Preventative Maintenance

[bxtx]

So guys and gals, what preventative maintenance do you do / schedule to get your rig ready for the long haul trek to FtW? I'm particuarly interested in trailer info!

And secondly, how often do you replace your trailer's tires?

Our TT is 3 years old, and the tires 'look' good - tread /wear etc - but we're wary about making this 1000 each way trip, and wondering whether to get new now or "wait & see".

Much obliged!

Bex

 

[becky1960]

I think I learned my lesson on tires, we had two blowouts on one trip taking out both back quarter panels. The advise I got from expert campers was to replace every three years if not many trips and every five years if you make a lot of trips. The thread on looked great too, but sitting and UV rays takes its toll. Also check brakes if you use the trailer a lot, they wear a lot faster than cars and are a lot thinner.

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

I check the bearings ever year and adjust the bearing tension per the instructions from Dexter axle. I inspect the tires before and during every trip and keep pressures up. I inspect the hitch assy at every stop and do a walk around after fueling, even with all that diligence I had a tire go down on 75 just North of the turnpike last June. Fortunately I saw it in time and got off the road before it took out any parts on the trailer. The tires were almost 5 years old and I was planning on changing them in the fall. I bought a new one in Gainesville at Towne Tire (great people) and 4 more when I got home. I had thought that 5 years was the mark for replacing tires until the Goodyear dealer I know here in MI explained that Goodyear says 4 years on their trailer tires regardless of use or mileage. He did say that 5 years was reasonable if oyu kept them out of the sun. I think my failure was related to a deflation from a puncture rather than a failure of the tire.
Long story short, bearings and tires and frequent visual inspections.

Scott

 

[stacktester]

I've seen what tires do to campers and it ain't pretty. All thay plastic usually get's beat to heck and back. I've had 3 campers now in 4 years so haven't had a problem yet but I plan on keeping this one for a while so I've checked my tires and another important thing is to check the torque on the lug nuts. I helped a guy a couple weeks ago that didn't tighten his lugs properly and his tire came off. He had a lot of damage from salt (he was from Quebec) and his brakes were eaten up bad. I feel for you people who have salt.

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

I've seen what tires do to campers and it ain't pretty. All thay plastic usually get's beat to heck and back. I've had 3 campers now in 4 years so haven't had a problem yet but I plan on keeping this one for a while so I've checked my tires and another important thing is to check the torque on the lug nuts. I helped a guy a couple weeks ago that didn't tighten his lugs properly and his tire came off. He had a lot of damage from salt (he was from Quebec) and his brakes were eaten up bad. I feel for you people who have salt.

Salt is good on fries, not so good on vehicles.

 

[ejmbibb]

I agree, I have a couple hundred thousand miles, REALLY, towing trailers, car trailers mostly, now campers. And the biggest thing in tire pressure, a low tire can cause a lot of problems, it may blow out, or cause the other tire to blow because it has to take more of the load(tandem axel). I had a tire blow out on a 26' trailer around Atlanta, it took out the fender, and part of the side wall of trailer. We pulled over, and the one that was left was going low and had a screw in it.

Before we leave in a couple of weeks, I will pull all for wheels, and check brakes and bearings, check the spare, check the tire pressures. I alos fill the propane tanks and check for leaks. I will run the slides out and clean the tops off with water and soad, I will clean the mechanisms with wd-40, and then touch them up with white lithium.

I also take the covers off the fridge, hot water heater and furnace, blow out any dust or webs. I used compressed air to blow out the venturiis and make sure that everything is working ok. I also put the sacrificial annode back in the hot water tank.

Ok wow I ramble, but I hope it helps
John

 

[LarryJ]

I agree, I have a couple hundred thousand miles, REALLY, towing trailers, car trailers mostly, now campers. And the biggest thing in tire pressure, a low tire can cause a lot of problems, it may blow out, or cause the other tire to blow because it has to take more of the load(tandem axel). I had a tire blow out on a 26' trailer around Atlanta, it took out the fender, and part of the side wall of trailer. We pulled over, and the one that was left was going low and had a screw in it.

Before we leave in a couple of weeks, I will pull all for wheels, and check brakes and bearings, check the spare, check the tire pressures. I alos fill the propane tanks and check for leaks. I will run the slides out and clean the tops off with water and soad, I will clean the mechanisms with wd-40, and then touch them up with white lithium.

I also take the covers off the fridge, hot water heater and furnace, blow out any dust or webs. I used compressed air to blow out the venturiis and make sure that everything is working ok. I also put the sacrificial annode back in the hot water tank.

Ok wow I ramble, but I hope it helps
John

That pretty well covers what I do too. When my trailer is stored at home the tires are not ever in the Sun so I will go 6 to 8 years before replacing unless I see any wear. If I have taken the wheels off I will check the torque after about 500 miles into any first trip and then once before each subsequent trip.

We just got this new trailer in October 07 and now have put close to 2,000 miles on it and since I still have to get an owner's manual for it I need to figure out what really needs to be done. When I pulled the wheel covers off at WDW and checked the air pressure and lug nuts the bearings looked like they had a rubber plug in them so I'm not sure if they are eazy lube axles. The are Dexter and think are the toriflex or whatever. My old trailer had pull and pack bearings that I have had on all my older vehicles. What rubs me raw is that coming back on the first day I lost a hub cap and I know I had that on and now have to spring for that in addition to the $50 for an owner's manual. Holiday Rambler is not cheap.

Larry

 

[LONE-STAR]

I dont know how old your trailer is. But if your trailer is stored out side then you need to regularly check it for leaks. During and after a rain is a good time. Water can mess up a trailer pretty quick. Plus I would hate to drive a 1000 miles through a rain storm only to check in to FW and lay down on a wet mattress. Dont forget to check the battery on the trailer. Also If you stop at a road side park to sleep and your not plugged into elec. then unplug your trailer from your truck. Other wise running lights, water pump,heater all uses battery power and if your still plugged into your truck it probable wont start in the morning . Other than that sounds like its all been covered. Happy camping

 

[ejmbibb]

I dont know how old your trailer is. But if your trailer is stored out side then you need to regularly check it for leaks. During and after a rain is a good time. Water can mess up a trailer pretty quick. Plus I would hate to drive a 1000 miles through a rain storm only to check in to FW and lay down on a wet mattress. Dont forget to check the battery on the trailer.

Oh boy, we went to Ia one summer, and on the way back it rained so hard and the wind was so bad, we lost our awning on I80. But we had never had a leak in the front window, but that last night it was roll-squish roll-squish all night, the bed was soaked.

 

[LONE-STAR]

Oh boy, we went to Ia one summer, and on the way back it rained so hard and the wind was so bad, we lost our awning on I80. But we had never had a leak in the front window, but that last night it was roll-squish roll-squish all night, the bed was soaked.

We had almost the same thing happen coming back from floating the river. Our awning was fine but we went through a tornatic/thunder/hail/rain storm. 2 hours later when we got home our bed was wet. But we were home so not a big deal.

 

[bxtx]

roll-squish roll-squish all night, the bed was soaked.

Not roll-squish in a good sense then?!

Thanks for all the advice, musch appreciated - I've passed it onto the ol' man ! Basically we need new tires!

And altho' out TT is only 3 years old, we had to get a new roof last year and its been stored under cover since then so its good to go leak-wise. We paid for a service this time last year, we just didn't want to fork out again this year, so DH will get busy himself doing what he can! I was up at the TT this weekend dropping off some bits and alls well so far.

Bex
counting the days....

 

[disney4dan]

I agree, I have a couple hundred thousand miles, REALLY, towing trailers, car trailers mostly, now campers. And the biggest thing in tire pressure, a low tire can cause a lot of problems, it may blow out, or cause the other tire to blow because it has to take more of the load(tandem axel). I had a tire blow out on a 26' trailer around Atlanta, it took out the fender, and part of the side wall of trailer. We pulled over, and the one that was left was going low and had a screw in it.

Before we leave in a couple of weeks, I will pull all for wheels, and check brakes and bearings, check the spare, check the tire pressures. I alos fill the propane tanks and check for leaks. I will run the slides out and clean the tops off with water and soad, I will clean the mechanisms with wd-40, and then touch them up with white lithium.

I also take the covers off the fridge, hot water heater and furnace, blow out any dust or webs. I used compressed air to blow out the venturiis and make sure that everything is working ok. I also put the sacrificial annode back in the hot water tank.

Ok wow I ramble, but I hope it helps
John

I was thinking the same thing. Did not grease the wheel bearings last summer because it had been done when we picked up the trailer used in the fall of 2006 and we did not go very far. I'm looking into places to have the wheel bearings maintained this spring (when I can get through the crusty snow and pull the trailer out BEFORE mud season). Also need to change the tires even though they look brand new. I checked the DOT code and found that the tires are over 6 years old - not good.

If you purchased your trailer used and are not sure of the age on the tires, there is a thread posted on rv.net where they explain how to look at the DOT codes on the side of the tire. If you can't find them, check the back side of the tire - for some reason, our tires were all mounted with the DOT code facing toward the trailer so I had to crawl underneath to get to them. Not sure why that code is not stamped on both sides of the tire.

 

[disney4dan]

.....He had a lot of damage from salt (he was from Quebec) and his brakes were eaten up bad. I feel for you people who have salt.

For those of you who live where road salt is a common curse, how do you know when it's taken a toll on the frame/hitch of your TV?

We currently have a 2002 tow vehicle which has been holding up well, but has some beginning signs of rust on the frame. If we had to replace the TV, it would most likely mean delaying our trip to WDW, and, well, you have to have priorities! I was thinking of this the other day while stuck in traffic and looking at an aftermarket Reese hitch on someone else's truck. It looked so rusty I wouldn't pull a kids little red wagon with it.

Got me to thinking if there is a way to check and how will you really know if a weld is starting to get stressed? Heck - even our bridge inspectors up here have that challenge trying to figure out how much longer welds can hold.

 

[CaptKen]

Couple of years ago after dragging our fifth wheel over the rough roads of Lousyanna, we parked at a relative's house to visit. Went to bed that might during a storm and when the wife rolled over and her hand hit the side table, splash. The bouncing on the roads had popped out the filon on upper driver's side of the camper. Got that puppy glued good now.

 

[bradisgoofy]

....we had to get a new roof last year and its been stored under cover since then so its good to go leak-wise...

Bex
counting the days....

This is the one I was going to point out. Most owners don't think about the roof because the roof of your stick home is usually good for 20 years but not so in an RV. It should be checked every six months and if there is any cracking in the sealant, have it resealed.

 

[ILoveDisney&Cruising]

Thanks for all the info! Although we won't be heading to the Fort this year we will be heading to Canada (about same distance for us) ... didn't realize we need to be checking/replacing tires so soon.

I assume some place like Camping World has some sort of package for pre-trip "check-ups"? Any rough idea of how much that might be, and if it has a technical name?