Driving Class C on the Beach

Phil...thanks for the link. Here is my problem with this stuff. I have been thru 4 or 5 different rear inside dually valve stems and none of them, to date, has held up. The most common weakness is at the valve, itself. It gets weak from movement I guess..next thing is..flatski.

I am going to try again here in Canada at the chain of shops I would usually get my tires serviced at. If I order on-line, again...and they fail, again...I am stuck for a refund, again.

The other thing you mentioned is picking up rocks, etc after airing down...it was suggested, and why I didn't remember myself?...spacers. You can find them easily enough on line. They sit between the rears and once aired down, keep that sharp trash from getting into the squished up tires. Also keep the tires from rubbing together. I would think that in the two applications..each is going to affect tires differently. In sand...I don't think that a person is going more than 4? maybe 5 miles max. Over rocks...probably not quite so much air down and a person shouldn't be going all that fast anyway. I am thinking of roads in Death Valley. There is a guy on here..Off-Pavement, that does lots of off road, back country Jeep stuff. I'll have to ask him, if he doesn't join in.

I bought a 400P VIAR compressor.


Gary Haupt

garyhaupt wrote:
Alright...one more question, please? I cannot get to my inside rears to even check the air, never mind air down/up. I have tried so many different extensions and they all seem to fail in short order, leaving me with a flat. What extensions do you use? I know there is a guy in Ca., that makes them to order but he doesn't ship to Canada, so I am searching.

Gary,

Do you mean these kind of valves to make airing down/up your tires trivial ... I wonder if this outfit would ship to Canada:

http://yourtireshopsupply.com/advanced_search_result?keywords=Dually+Valves

Probably as you know, a compressor that you can carry with you to air up your tires is not an easy choice. It takes an expensive 12 volt DC one (like the off-roaders use) or a less expensive 120 volt AC one powered from your built-in generator blow up your RV's tires, time after time, reliably. Many of the less expensive portable compressors are for intermittent use only, so they must be allowed to rest for a length of time after so many minutes of continuous use. "Intermittent use only" is unacceptable in a tire inflation portable compressor, IMHO. I carry a 120 volt AC one that can do the job anywhere (assuming the Onan will start!) with no rest periods.

By the way, considering all of the weight on a Class C's tires, I wonder what kind of abuse (mostly in their sidewalls) they are suffering when still carrying this weight while aired down? I would be afraid of rolling aired down RV tires right off their rims. Obviously, I guess one should only travel very short distances - and not on any side slopes ... level surfaces only - with their Class C tires less than fully inflated so that the tires keep their shape enough to stay on the rims.

VA-Apraisr wrote:
Gary......air down to 25psi and YOU ARE SET!!!! Guaranteed! Awesome rig! Airing down is 90% of the issues we have on the Outer Banks. Big trucks get stuck all the time trying to MACHO MAN it out with 50psi in the tires....kills the transmission and stuck for sure. I can always drop psi down another 10psi just in case I'm really in a jam!

Alright...one more question, please? I cannot get to my inside rears to even check the air, never mind air down/up. I have tried so many different extensions and they all seem to fail in short order, leaving me with a flat. What extensions do you use? I know there is a guy in Ca., that makes them to order but he doesn't ship to Canada, so I am searching.


Gary Haupt

Gary......air down to 25psi and YOU ARE SET!!!! Guaranteed! Awesome rig! Airing down is 90% of the issues we have on the Outer Banks. Big trucks get stuck all the time trying to MACHO MAN it out with 50psi in the tires....kills the transmission and stuck for sure. I can always drop psi down another 10psi just in case I'm really in a jam!

double posting..

triple post..?

VA-Apraisr wrote:
It was a website "Weird Harolds Cool Parts" as far as I can remember. Solid piece of aluminum milled to fit Class C E450 Chassis.

Looks like Harold's no longer exists> I had forgotten entirely about spacers..I used to have them on my dump truck wheels, 40 years back. I am going to track the idea down.

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I understand watching videos of stuck trucks/RV's on beaches and getting worried about YOU becoming one of those!

I had said, that I would be going unless I had another vehicle of equal ability, with me. Mine is converted, lifted, winched and very able..but, after seeing the numerous video accounting's of people having to get yanked, I wouldn't go alone. Not until I know it's actual sand handling characteristics.

Having just fallen off a ladder and breaking my leg, due to my own male chest thumping..I'll await the opportunity to do it safely. Next time I am down that way, I'll stop in at Hills shop and ask an opinion. At 300 and hour for the tow guy, I want to have some reason to believe I can get in and out.




Dana, lifted, rear air, manual hubs and manual selector, winch.


Gary Haupt

I have a Ford E450 model (wheel well area on drivers side is NOT affected by large "bump" found in Chevy model). Honestly can't tell you if I have a limited slip differential; just know I never spin a tire no matter the surface I'm faced with and have driven through 2' of water on the sand and it still made it out! They may or may not have to lift the body up for the conversion ( I asked for the highest they could do and believe it was 3" ) and I did install slightly taller tires (don't have camper here so can't give specs on them either.

Google Quigley4x4 and they can answer ALL questions about conversions. I personally like the added ride height because I'm able to see better on the highway and vehicle just looks so much better overall. Again, I'm facing sand ramps and very soft sand in the Outer Banks so I opted for extras to make sure I can avoid a tow bill.

John,

A couple more questions:

- Was your Class C chassis Chevy, or E350, or E450?

- Is the Dana rear axle differential that Quigley installed limited slip?

The only thing that concerns me with these Class C conversions to 4X4 is the lifting of the chassis. Probably it's required for clearance of the new front end drive components, but it's kind of too bad that it's necessary. My Class C already has a tall enough (too tall) roof height, good enough ground clearance, and already has enough (too much) step-up height to get into it. A "low profile" conversion is what I'd prefer. After that, I can pick various tire diameters to adjust ground clearance in small amounts if, and as, necessary.

It was a website "Weird Harolds Cool Parts" as far as I can remember. Solid piece of aluminum milled to fit Class C E450 Chassis.

I understand watching videos of stuck trucks/RV's on beaches and getting worried about YOU becoming one of those! Won't state it can't happen, however, Quigley4x4 does ALL the UPS/FEDEX van/trucks and are top-notch with their engineering. Mine was lifted 2-3", dana front/rear axles put in, manual transfer case, and upgraded shocks. RV never handled this great before the conversion and 68,000 miles riding on this setup and its still awesome! Mine was a purpose-built rig for my Outer Banks fishing and some WV mountain skiing and camping. My buddy just borrowed it to take his grandkids to Disney in FL and said it was a extremely stable ride (he doesn't own an RV). The main reason for the rear spacer was so seashells/debri wouldn't cause a flat tire on the sidewalls as they would rub going down the beach. I also installed Michelin XPS steel wall tires for this reason (same tires UPS trucks use). Still stand behind my post that this truly opens up a NEW WORLD for camping....I've only seen 2 others on the beach in 10 years and its been the envy of all who see it coming up the shoreline :)