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RE: Maxxis tires vs. Denman tires
When you go with 80 psi tires be sure to have them also install high pressure steel valve stems. Often times if you don't ask for them you'll get the regular rubber stems. That is often the cause of people experiencing tire failure. They'll use the rubber stems, inflate to 80 psi, then the stems will fail causing immediate tire deflation. By the time they stop their tire is shredded and they'll blame the tire, not the real cause.
Nope, that ain't it. We, indeed, have steel valve stems, information learned from this site.
Our tread simply separated in strips, flailing away at everything in its way. Literally had tire tracks up the side of the trailer. Even smashed the side awning support off the side of the trailer which wound up -- somewhere -- in Montana. The right side of our fiver looked like it had been pulled through Baghdad.
Oh, by the way, I was driving about 50-55mph when the suckers shredded.
Cheers,
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magster
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09/16/09 03:47pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Weirdest tire problem yet
OK, a little confusion here. Trailer came with 15-inch, 65 pound tires. We do not have room to upgrade to 16 inches. Put E-rated 80-pound tires on original steel rims...never had a flat...tread blew off, which does not sound like a rim problem. No tire dealer in 5 years ever said we needed to upgrade rims. I asked...was told they could handle 80-pound tires. We certainly would have bought new rims if we had ever been told that what we had would not handle E-rated tires.
So now, we are back to original equipment D-rated, 65-pound tires. We live in Florida...rust/age causing rim failure, maybe? The rims looks OK, but one clearly cracked, for whatever reason.
So, do we get new steel rims if we're going to try to keep running with D-rated tires, or in an over-abundance of caution, do we go with aluminum that could handle either D or E?
Hang the expense...we are so over blowing tires!
Magster
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magster
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09/15/09 06:35pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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Weirdest tire problem yet
Here's the scenario: after blowing 80-pound tires all over the landscape -- with no discernable cause -- we were advised to go back to the original-equipment 65-pound tires, which we did in May on our way to Maine.
Now in Luray, VA, on our way back to Florida, I asked Other Half to, once again, check tire pressure before we head out in the morning. Imagine our surprise to find a tire that has, maybe, 2,000 miles on it, flat as a pancake. AAA dude came out to the CG, put on the spare and wisked new tire away to his shop to look for the cause of the flat. He found it...new tire is fine...rim is not. A hairline crack at the bead allowed the air to escape. Fortunately, that occurred afterwe got to the campground. (Can't imagine we could have overlooked a flat when we put the chock between the tire). AAA dude is looking for a new rim.
See us replace, every rim on this trailer at the first opportunity. So, what do we replace the original equipment steel rims with -- aluminum? Fully loaded, we are under 12,000 pounds.
Cheers,
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magster
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09/15/09 05:21pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Maxxis tires vs. Denman tires
I'd avoid Denman's like the bubonic plague. Blew three of four in one summer, with $8,000 damage to our trailer (happily covered under comprehensive insurance). They had about 8,000 miles on them, and no, they were not over-inflated, under-inflated, we're not over-loaded,axels are fine, et al. Obviously, we got a bad batch of made-in-Mexico Denmans and I got zero satisfaction from the company.
Thought I was so smart upgrading to 80lb, 10-ply tires on our 15-inch wheels. We have an 80-pound Maxxis as a spare, but went back to original equipment 65-pound tires.
Cheers,
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magster
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09/15/09 05:03pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: dementia
Nuts, tried to add a picture. It didn't work.
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magster
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07/23/09 09:02am |
RV Pet Stop
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dementia
As if we didn't start our 5-month summer escape with enough animals on board -- two dogs, two cats and a parrot -- we have added yet another member to the menagerie.
The new kid on the block is a multi-toed orange monster we have dubbed Hemmingway for his poloydact genes, ala the Key West cats...bottle raised from a litter of feral cats by neighbors.
We could not resist. Can someone throw a net over us please
But, Hemmingway simply moved in and joined the pack.
Cheers,DSCN0367_168
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magster
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07/23/09 09:00am |
RV Pet Stop
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RE: Northeast depression
Nice lead-in, Chuck.
Everyone knows that the weather is a popular topic of conversation amongst people.
In a highly politicized environment, such as the whole world currently finds itself, such popular subjects are sought out for exploitation by political interest groups.
Marketing, pure and simple. That's all it is.
Huh? Sorry, Burlmart, all I was doing was complaining about the weather in Maine so far this year...nothing political about it. No treatise on global warming.
In '07 we went West in search of cool...found 100-105 degrees in the Dakotas, Montana, Idaho, et al. Now THAT was gobal warming.
Cheers,
Magster
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magster
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07/05/09 06:16pm |
General RVing Issues
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Northeast depression
Anyone besides us in the Northeast depressed by more than a month of truly rotten weather?
We are in Maine until around the first of October...got here May 30...and are yet to have one entire day of sunshine. What we have had is rain, mist, fog, gloom and darn chilly weather.
Yes, we have loaded up the dogs and gone for backroads rides in the rain, gone shopping, etc. But, man, we long to be outside instead of holed up on the RV either reading or watching endless hours of TV (bless the satellite, incidentally).
Sorry about the rant...just had to vent. If we were home, I'd be *****in' about the heat and humidity. Sigh.
Cheers,
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magster
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07/05/09 11:50am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Hurricane Season What do you do if in FL, AL, MS, LA, or TX
We put hurricane shutters on our house and hope it's there when we get back after leaving Florida for four to five months every summer.
We don't leave because of hurricane fears, we leave to get out of the heat.
And, we figure if our house gets totaled while we're gone, at least we have something to live in while it's being rebuilt.
Cheers,
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magster
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06/12/09 08:33am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: New Breed - Turtle Retriever
Nope, no turtles or toads, so far, but our well-bred black Lab stuck his head underwater in the Gulf of Mexico one day and came up with a very live, very large and very displeased -- horseshoe crab.
Cheers,
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magster
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06/10/09 01:10pm |
RV Pet Stop
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Attack of the killer doorknob
Here's the scenario: It's nearly 1 a.m. and I get up to use the, ahem, facility, which resides in a room by itself. The door won't open...curious...it appears to be locked, but there is no lock. I holler for Other Half who awakens and thinks I am daft. He tries to open the door, wiggles, jiggles, lifts, shifts, pounds, presses, pries at the thing with a knife blade and a screwdriver. Nada, zip, bupkiss. The screws that hold the doorknob in place are, of course, on the inside of the door.
The pins in the hinges take a tiny tool we do not possess.
One clawhammer later, the recalcitrant doorknob has been smashed off the door, which now is not a pretty sight, what with the splintered wood and all.
I was not a pretty sight either as I sought out a patch of grass behind a bush.
We'll deal with the door and doorknob when we get to Maine. But you can bet the doorknob screws will be the outide next time.
Cheers,
Magster
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magster
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05/25/09 02:56pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Dog breeds and homeowners insurance
I am flumoxed by the statistics regarding Labrador Retriever bites. That flies in the face of everything I "thought" I knew about Labs.
When we got our Lab pup and had him checked out by our vet, he told us he has never known a Lab to bite anyone.
What the heck: Are we breeding psycho Labs these days because of their popularity? I am really weary of people bragging that their Lab weighs 120 pounds. Folks, that is light years away from the breed standard...the result of backyard breeders who are destroying a very mellow animal.
Labs have very soft mouths, not a whole lot of bite power there. That's what enables them to gently retrieve waterfowl without tearing them to shreds.
Our British bloodline 4-year-old black Lab is a mellow as a dog can get. He is such a gentle soul -- and always has been -- that I fear for his safety if he encounters a dog that wants to fight.
And, if it comes to it, I'd fight my Florida insurance carrier by beating them over the head with by Lab's Canine Certificate of Good Citizenship.
Cheers,
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magster
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05/08/09 06:51pm |
RV Pet Stop
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RE: Labrador sunbather
OK, so there is no logical/medical reason for sunbathing dogs other than it just plain feels good.
And, I agree about dinnertime. BlacJac has a watch, I know he does. If he didn't know what time it was, why else would he start tap dancing precisely at 4:55 every afternoon in anticiation of 5 p.m. dinner.
Labs rule!
Cheers,
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magster
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05/08/09 06:22pm |
RV Pet Stop
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RE: grilling oysters ?
I think most of us missed the point, here. Wolfcat's oysters are shucked.
So, what I'd do is make a pouch out of double thickness of foil, dump the oysters on it, top with whatever spices he wants, fold up the pouch and place it on the grill. The oysters will steam in their own juices -- quickly. In about 5-8 minutes over a hot grill, they'll be done.
Cheers,
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magster
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05/08/09 02:18pm |
Camp Cooks and Connoisseurs
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RE: Fried Dough
Depending on what part of the country you live in, fried dough can be like Indian fry bread (fill with chili, or honey for a dessert) or Mexican sopapillas.
It can be dusted with powdered sugar, cinnamon and sugar, et al. When I was a kid, my mother would bring home fresh bread dough from an Italian bakery in Connecticut, pulled it into oval pieces then covered it with a dish towel until it doubled in size. This was shallow fried in a frying pan and served with butter and maple syrup.
Fried dough is a heart attack on a plate, as digestible and lead and totally delicious!
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magster
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05/08/09 01:18pm |
Camp Cooks and Connoisseurs
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Labrador sunbather
Inquiring minds want to know: It is 90 cotton pickin' degreees and my 4-year-old black Lab is stretched flat out on the lawn taking a sunbath. This is something he does frequently. Why? Obviously he is not hot, no panting, just luxuriating on the grass.
When he comes in his fur is literally hot to the touch from absorbing all that heat.
Any vets out there to explain why a black dog would turn himself into a solar-absorber?
Cheers,
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magster
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05/08/09 12:55pm |
RV Pet Stop
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RE: Ever get the RV into a tight spot?
Eastern Oklahoma...blew by the turnoff to the Army Corps of Engineers park where we were headed. 1/4 mile up the road was a left turn where it looked like I could turn around. It wasn't until I made the turn I realized I had pulled into a minimum security state prison...inmates wandering around everywhere, mouths agape, looking at us like we'd dropped in from outer space. DH screeching at me while I made still another turn and finally stumbled across an empty parking lot where I could hook a U turn and get out of there.
No, we didn't pick up any hitchhikers.
Cheers,
Magster
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magster
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05/07/09 07:14pm |
RV Lifestyle
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RE: Rank best and worst roads and highways
Rating 1: HWY 2 east-west across Maine. Looks promising as a route across the state but it isn't. Locals say it's been "under construction" for years. Last year, parts of it were so "under construction" the road disappeared entirely.
Our nominees for interstates with moguls include 90 across the Dakotas and 91 through Vermont. The 2-3 rating rearranges furniture and cupboards, for sure.
I-40 across Oklahoma is evil, another 2.
Cheers,
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magster
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05/07/09 02:07pm |
Roads and Routes
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RE: Ref to A/C repair
RV air conditioners are notorious for freezing up, especially in hot and humid weather. To unfreeze it, turn the compressor off and just run the fan on high. In about 10 minutes, it will de-ice itself. At least ours does.
Cheers,
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magster
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05/05/09 02:04pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: how to camp in canada?
This subject usually burns my butt!
It seems that some of our American friends alternate between complaining how porous the Canadian border is and complainig about themselves being questioned by the border people.
It cannot work both ways!
I have crossed hundeds of times at various crossings,and have never felt that the border people from either country were overbearing or rude.
If they are not going to question/ search travellers, why have customs facilities at all?
I have to agree Sea Dog, but some of the border folks can get a bit imperious, even when we have passports in hand. And it doesn't help that I have the Mouth of the South, which inevitably gets raised eyebrows, if not suspicion. Ironically, I have had more problems with "my side of the border" people. But last summer I actually bit my tongue when one of yours at the Calais/St. Stephen crossing -- a cute little girl -- demanded to know where are you going?(sightseeing); how long long are you going to be in Canada?(just for the day); what do you do for a living? (we're retired); and what DID you do for a living? I so wanted to blurt out that I was a drug dealer.
I suspect the sarcasm would have gotten us pulled over for sure. I thought I might be in trouble enough telling the truth: a newspaper journalist.
Cheers,
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magster
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05/03/09 02:40pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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