Power Up Your RV With Pneumatic Air

RVers are concerned with air pressure in their tires, but they may also have air bag stabilizers on their tow vehicles or pneumatic power tools they need to use. This requires an air compressor that will do the job. I’ve owned several air compressors in various sizes and configurations. I'm currently using a Master Power, 2 Horse Power, 150 psi, 5 gallon capacity air compressor by Cooper Tools. I like this unit because it's basically square and fits neatly in one of my slide out trays in the motorhome basement next to a power outlet. It will handle two hoses at once so you can have a hose for both sides of your coach or have two air tools hooked up at once. Since motorhome tires have a required tire air pressure of 110 psi (depending on load and manufacturers recommendations) you will need a heavy duty air compressor to handle this amount of air pressure. Most motorhomes with air brakes and air bags have a valve that allows you to use the onboard air compressor. The problem with this is that these systems are set to cut off at around 130 psi so it takes a long time to fill your tires because it has to cycle back and forth until your tires are topped off. A positive point is that motorhome air is "dried" so no moisture enters your tires (a bad thing). If you use a stand alone unit, you should attach an air drier before using it to inflate your tires.I like my Master Power unit because it has a fold down handle and rear wheels allowing you to “tip and roll” the unit wherever you need it. Relying solely on the motorhome unit does not afford the luxury of moving the compressor so depending on the length of your rig, you will need 50 or 60 feet of hose to air up all your tires. Another problem in using the motorhome unit is that you’ll irritate your neighbors with your noisome engine running and the air compressor cycling off and on because it takes much longer to air up using your motorhome’s air compressor than it does a quieter less obtrusive stand alone compressor. The drawback to the electric air compressor is that it requires electricity to work, so you will need to run it off of shore power. Air compressors suck up good deal of electric current so you will need to use a heavy duty extension cord. If you’re out in the boonies most motorhome generators will power these units. However, the smaller portable generators like the Honda 2000 will not. I purchased this unit from COSTCO for $150.00 and I have seen a similar model at Sears. A portable unit like this is useful in many ways including blowing out dust from your water heater, refrigerator chimney and external heater orifice. They also come in handy for powering pneumatic staplers, nailers, grinders, wrenches, buffers, drills and many other pneumatic tools. Compressed air has many uses and having access to a unit like this makes RV maintenance more convenient. Helping you blow off some compressed air - Jim Twamley, Professor of RVing

RVer Frustrates Future Flap Failure

Our Motorhome has two types of flaps, the standard mud flaps behind each wheel in their respective wheel wells and the rear monster flap. Mud flaps are important because they restrain the small ballistic missiles your tires pick up and hurl back at the under-parts of your coach. This is especially critical when your radiator is down range. If you’re missing a mud flap you’re just asking for trouble in the form of a punctured radiator core. I was tooling down the RV road somewhere out in the middle of South Dakota when I pulled into a rest stop for lunch. (Is it just me or does this kind of stuff always happen in South Dakota?) Anyway, I got out to stretch my legs and do my routine walk around safety check and I saw this. This mud flap had just been installed a few days prior to this and somehow was sucked up onto the tires. The tires had worn the flap down making holes in it - no problem though, we were parked in an authorized smoking section. I replaced it at the earliest opportunity taking the added measure of securing the top and bottom of the mud flap to the wheel well frame with self tapping screws and fender washers. (Do you suppose that’s why they call them “fender washers”?) Now the mud flap stays in place and I haven’t had any further problems with it. Keeping you from flap failure - Jim Twamley, Professor of RVing

You’re Driving Your RV, Suddenly a Tire Blows.... What Should You Do?

Alright RVers, class is in session. The thing that all RVers dread is a rapid tire deflation while driving (otherwise known as a “blow out”). Today I'm giving a pop quiz - a passing grade means you get to keep your life and your RV: Here's the question, Your RV has a blow out in the right front tire - What do you do?

a. Slam on the brake
b. Step on the accelerator
c. Lightly apply brake pressure
d. Downshift and put on the exhaust brake if you have one
e. Shout, “We’re All Gonna Die!”

Well, if you answered “Step on the accelerator” you are correct. Don’t believe me? Take it from the Professor, this information will save your life. I STRONGLY recommend that all RVers (regardless of the type of RV you own) go to the Michelin website and view this short documentary called “RV The Critical Factor” here:
RV Tire Blow Out Video If this link doesn't work (We've been having trouble with Google's Blogger Links) you can cut and paste this link and click on "view" under the heading "RV the Critical Factor": http://www.michelinrvtires.com/michelinrv/toolbox/videos-demos.jsp
Keeping you safe on our highways and byways - Jim Twamley, Professor of RVing

Michelin Introduces a Single Replacement for RV Duals

RVers have been seeing single tires that replace the duals on trucks for some time. However, this technology has not been available to RVers until now. Michelin has introduced the new X One XRV that replaces your rear duals with a single tire. This new tire promises increased fuel efficiency for your RV. Michelin has incorporated it’s new technology called “infini-coil” that helps eliminate casing growth and stabilizes the pavement contact area on the tire for longer tread life and even wear across the tread. To give you an idea of how big these tires are here is a picture of the Dr. of RVology kneeling next to one. There is 1/4 mile of steel wire in each of these tires. This tire will run on pressures of 75 psi to 120 psi depending on your load. It has a special wheel that replaces your dual wheel assembly. Just think about this, once these babies are on your coach, you’ll only have four valve stems to deal with. Keeping you rolling down the road - Jim Twamley, Professor of Rving.

RVers Now Have an Easy Way to Monitor Tire Temperature

Avid RVers keep a close eye on their tires because healthy tires will keep you safely rolling down the road to all those great RV destinations. Sick tires can leave you stranded on the side of the road. So what can you do to make sure your tires are healthy? Well, lots of things, but one easy thing you can do is to take their temperature. Just like a sick person has an elevated temperature, a sick tire will also have an elevated temperature. But how can you take a tires temperature since there is no place to stick a thermometer? Meet Mastercool 52224, the handy device that solves this problem. Designed with a pistol grip and trigger, you just point and shoot (it has a red laser pointer for accuracy) and the large LED readout gives you the instant temperature.
Dennis Brown, Owner/Operator of "A Tire Man", mobile tire sales and service of San Diego states, "When the center reading of a tire is hotter than the shoulder reading, the tire is over-inflated.  When the shoulder is hotter than the center, this indicates under-inflation.  When checking steering tires, ideally the tread face should read the same shoulder-to-shoulder when properly inflated.  In some cases, alignment can come into play, and that's another situation.  When reading properly inflated steering tire temperatures, a reading that is warmer on the outside or inside shoulder may possibly indicate an alignment problem."Mastercool is also great for checking for leaks around your refrigerator gaskets. You can also use it for checking your air conditioner and heater. Some folks even use it for checking surface cooking temperatures. This is a useful tool to have around home and RV and sells for $60.00 plus $5.00 S/H. You can read more about it here. Mastercool Also, Tom is selling these at the vendor booths at the FMCA show in Redmond, Oregon this week, so you could pick one up there without having to pay for shipping. Keeping you informed on what’s hot - Jim Twamley

Now Large RVs Can Have Their Tires Changed Without Removing The Wheels

I have a 40 foot motorhome and do not carry a spare tire. I don’t know many people with motorhomes who do carry a spare. When we get a flat, we call the towing company and they either repair the tire or change it out. Before the TireSpyder came along, the tire repairman had to completely remove the wheel and take it back to the shop or fix it at the roadside if he had a tire machine mounted on his rig. Now he can just jack up the vehicle and use the TireSpyder to completly remove the tire off of the wheel without taking it off the vehicle. Hopefully your towing service uses this new machine because it’s much faster and will have you back on the road sooner. The repairman doesn’t have to lift the heavy tire because the TireSpyder does the work for him (which makes for a happier repairman). Visit their website and watch a video of how this new machine will make RV roadside tire replacement much less of a hassle.TireSpyderKeeping you posted on the latest RV related technology - Jim Twamley

There’s An Alligator In the Road!

Full time RVers Larry and Cheryl Mattingly travel in this nice Alpenlite 5th wheel. Recently they experienced a tire failure on one of their Goodyear RST LT235 / 85R16 tires, load range G. The tread separation caused a good bit of damage on their coach. By the way, for those who may not know, the term “alligator” is CB talk for a large tire tread on the road. This tread not only tore up the 5er skirt, it also ripped a couple holes in the wheel well. Larry said, “The tire was just under 2 years old and had about 12,000 miles on it. Because the tire was still inflated, the dealer was able to verify that the proper pressure of 110 lbs had been used. The tires come new with 12/32 of tread. My remaining 3 tires all measured as having 10/32 of tread remaining.” This turn of events worked in Larry and Cheryl’s favor because Goodyear agreed to pay for repairs to their rig and to replace the tire. Goodyear has a form that you must complete and submit along with supporting documentation of repairs. Larry also had this to say, “Through this process, I have learned that my tires are rated for 65 MPH. This means I can't take advantage of the higher speed limits in some of the states we visit.” Thanks Larry for sharing this information with us because I’m sure many of us didn’t know about the speed limitations on some types of RV tires. We are also encouraged to know that some tire manufacturers will stand behind their products and pick up the pieces. Jim

Tire Care

Today I want to cover proper tire care. First, you need to make sure that you have good quality tires, if not, get some :) Protect the rubber from sunlight by covering your tires with wheel covers when you plan to stay somewhre more than a couple of days. When you sit in one place for a while you need to make sure you check your tire pressure with an accurate guage and reinflate them to proper manufacturer recommended pressure. I keep 80 pounds of pressure in my tires. I also have a small portable air compressor (not the kind that plugs into the cigarette lighter - they are a waste of time and money) the one I have is heavy duty enough to fill to these pressure levels. Once I am satisfied that I have the proper air pressure in each tire, I visually inspect the tires for any bubbles, nails or unusual tread wear. Once on the road, I do a walk around at each stop and visually inspect each tire. Some folks use a spot meter temperature indicator to check for excess heat. If a tire is producing excess heat it is not properly inflated and or is failing. Make sure you rotate the tires on your truck according to manufacturer recommendations and also make sure your front end is properly aligned. Also, make sure your lug nuts are torqued to the proper torque. Take care of your tires and they will take care of you by getting you to your destination safe and sound. Tomorrow I talk about the shower stall.

RV Tires

As per Murphey's Laws we were driving through Nowhere South Dakota when we experienced tred seporation on one of our 5th wheel tires. The tire did not blow out, but it seporated to the point that it was rubbing on the other tire causing friction, heat and smoke. Part of the problem, as you can see, is that the tires are too close together.

I pulled over and put on the spare. Fortunately nothing catostrophic happened. The tires HitchHiker put on were Goodyear 10 ply tires and the trailer is a 2004 model - the tires failed after only two years and I am meticulous about keeping proper air pressuer. What is the fix? Put on higher ply commercial grade tires which is what I did as soon as we got to a big enough town. I put on Goodyear 14 ply tires.
These tires have held up well so far. Four new tires cost me about $1200 installed. If you buy a used rig I recommend that you just install new tires all around as soon as possible, even if the tires look good on the outside you have no idea how they were maintained. So, replace them just to be sure! Tomorrow I will talk about tire maintance and care.