freestoneangler

Looking at the OEM tire type/load chart placard got me to wondering about the legality of not using an ST series tire. If one opted to change to LT series for instance, and the RV was in an accident, might not having the specified tires installed be one of those "minor little details" an insurance company and/or lawyers use against you... even if you had equal to or better load rating?

Great call Tireman9. Indeed the tire sticker/placard shows ST205/75R15 for axles and spare. I spoke with StarCraft and they provide these TT's as delivered with that size tire. Either the previous owner had an issue and changed it out or the RV outfit is on the hook. Either way, that is something that needs to be reconciled... only wish I had caught this at checkout. I do note that these Power King tires are "made in China". More reading on various forums may have these in the "tire bomb" group? They are DOT 83B3 GPB 0714 DY. Outwardly they look fine, but as I mentioned in another post, the trailer does not appear to have had too many miles put on it. Guess I'll just keep a close vigil, keep my speed to 65 mph, and wait to hear which tires Kirk ends up buying before getting replacements .

Our StarCraft cam with Power King Tow Max STR II radials. I just noticed the spare, same brand/model is a 14" instead of the 15" on the axles. I missed this at the purchase/delivery. Speaking with the RV outfit, they said it was not uncommon to have a smaller spare... what... does this sound correct to you? I said that concerned me and they offered to replace it, but we're almost 4 hours drive away. Still need to work this out. I'm not seeing much good or bad press about these tires. If I end up buying another rim and tire, I feel like it should be the same brand/series... but perhaps buy a better tire and match the eventual replacements to that....thoughts?

After looking at the various options, I elected to go with the Blue Ox (ours a 750#). Bretz RV in Billings, MT is who we purchased the TT from and they sell lots of them. Their sales and parts folks highly recommended the Blue Ox over the other two they carried; this based on customer feedback. I would really need to drive this same TT with the other competing hitch systems to ever know what if any difference. Blue Ox has a pretty good name in the TOAD haul systems, so I felt like this choice was a pretty safe one.

Glad I found this thread. Lots of different options/approaches here. I'm leaning towards making a two filter unit (sediment + 5 micron charcoal), using the GE canisters attached to a simple board that can be located/secured under the trailer when hooked up. I like the idea of being able to buy replacement filters at Lowes, Home Depot, or Wal-Mart. A POU UV Light for the kitchen faucet, our prime drinking and food prep source, is the other item I'm looking into. These can be sensitive to hard and/or chlorinated water (scale build-up on light reducing transmittance), so having the upstream filtration is important. I'd be interested in hearing which of these systems folks have chosen and in which power configuration - 120 VAC or 12 VDC? Also, is the UV unit simply wired to a separate on/off switch which you just leave on while docked and pressurized?

My StarCraft owners manual has no information on what lubricant to use. It is a rack/gear drive and it is bone dry. I'm thinking a very sparse coating of some wheel bearing grease would be appropriate? Do you periodically lubricate your screw or rack drive and, if so, with what?

I just did a search on both the TT and General forums about the topic of using LT vs. ST tires and did not find any threads. This seems to be a very hot topic/debate with no clear, irrefutable answer. Certainly many opinions - such as this one from another site. "This LT vs ST tire argument will go on forever. Those who promote using ST tires have probably never tried a set of the "others". I haven't had any problems with or because of my LT tires. How many stories have you read about major damage or the infamous "2 blowouts" in one day from someone using LT tires? I will never have anything but LT tires on my rig. You can choose whatever you want...That's my story and I'm sticking to it..Don" Has anyone else on the forum opted to change to LT series tires that meet the load rating requirements of the OEM ST tires? If so, what has been your experience with them? Also, does anyone know of any TT or 5th wheel mfg.'s that use LT tires as original equipment?

Curious why radial tires designed for use on TT's or 5th wheels would be more prone to delamination (tread peel-off) than those of the same size on smaller compact cars? Most of the tire shreds we see on the roads are from commercial trucks since they often do retreads. It's quite rare to here about this happening on our cars and trucks. Great, timely thread. We just purchased a used 2015 TT and I will likely be wanting to replace the OEM tires before too long.

Oh well, it turns out it cannot be repaired. Dagnabit anyhow, we really like that camper.

Does anyone on the forum know of a really good RV repair center in the northwest that can handle collision repair damage? We had a deer strike the truck and our truck camper and the impact hit one of the camper support jacks breaking out the corner mount. I'll be contacting Palomino tomorrow to see what they say and share some pictures. The closest Palomino RV sales/service to us is in Helena and they have already said it's not something they can handle. It may be that the cost to repair will be more than the units worth (~$5500)?

Based on the poll results thus far, that has you almost dead center in the bell curve. Thanks for sharing the information.

I'd be interested to hear back from the forum as to how this calculator reflects realties of their retirement budget. The tool was developed by an economist that looks at the history of the markets and, based on your starting nest egg, annual draw for living expense, and expected lifespan, determines how many market scenarios in decades past you would have been in the "black or red" so to speak. Naturally, for those who have a defined pension as part of their income, the market aspect is less a factor. http://www.firecalc.com/index.php Let me know what you think.

Wow, great thread. Looking at the results gives me additional confidence about our early retirement in 2016! Mariner's post above provides me even more confidence. I'm fortunate to have a company pension plan that includes medical from age 55 to Medicare. We've been debt free since 1999 and plan to stay that way. That we are both frugal and find prices of most goods absurd is what has no doubt aided in meeting our goal to retire early. Having met yearly with a financial planner, going back about 10 years now, and his numbers showing us "good to go"... there is still always that doubt that your overlooking something. One thing he's had us do a couple times is to list your total living expenses (soup to nuts) as that is a critical piece of running any analysis. Having done that and even padding the numbers up a bit, the numbers work. Certainly new expenses will come into play associated with RV travel and I've tried to account for that (primarily RV site fees and fuel). Like many I suspect, we'll travel a lot the first year or two, seeing the great USA, then throttle back to more regional travel and snowbird... at least that seems to be the trend based on others. No guarantee's on anything (except death and taxes) and you don't get the years back... so here we go .

I was just wondering if there were any companies that specialize in furniture for RV's.

Good thread. Having recently looked at some 2015 Montana and Cougar 5vers, we noted that they had Lane simulated leather loungers and sleeper couch. The loungers were very comfortable. Since we'll be buying a used coach, replacing some of the original furniture is a likely want. Do companies like Lane, Lazy-Boy, Bassett, etc. make a special line of furniture just for 5th wheel and motor coaches? I made a mental note of Big Greg's last sentence regarding the coach door opening... double check dimensions and then double check the dimensions .

Bill & Jennie here. My 30 years of employment with the same company will come to a close April 2016 if I opt for early retirement (not likely much will change that plan, but one never knows). We're still in the hunt for a DP after initially having looked at and considered 5vers. We purchased a 2500 CTD for a 5th wheel, then decided we liked the idea of being able to get up and stretch while on the road. Also makes travel with our then 2-1/2 year old yellow lab easier. But that's OK, I love the truck and it works like a champ hauling a pop-up slide in camper. We just purchased a CRV for the tow car... so the cheap part of the rig is done . Except for the first year or two where we plan to travel the states, we do not plan to full time... just do the winter snowbird thing. Neither of us think we can be without a home. At present, we have plans to build in MT... but always considering options. We'll keep tabs on the thread as time rolls along... good luck to all of us preparing to make the plunge. This site sure has been helpful getting insights from those who have been down the roads.