to support voltage much better than my Westinghouse, and Honda is coming out with fuel injected models - $$)
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MNRon
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04/21/23 02:51pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Micro Air
Hi Don.
Yes, I also have the MSH3012RV version 1.9, along with a BMK and ME-ARC, no solar. My parameters are set similar to what Itinerant1 posted other than LBCO of 11.5v and VAC dropout =60VAC.
Wish I could resolve genny/inverter issue with s/w or f/w but suspect I might need to ultimately resort to a h/w solution (be it bypass, or a more robust genny). We’ll see, I seem to be iterating ~annually when it’s HOT outside, and then ignoring it until the next time…
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MNRon
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04/21/23 02:17pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Micro Air
Cptnvideo - as 3Tons said, better than I did, my Magnum sees the genny as a defective power source because of the milliseconds of voltage droop when it becomes loaded. I have started the ACs on batteries and hoped the genny would take over. Unfortunately the Magnum takes a few second ms to qualify the new source, then when it tries to bring it in the genny voltage drops instantaneously and the Magnum kicks it out. If I run into this next time I might try limiting genny power to 15A, or 10A etc to see if that allows it to provide most of the power without significantly dropping. We’ll see.
3Tons - thanks, I’ve thought about just putting a Magnum bypass in to allow direct running of AC from genny. I think your solution is more elegant. Still I haven’t given up with futzing with current hardware instead of adding more…. Frankly not sure if I had spent more on a Honda I might not have been aware of this idiosyncrasy. Not sure if I’ll keep messing around or maybe make a hardware change…
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MNRon
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04/20/23 04:33pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Micro Air
Itinerant1 - great 4/15 post.
I have a similar setup and fought to runAC without MicroAire when hot, especially at any altitude; and still am not confident in the Westinghouse genny/Magnum inverter relationship . My setup: 540AHr BB, Magnum3k Boost inverter, Westinghouse i4500 genny, MicroAire on both ACs.
Prior to installing soft starts the Magnum voltage monitor circuitry would detect too much drop from the genny when starting and kick the genny out: if in pass through just starting a new ‘hook up’ loop and not passing voltage through; if in boost it would then run AC solely off of battery. After spending lots of time with Magnum tech support I’ve got VAC dropout as low as it goes (60VAC) but wish Magnum was more tolerant of the droop, or had a setting to accommodate it.
Even after adding soft starts I had some issue a few weeks ago with genny/inverter compatibility that I didn’t fully resolve.
I have run AC on just the BBs, but when drawing ~150A for extended periods circuits heat up more than I’m comfortable with and IR drop within BBs along with 4/0 wiring starts to bring voltages down below 13.0 pretty quickly and trending below 12.0 where some cutoffs come into play.
All of that background is to provide my experience with Westinghouse/Magnum (in)compatibility and to ask if you have other thoughts on my experience. I suspect Honda does much better with surge droop so you may never have seen this. Thoughts?
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MNRon
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04/20/23 02:48pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Black Flush Anti-siphon Valve
BB_TX - thanks for your analysis and thoughts. We don’t get this issue often, nor is it strong. But it’s my current theory that seems to fit. Just dumped tanks yesterday so it will be a while before I get the chance to do the sniff test around the anti siphon, but plan on doing that over the next few weeks.
Assuming the sniff test confirms my hypothesis,do you have any recommendations for a solution? Is an internal anti siphon valve like this standard across the industry on black flush lines?
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MNRon
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04/19/23 09:11pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Black Flush Anti-siphon Valve
Douggrainer - that’s what I thought before looking at the new brass anti siphon I purchased. Definitely an anti-siphon and not a check valve. The ‘in’ side has a plastic valve to prevent water from flowing backwards. The ‘out’ side, which flows directly to the black tank, is exposed to air except when water is flowing in. Makes sense as “anti-siphon” that when water not going in it let’s air in to the black side so it drains back into the tank and can’t be siphoned, unfortunately after the water has drained into black tank the black line is now exposed to air and becomes a vent. Seems like a poor design element on a black flush to me. Am I missing something??
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MNRon
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04/19/23 06:42pm |
Tech Issues
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Black Flush Anti-siphon Valve
We’ve chased black tank odors on and off for quite a few years, for the most part they’ve been resolved BUT once in a while we get a slight odor in the fridge/pantry corner of our VL320. Recently I started investigating the black flush anti siphon valve that hangs on the back of our shower faucet (coincidentally just behind our pantry). When I purchased a new brass on to replace the plastic OEM valve thinking that might help I discovered that the way the anti siphon works is that when not forcing water into the black flush input, it provides an air path down to the black tank (and visa versa) - basically a black tank vent into my coach.
Am I missing something? Is this how all coaches deal with backflow prevention on the black flush?
The black flush already has a check valve at the input, should I just rely on that an eliminate the anti siphon ‘vent’?
Appreciate any insights or wisdom.
Thanks,
Ron
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MNRon
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04/19/23 04:29pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Hitch questions
Troy - Solitude was on our short list when we finally decided on the 35ft Vilano, largely because of the woodwork. The 35ft Solitude is the same floor plan as ours, and even larger tanks, you’ll love it. We toured GD and were impressed, and I know several GD owners. Enjoy! (And get a Superglide :)
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MNRon
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04/19/23 04:20pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Hitch questions
We have a 2022 F350 short bed and a Superglide auto-slider hitch. Have pulled about 5-10k miles with it so far. Pulled with 80-90k miles with a 2013 Duramax 3500 short bed and a Superglide auto-slider. Love the Superglide.
Many times I’ve backed up in a tight spot, or backing uphill, etc and watched the hitch do its job without me worrying. I know that “if you’re careful” you can do without an auto-slider …but… I also have seen *many* dented 5ers or trucks, or punched out rear windows (just saw a taped up rear truck window pulling a 5er this last week). I would never recommend anything but an auto-slider with a short bed truck
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MNRon
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04/19/23 08:56am |
Fifth-Wheels
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Tire Mileage
The saying is “Fifth wheel tires don’t wear out, they age out.”
With that said I have Sailuns that are only 3yrs old that I’m about to replace because of wear; they only have ~37k miles on them :(
I initially noticed a wear issue at less than 10k miles on edges of some of the tires. Had my 5er aligned, service owner said that wear issue might already be “baked in” on these tires so I’ve been watching. Today noticed the outside rib only (not mid, nor inside) was worn down to start telegraphing cords. Tires are loaded to ~3200lb each, rated at 4400lb and I’ve kept them to max inflation. Four other ribs have lots of tread left, but these two tires show the outside rib is gone (2 others were replaced along the way for nails).
Will put on another set of Sailuns and watch to see if I have similar wear patterns, or if the alignment resolved it and I get better mileage on the next set.
Still curious, for those that travel 10k miles+ each year with heavy 5er’s - what kind of tire life do you get?
Thanks
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MNRon
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03/01/23 05:13pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Should I Buy The Dealer's Hitch
Years ago I had a 9000lb TT that I pulled with an F150, then a Yukon 3/4T - You definitely will need a weight distribution hitch with an F150; F250 will handle it OK without but would recommend it anyway for sway control (many tow without).
Equilizer was a great weight distribution hitch BUT you need to get the plastic pads that ride on the L-brackets and grease the pivot otherwise they are VERY NOISY. I was embarrassed every time I pulled into a campground before I added the plastic pads.
Certainly you can install it yourself if you're somewhat mechanically inclined and have the tools. If you have more money than time the price doesn't seem bad.
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MNRon
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01/13/23 07:53am |
Towing
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RE: Montana LLC to save on sales tax
Montana LLCs for RVs are solely to get around paying taxes that you owe. Clearly it’s not something one would proudly proclaim from a mountaintop. To that end, not sure I’d be talking about it on the web if I were doing something everyone feels is ‘shady’ at best.
Not a popular sentiment, but some of us feel proud to pay our fair share to the society that we all benefit from…stepping off of my soapbox…
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MNRon
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11/25/22 05:56pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Quality control?
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.yahoo.com/amphtml/lifestyle/shoddy-unhappy-buyers-near-death-071501136.html?fbclid=IwAR3HN3n9J3-kNjdCqI9IaAI7KvyLsHdbPNEPiLi9GRnbru_uW0ZaUMok3MQ
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MNRon
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10/21/22 06:26pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Lippert six point levelling jacks
I watched the KYD video and still don't understand. Obviously they believed that the rig had shifted and bent the jack (I couldn't see that). After having tech's review things everything was OK. Was there a real problem?
Fundamentally, can someone explain the hydraulic leveling operation to help me understand the issue. I have autoleveled hundreds of times over the last 4yrs with our VL, probably ~20% of the time having some of the wheels off the ground. I've also lifted some, or all, of the wheels off the ground changing tires etc. I do have MORryde IS so I'm not concerned about an equilizer inverting.
If I'm correct, the Lippert 6pt leveling first tries to level front-back using just the front jacks. Then it levels side-side using the rear jacks. My assumption is that the front two jacks are always hydraulically tied together such that fluid flows between them to equilize pressure; similarly the back two right jacks are tied together, and the back two left jacks are tied together. If this is true, when the right rears are lifting trying to achieve left/right leveling fluid will be flowing between the two front jacks to keep pressure on each side equal. Once sufficient weight has been loaded onto the jacks I don't understand why any wheel chocks would matter any longer. Could someone help me understand why there's a problem?
FWIW - I always chock to take the lateral load off of the front jacks when hitching/unhitching, similarly prevents too much lateral load on the front jacks *before* the rear jacks take up significant loading. To repeat my question though, once the jacks have taken up the load why does it matter how level or unlevel the site is?
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MNRon
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09/15/22 09:16am |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Lippert six point levelling jacks
I've lifted tires off the ground regularly for the last few years in our 2019 320 Vilano, including to change tires etc. I'd guess that ~20% of our campsites have one side or the other lifted off of the ground. The LevelUp system is certainly capable. I have MORryde IS also though. If you have standard leaf springs and equilizer you may end up inverting the spring/equilizer connection which will result in a big *bang* when it rights itself.
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MNRon
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09/08/22 02:26pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Generator Fuel Question
Propane burns cleaner, but isn’t as powerful as gas. More importantly for me camping, it isn’t nearly as accessible. I purchased a dual fuel Westinghouse i4500 a little over a year ago. I’ve used it between 50-100hrs so far, at altitudes up to 9400ft. I’ve only used gas (frankly , would have bought gas only unit for $100 less if I could have found one when I needed it). I get about 1/2hr per gallon of gas running heavy loads. Finding LP and hauling tanks would be much more difficult for me than carrying a couple 2.5gal Jerry cans.
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MNRon
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07/28/22 08:59pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Easy Start By Micro Air
Our Westinghouse i4500 has a generous gas tank and ran both our 15kBTU ACs (with EasyStarts) at 9400ft a month ago (didn’t need it nearly as much as the week before at 6000ft when temps were near 100 :) It is 100lb instead of 50 though…
3Tons - not sure your 11kBTU AC experience applies very well to most that have 13.5 or 15kBTU ACs…
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MNRon
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07/28/22 04:52pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: 5th Wheel Hitch Buyer's Guide
B&W if you have a longbed, SuperGlide if you have a short bed. Not the detail you’re looking for, but at the end of your research I expect you’ll land there :)
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MNRon
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07/28/22 04:41pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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