Axle update - Montana Owners Club

sreigle · 10-16-2004, 11:08 AM

I said I'd post an update after getting our axles looked at.

Keystone made an appt for us with Alko-Kober. AK replaced both axles and two drums. The service guy said he replaced the drums because he didn't like the looks of the bearings. He also said two of the wheel center cones were 'stuck' to the rim and broke and he didn't have any more. Fat chance they were stuck. When I've changed wheel/tires these cones came right off. I suspect someone tried to pull them out from the front.

So we went to Keystone's service center to see if they had any more cones. Also, since AK took well under three hours and the measurements I made indicated out of alignment axles, I asked Keystone to check their work. We made an appt for them to mount the cones, check the axles, and a couple of other things for me. We had that appt this past Friday.

Keystone found the axles are ok but do need alignment because I had put a LR E tire on one side of an axle while the other side was a LR D tire (our Montana came with D's). They tell me this causes a drag on the E side, causing the axle to become misaligned. Keystone doesn't cover this as it's my fault about the tires. Keystone made an appt for us for Monday morning at a shop in Elkhart. It will cost me either $75 or $150 to get the axles aligned, depending on whether they have to do one or two axles.

Keystone looked for a LR D tire to replace the tire badly worn on the inside but didn't have any in LR D so they put my spare on the ground and the E is now my spare. So I'll have to buy a new tire in the near future. Sigh.

I have no room to complain about paying for the tire or alignment since our Montana is 26 months old. That's a 14 months past the coach warranty and two months past the axle warranty. Keystone paid for the new axles and the two drums.

They also adjusted our patio awning so it closes properly. It's not been right since new. And when I asked where I can buy a day/night shade to replace our defective one they replaced it at no charge.

Although it will cost me for the alignment and the tire, Keystone did all that work and replaced the axles and drums at no charge to me. Yet another reason why we'll stay with Keystone products.

lightningjack11 · 10-16-2004, 11:22 AM

That's great Steve. Happy everything is working out. Oh my cones come off real easy. Never had a problem. But my cones are getting old and starting to crack.

NJ Hillbilly · 10-16-2004, 01:12 PM

I'd make the switch to "E" rated tires when You replace them. The added cushion of the carrying capacity is a plus.

It's nice to see Keystone taking care of little things like the shade, it goes a long way toward customer satisfaction.

John

8.1al · 10-16-2004, 01:22 PM

Welcome back Steve. Glad to hear Keystone took good care of you.

lawrenceb42106 · 10-16-2004, 02:20 PM

Steve

Are you sure that they had the right size tires on from the factory? Reason asking is that our came with the E rated tires from the factory. We have the same model that you have only it's a 2001.

sreigle · 10-16-2004, 03:01 PM

Our 2001 2880RL had E rated tires and the placard on the side of our 2003 3295RK says they're E rated tires but the tires it came with are Goodyear Marathon, D-rated. When I called Keystone about this when we discovered it I was told this size of LR D tire has sufficient weight capacity to handle the load. I don't remember now the numbers but I checked the sidewalls and they're correct about that so I let it ride even though I wasn't happy about it.

John, I do plan to go with E's when I replace the tires. So far I've replaced four of the originals. Each was getting worn on the inside tread but the tired failed before the tread was gone. In each of those four situations the tire was defective. Goodyear replaced one for free and pro-rated the others but only for the identical tire. The cost savings was significant so I kept paying the prorated amount. Someday I'll need to do a normal replacement and will definitely go with the E's.

Since we've had four out of five of those tires go defective I do have to wonder if they truly are up to their rated weight capacity. We run heavy but not over GAWR on either axle. In fact, the heavier running axle is still several hundred pounds below that rating.

I just found a scan of a memo I forgot I had. This memo is from Keystone and talks about its using the D rated tires. I'll try to post it inline here:

The thing is I don't recall my 2001 2880RL E rated tires being LT rather than ST. Having trailered boats for a long time, plus fifthwheels, I am sure I would have taken note of that.

Northstar · 10-17-2004, 07:40 PM

Thanks for the great posts. Neat info to have. Happyrving....

Chester · 10-18-2004, 01:29 PM

Interesting discussion on E vs D tires. My 2750 came with LT235/80 16E from Keystone. Glenda and I have been looking at several models lately and even the pricier units (Carriage etc) are coming with D tires. I thought that would be an inferior product so your scan of the letter Steve was interesting reading.

To add to the confusion my current truck has E range tires, which on my previous trucks I always pumped to about 75psi. My new Dodge says to pump them to 65psi. I have a hard time understanding this but have yet to call my Dodge service manager to find out why.

DHenry · 10-18-2004, 04:02 PM

This is one of the many reasons that Montana is #1.

BillyRay · 10-18-2004, 04:21 PM

thanks for the info, glad to hear your outcome was a pleasant one.

RVBUDDY · 10-18-2004, 04:45 PM

Chester,

Buy the RV Handbook by Estes. Good tire section. When Steve bought his rig I think it came with Load D tires but they were ST trailer tires. LT tires are Truck tires and diffferent than trailer tires. When you talk load range you have to talk about the same type tire LT or ST. Don't mix the two or it gets confusing.

(The tables allow you to load air in your tires for a given lbs. In theory you get better tire wear. I load mine IAW the tables.)

For example Estes has the Following in the Tire and Rim Assoc Tables:

LT235/85 16 (Load range E Truck Tires are rated at 3042 lbs@80psi)

In contrast

ST235/80 16 (Load range D TRailer Tires are rated at 3000 lbs@65psi)

So it is easy to mix them, that is why it is sometimes confusing.

Trailer tires are usually loaded to 65psi and truck tires to 80 psi.

Next time your at CW you should pick up a copy of the handbook.

stiles watson · 10-19-2004, 02:59 PM

Now I am really confused, but that is ok because it will cause me to do the homework to figure out this tire thing.

sreigle · 10-19-2004, 05:31 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Chester

Interesting discussion on E vs D tires. My 2750 came with LT235/80 16E from Keystone. Glenda and I have been looking at several models lately and even the pricier units (Carriage etc) are coming with D tires. I thought that would be an inferior product so your scan of the letter Steve was interesting reading.

To add to the confusion my current truck has E range tires, which on my previous trucks I always pumped to about 75psi. My new Dodge says to pump them to 65psi. I have a hard time understanding this but have yet to call my Dodge service manager to find out why.

Chester, if you ask the dealer, let us know what he says. Our truck also has LR E tires. I run 75 in the rear and 55 in the front. That seems to give a decent ride and seems to support the pinweight just fine.

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