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RE: Hercules 19.5" tires?
The maximum pressure on a 14 ply tire is 110 PSI. Still, there's no reason to run more pressure than you need to support your axle weights.
Mike
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Mike Schriber
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03/21/12 05:20pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Hercules 19.5" tires?
So, it turns out that Hercules does not have an inflation table for their tires. In fact, they had no idea what I was talking about. Amazing!
It looks like I'll be making an educated guess as to what pressures to run. I pulled some inflation tables for other brands of tires and it appears that they're all very similar.
My front axle is 6,800 pounds and the rear is 12,700 pounds, I think I might just run 85 PSI all around. That give me 7,480 pound capacity up front and 14,060 pound capacity in the rear. That's about a 10% margin (more than with the factory 12 ply tires at 80 PSI) and should result in a very nice ride.
We'll see how the Hercules tires do on our first trip next month which will be about 1,500 miles total.
Mike
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Mike Schriber
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03/20/12 08:37pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Hercules 19.5" tires?
Getting these tires brings up another question... what pressure to run them at? The stock Goodyear tires are twelve ply and these are fourteen ply. I'm guessing I'm going to need to work it out for myself using my actual weights and the load index chart for the tire but if anyone has already done this for fourteen ply tires I'd love to know what you came up with.
Mike
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Mike Schriber
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03/13/12 01:47pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Hercules 19.5" tires?
Yep! I'm getting them from Country Tire in Ramona. My friend got his there as well and was pleased. They had a good price. It's a drive for me (from the Sorrento Valley area) but not much worse than my alternatives in El Cajon or Santee.
Mike
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Mike Schriber
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03/12/12 06:10pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Hercules 19.5" tires?
I'm going to give the Hercules tires a shot. I'm getting good comments from other shops and on-line and the price difference is simply too much to ignore.
Time will tell!
Mike
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Mike Schriber
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03/12/12 04:48pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Hercules 19.5" tires?
Thanks for the feedback. My friend has 3,000 miles on his so far and is happy.
Trying to decide......
Mike
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Mike Schriber
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03/12/12 02:45pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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Hercules 19.5" tires?
I need to replace the 245/75R19.5 tires on my F53 chassis Damon. I've been recommended both Hancook and Hercules tires from people I know. The Hancook tires are about $700 more than the Hercules which is quite a difference. The Hercules tires are made in China and the Hancook tires are made in Korea.
Calling around, every tire shop has a different opinion (of course).
Has anyone run the Hercules tires? I'd love to hear any comments on their quality and durability.
Thanks!
Mike
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Mike Schriber
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03/12/12 01:53pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Mounting solar panels
I'm planning on mounting them all flat. They'll all be mounted about amidships or a little aft. Some shading is bound to occur depending on the season, time of day and orientation of the motorhome.
All three panels have an open circuit voltage of about 20v +/- .7v. The big discolored one has no labels and put out 97 watts pointed at the sun when I tested it in November. The bigger blue panel is labeled 75 watts and put out 51.6 watts while the small blue panel is labeled 50 watts and was putting out 28.2 watts.
I'm planning on using a Morningstar SunSaver PWM controller.
I don't want to get too elaborate on the mounts. "Z" brackets or "L" brackets are a cinch for the big panel and there is plenty of room with either method to use standard bolts and nylocks. It's the blue panels that look to need something special and compatible with the channel type frame.
Mike
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Mike Schriber
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02/16/12 10:59pm |
Tech Issues
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Mounting solar panels
I've acquired some surplus solar panels that I'm going to mount on the roof of my motorhome.
One is a standard frame type that should be pretty straightforward to mount. However, I do have a question about that one... what's the advantage to using the "Z" mounts versus a simple "L" brackets? Also, if using the "Z" mounts, how do you account for the curve of the roof (this particular panel is 3" along its short axis)?
http://www.exogrey.com/pictures/solar3.jpghttp://www.exogrey.com/pictures/solar4.jpg
The other two panels have a channel underneath and would seem to require a special mounting system. Can anyone point me in the right direction on mounts? I'd like the find the least expensive effective option available.
http://www.exogrey.com/pictures/solar1.jpghttp://www.exogrey.com/pictures/solar2.jpg
Thanks in advance!
Mike
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Mike Schriber
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02/16/12 09:41pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: My LEDs
I'm still loving my $5 eBay 36 LED boards. The amount of power I'm saving while dry camping is almost beyond belief and the light brightness and quality is equal to the incandescent. It's great that LED technology has finally gotten to the performance and price point for replacing regular bulbs (for RV applications that is).
Mike
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Mike Schriber
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02/12/12 09:09pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Choosing a solar charge controller
Thanks for the replies. I think a PWM controller is fine for my application. I already have a Xantrex XBM installed so the solar controller doesn't even need to have a display. I'm just looking for something reliable that'll also cutoff and not compete with my Progressive Dynamics converter and overcharge the batteries when the rig is plugged in between trips.
Mike
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Mike Schriber
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02/04/12 09:35pm |
Tech Issues
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Choosing a solar charge controller
I'm going to be installing a solar panel on my motorhome. The panel is around 125 watts (putting out 97 watts now in winter) and it's float voltage is 20vdc.
Can anyone recommend a low cost charge controller for this application? I've had some experience with Morningstar controllers and they seemed to work well but I'm not tied to any particular brand. Cost and performance are my only concerns.
Thanks!
Mike
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Mike Schriber
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02/04/12 05:15pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: My LEDs
I broke my usual rules and ordered LEDs to test from eBay before looking here to see what everyone else was doing. However, without spending too much extra on unsuitable parts, I came to a very similar conclusion.
I've just converted every down-facing fixture in my motorhome to these 36 LED warm white LED boards...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/190587791071
They're from a different seller (who has been excellent by the way) but appear to be the same parts. The performance of these LEDs is simply amazing. They really are a direct incandescent replacement. The overall brightness in the motorhome is the same and the color is still warm and pleasing. The reduction in current draw is staggering as you all know.
We've come a long way from the $30+ LED board I purchased from SuperBrightLEDs three years ago that was so dim I installed it in the range hood as a nightlight.
I've already noticed the increase in my battery life, even before I had all my fixtures converted.
Ain't technology grand!?
Mike
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Mike Schriber
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01/20/12 01:15pm |
Tech Issues
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Southern California family camping group
It's been quite a while since I posted about our local camping group so I figured it was time to speak up again...
SoCal Family Campers is a family oriented RV camping group with members spread across Southern California from San Diego north to Ventura County and east to Riverside and San Bernardino.
The club is free to all members and there are no dues or other financial obligations of any kind.
Our next open trip is to Guajome County Park in Oceanside the weekend of March 9th. For more information please post, PM or visit our web site.
Thanks!
Mike
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Mike Schriber
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01/18/12 12:15am |
Family Camping
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New RV GPS coming out from Magellan
Just saw this...
http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/06/magellan-announces-roadmate-rv9145-gps-device-offers-campground
Looks like a viable competitor to the much unloved Rand McNally RVND series (and less expensive too). Seems like it has built-in traffic as well.
Nice to have some options!
Mike
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Mike Schriber
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01/06/12 10:04am |
Technology Corner
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RE: NEW GPS Unit Just for RVers. WOW
I just finished a 21 day, 3,200 mile trip with the RVGPS. This was a fairly seat of the pants vacation. Our list of places to visit (and roughly when) was planned but the specifics were not. No campground reservations, no defined routes, etc. In my mind, this is exactly the sort of trip the RVGPS was designed to be most useful on. The results were interesting but unfortunately, not all that surprising.
My impression of the RVGPS can be summed up as so...
Pros: RV POI database
Cons: Everything else
It's a brutal assessment but it fits the facts. So, now the details:
The RV POI database was quite useful. Being able to look at campgrounds along my route or near my intended destination was great. The list of RV overnight parking was also nice. As with any database, there was a fair number of omissions and incorrect entries.
Searching for many things could be quite tedious. There's no "all" search for campgrounds. I found that to be extremely annoying. The same applies to other types of POI's. You also can't simply spell the name of a POI. You have to find it in the list. On the positive side, the QWERTY keyboard was a huge improvement over typical ABCD keyboard layouts.
Routing was average but since this unit is specifically designed for large RV's, I have to rate it below average for it's intended function. Even with the length of the RV entered it still routed to narrow residential streets and even dirt roads. It was unable to route several times between to locations directly connected by a highway (which I found bizarre). It also tried to have us make a u-turn when the "Avoid u-turn's" option was set. All in all, the routing was no better or worse than a 5 year old Garmin Nuvi with no special large vehicle restriction capability.
I found the warnings to be almost useless. The unit constantly nags at you and in most cases is just parroting road signs. I turned the construction warnings off the first day, followed shortly thereafter by the sharp turn warnings. The windy road warning was very annoying because it kept repeating ever few minutes. The speed limit information seems great until you discover how many times it's wrong. It's usefulness then becomes almost zero since you can't trust the information. On multiple occasions the GPS indicated a speed higher than the posted limit (this doesn't include temporary construction speed limits). That could get you a very nasty speeding ticket.
The menu system was rather tedious to navigate. Many screens and button presses are required for a great number of functions. This is far from ideal when going down the road.
One of the biggest problems with the RVGPS is the price. At $350 it's more than twice as expensive as something like a Garmin Nuvi 1350LMT with has an integrated traffic receiver and includes lifetime free traffic and map updates.
All in all, the RVGPS is a decent unit. However, it doesn't compare well with the market leaders on features, price or performance.
I've already returned mine. Maybe Rand McNally will make significant improvements as time goes on and the RVGPS will become a credible contender.
Mike
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Mike Schriber
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08/03/11 06:34pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: NEW GPS Unit Just for RVers. WOW
Like I said Kendall, you're in love with the RVGPS and nothing anyone says here is going to change that. If you've been driving "privately and commercially" for 45 years I don't know how you managed to get by without the RVGPS until now. You obviously need it to be safe.
Road signs are not a distraction. Paying attention and actively controlling your RV are part of driving. Constant warnings from a GPS are a distraction, especially when they are wrong and repeat endlessly. If you need audible warnings that you are going too fast than you are obviously not paying attention to what you're doing (which is driving by the way). If you're going to rely on a gadget to keep you safe then you're not the kind of driver I want to be near on the road.
Speaking of the road, the RVGPS failed miserably today navigating from Detroit (Oregon) to Silver Falls State Park. It was so wrong it was almost funny. It couldn't figure out the right route and finally locked up while it was recalculating. I had to use the reset button to get it back to life. It also couldn't navigate from Silver Falls State Park to Salem (and there's a highway directly connecting the two).
I only have one thing to tell Rand McNally... try again. I'll be sending my RVGPS back and picking up a new Garmin with lifetime map and realtime traffic for less than half the price. My friend who is traveling with me in his motorhome and also bought an RVGPS is dissatisfied with his as well and is going to return it too.
It was worth a try but Rand McNally is trying to play with the big boys in SatNav market and they'll need to do a lot better to succeed.
Mike
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Mike Schriber
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07/13/11 11:59pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: NEW GPS Unit Just for RVers. WOW
Well, the navigation had been flawless. We drove from Grants Pass Oregon to Crater Lake today and the RVGPS was hopelessly lost. It was a good thing we had maps.
On the other hand, we had to find a place to stay tonight on the move and the GPS came in very handy compared to a Garmin or even a printed campground guide. However, it's very annoying that you can't simply search for "All" campgrounds and have to look through each type (commercial, KOA, National Park, county park, etc.) in sequence.
About those warnings... I turned them all off. The speed limits have only been right about 50% of the time and it sits and yells at you otherwise. The construction warnings were also useless. The hazards (winds, sharp curve) just parrot what the road signage say and are simply distracting.
Mike
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Mike Schriber
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07/11/11 10:04pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: NEW GPS Unit Just for RVers. WOW
I've been using the GPS on the road for three days. At this point, I'm about 75% sure I'll be returning it. It's not that bad of a GPS but it's intolerable at the price Rand McNally is asking.
Navigation has been quite good. The POI's have been hit or miss. Many locations are missing from the database and others are just plain wrong. The "Next exit" feature is sorely lacking. It works and then it doesn't and many POI's are missing. It also only seems to work on actual interstates. Major state highways are missing.
Looking at POI's is also a pain. One view shows you details that another does not. Getting back from a POI to look at others is tedious and if you look at the map view of a POI you have to start over instead of going back to the list.
Disappointing.
Mike
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Mike Schriber
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07/10/11 11:16pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Backing up towing 4 down
Wow! This posts in this topic reminds me of a partisan political discussion... many extremes and very little middle ground.
Backing up an automobile towed four wheels down can be done and it can be done safely. Some vehicles are easier to back up than others. The longer the overhang is on your motorhome the harder it will be. Driver skill has a tremendous impact on the probability of success.
However, above all are the alignment of the motorhome and tow vehicle, the starting position of the tow vehicle's front wheels and whether you're trying to backup straight or turn. Basically, the towed vehicle's tires need to be straight when you start and remain straight. Once they turn more than a few degrees from center the jig is up. Even at slow speed they can snap to the side with tremendous force. If you keep them straight you will not have a problem. If you're turning and the rear of the motorhome is swinging you're going to have problems.
I've backed up my Jeep Wrangler JK without any problems. Many others have done the same with their combinations. As I said already, it can be done and it can be done safely.
Mike
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Mike Schriber
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07/06/11 02:57pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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