Camping in Edisto Beach State park

[Paul Zeuke]

We have been in the Live oaks Campground since saturday. We head back home tomorrow. Nessie ran well but needs the left side header gasket as it has gotten louder. She is getting closer to being done and we are adjusting storage and other things to work better on the trips.

[Rich Thomas]

Have a safe trip home Paul, I'ta amazing the things you learn about motor home camping. On the first trip out,  I learned to remove the stove burners and place them on a soft towel while traveling. That rattle they make while on the stove about drove me nuts the first long road trip I took. I also learned how well the bathtub doubles as a storage locker for things like the fresh water hose and my spare fresh water jugs. Glad you had a good time and again have a safe trip home.

[Paul Zeuke]

Rich, I am lucky that the locking clips for the stove burners are intact and dont rattle going down the road. Everything else does....LOL The joys of a 40 yo Motorhome. I will be experimenting with tire pressures to try and smooth out the ride a little. I have been running them at the max at 100 psi cold but it rides like a tank. Digging through the Chassis manual I found a tire pressure chart and according to it I can run 75 psi in the rears and 80 psi up front and still have more than enough load capacity with the 8 R 19.5" tires. 

[Rich Thomas]

Hi Paul, Tire pressure is one of those things that a lot of folks over look and one that can reach out and slap you. If your aware of the following please bare with me on this one.  Your chassis manual is a good reference. One thing that can guide you even more is to have your rig weighed on all four corners loaded, like you would be for a common trip. with that info you can balance your weight and optimize your tire ware and ride comfort.  There's a lot of info on here if you want to dig deeper into tire issues. I'm always quick to offer that you should learn as much as you can about your tires and what effects there performance and safety. I had a major blow out on my rig twenty miles from the PO's property at 60 miles an hour on the interstate. It wasn't pretty! but luckily for me my tail pipe was located just in front of my blown tire and saved my rig from any damage from the flapping. Have you ever watched NASCAR and seen how a blown tire shreds the side off of a race car; same thing happens to a motor home. With the large amount of new members on GORV's your thread has lent a good opportunity to bring up the topic and I hope others will read this and do the research. Thanks for indulging me. 

[Paul Zeuke]

no problem Rich. It is a very good topic to discuss. From 1990 until 2000 I was an ASE certified Auto mechanic. I was planning on weighing the Travco to see where the weight is and adjust accordingly. The tire pressures I mentioned are for 8 R 19.5" tires with a F load rating formally know as 12 ply. The pressures I stated are well above the maximum capacity of the axles they are on. At 70 PSI the front tires are rated to carry 2540 lbs each putting them at 5080 lbs capacity on a 4000 lb rated axle. The rear duals at 75 PSI are rated for 2570 lbs per tire giving a total of 10,280 lbs capacity on a 10.000 lb capacity rear axle. At the numbers I quoted of 80 psi up front and 75 in the rears the tires should be able to handle 15,640 lbs of load in a rig rated for a gross weight of 14,000.  According to the manual all number should be raised 10 psi if running extended periods over 65 mph. I know what a rear blowout is like as I had two on the maiden voyage last year. I am thankful for steel inner fenders and that he did not peel off a lot. I will be checking weights prior to and adjusting tire pressure accordingly but at the current 100 psi per tire the old girl beats us to death going down the road. dropping the rears to 90 for our last trip helped a little. I also know that lowering the pressures may reduce our fuel economy but at 8 mpg how much worse can it get.

[Rich Thomas]

Good info Paul, It's always a risk to post stuff like this because you don't want to insult some one's intelligence, Thanks so much.

[Paul Zeuke]

Good information and recommendations should never insult someones intelligence. Tire pressures are a hot topic and I have seen many say they should be run at the sidewall pressure but that is only a maximum for maximum load. Load range F tires are the proper ones for the 76 Dodge M500 chassis but at maximum inflation their load capacity far exceeds that of the axles.

 

[Jimco_W001]

  Hi Paul, I'm running General LT 9.50 x 16.5 radials on my 1970 F-17 Winnebago motor home. It's a one ton chassis but not a dual rear wheel. They are D rated. My rig weighs in at 5500 pounds. Oh what a nice ride running at 65 psi. 

[Paul Zeuke]

Just found out on another forum that someone is currently running 80 in the rear and 85 in the front on a 77 Travco 270 and says the ride is a lot better.