Some interesting information

[Phil P]

Hello

I find it interesting that some folks here seem to get very little mileage out of their tires and wheel bearings.

I now have 70,000 miles on the trailer.

I am on my second set of G614 tires and the first set of G614 tires and wheels are on an equipment trailer my partner and I use to transport antique engines to shows. The tires that came with the trailer failed the sidewalls in the first 3 months and 3,000 miles.

My wheel bearings are original and have only been greased 6 times. I only lubricate wheel bearings once a year. The reason for the extra grease is because at approximately 60,000 miles (I forgot to note the mileage in my log) is I replaced the brake shoes. I have all ways used the E-Z lube way of lubricating the wheel bearings without difficulty.

I have had the axles checked for alignment 3 times 2 for the sake of it and then the last time the fellow that replace the springs on the rear axle check the alignment.

I do an extensive inspection of the trailer & TV at the beginning of the trip and at the beginning of each day we travel. I do a tire and wheel / hub inspection at every stop. I torque the wheel lug nuts after the first couple of hours on the road every trip and at destination if we are only on the road for a couple of hours.

I have changed more stop and tail light bulbs than tires. LOL

Phil P

[Montana Sky]

I'm with you Phil. I was able to get over 8 years of life out of the original Tacoma Tires that came on my 3400RL. I had just over 50,000 miles towed without incident on those tires. I too was cautious on tire, bearing, and overall coach maintenance. If the rig was stopped more than 2 days, the tires got covered. Air pressure was never below 80psi. Heck even after 8 years, the decals still looked nearly brand new. Maybe I was just lucky, or maybe Keystone and the industry have changed the quality of products and materials they are using today?? I like to think all the extra efforts of preventative maintenance paid off for me in the end. Heck, the only light bulb replaced on the entire coach in 8 years was the side marker light near the drivers door.

[Phil P]

Hi

Well the only good luck I have had was after spending a large sume of money to correct the mess Keystone and the selling dealer made of the “new” trailer.

Phil P

[garyka]

I had the Tacoma tires on mine and never had a problem,but them they went with the Chiness bombs and it's been downhill since from the factory

[1retired06]

One of the Keystone salesmen at the Tampa RV show indicated that he immediately swapped out the tires on his Montana at purchase because of a lack of confidence in the OEM tires. He stressed "his personal opinion" and talked about tire upgrade options.

[timandsusan]

I agree that good maintenance will pay dividends. After 7 years with our Monty, I have upgraded the suspension, changed tires, etc. from the OEM. My conclusion is that the "industry standard" equipment is usually the cheapest that will get the rig out of the dealers lot. It is almost like Keystone only expects an owner to tow the rig 500 miles a year and never really use it. Needless to say, when I bought my rig I was a complete novice--now I am an advanced novice--always learning! Little hints like a salesman who said he switched his new tires for good tires is a clue! So keep listening, reading the MOC and talking with other RVers.
Over the past 7 years we average 8000 miles a year towing--tops was 12,000 to Alaska--so we have been down the road a bit.

[richfaa]

It is almost like Keystone only expects an owner to tow the rig 500 miles a year and never really use it." That is not far from fact. These are recreational vehicles and not meant to be used like many of us do.

I have stated before that we put more miles on our 06 3400 in the first year than we did on our previous 4 Rv's that we used for weekend camping and occasional vacations.

[Art-n-Marge]

I agree with richfaa. There's a rough balance between how much a manufacturer would like for us to use our rigs and how much (like full-timers) us owners actually use them. I can say, as a rare-timer, I've had to fix or replace WAY more than I would have expected. Any for you long or full timers, your posts and stories sure reveal the gap. These rigs (any brand) sure aren't put together like we'd expect. Trying to keep things cheap and light don't help for long-term durability and strength. Not that some engineer doesn't want to make things better, but as much as the statisticians and bean counters can affect designs to keep the prices manageable, well we tow their results.

[Phil P]

HI

We are not full timers but in 2013 alone we did 4,000 miles in May 4.000 miles in June and 4,000 miles in July / August Plus around 3 to 600 locally ever other month of 2013.

Phil P