B+ motorhomes

Gene in NE wrote:

I did not know about your mishap with the rear tire. Those inner duals are a little harder to contend with. I carry my infrared temperature gun to get some warning about low tire pressure - increased heat due to flex. It does not sound like you had that problem, merely tire failure.

i remember you discussing that years ago. i still am looking for a good dual head air gauge w/ one being a straight shoe. many just do not seat right and you let out air fumbling w/ it. i want to have it in my hands and test fit it to a valve stem extender from my pocket.

nite before the blowout, while removing the white vinyl wheel covers, i felt some alarming tread distortions on 4 rear tires. because all 4 had similar unevenness, i didn't know what to think. i told martha to keep it well under 60mph on the 30 mi stretch of interstate, and i wrote down phone numbers for some dealers and roadside assistance. 15 mi of interstate and bam. i subsequently discovered these uniroyal laredos were made the same time as others that were recalled. every fiber of my being tells me these 225/75/r16 load range E should have been included. uniroyal lawyers will not admit it, and NHTSA dropped the ball when not including them.

the interactions w/ all the tire dealer and manufacturer people, roadside assistance workers, insurance people, and RV shop managers/workers throughout this whole affair served to reinforce my long held uneasiness of being a citizen of a lawless land right in the midst of the rest of the world. maybe it comes from too much reading of other rv.netter's tales so similar to mine. but nothing about RVs seems regular.

RV (especially MH) ownership and travel puts one in this lawless land, or perhaps it is just the land of truckers, whose rules of business and practice are very foreign to the general public. it's like most people feel that regulation of car designs and competition among dealers for service makes the big country of auto motorists comfortable w/ their lot.

not so for us truckers/'specialty item owners.' within a few months of owning ours, i had the pleasure of learning, contrary to what the dealer said about class Cs, chevrolet dealerships would not align it. had to sit in tiny waiting area/office of a big rig alignment shop in an industrial park w/ martha and watch the in and out of mechanics reporting to and hobnobbing w/manager. 1st diagnosis: nothing seems wrong in test drive, even though steering wheel had become way off center. had them put it in work area, and 2nd report: lug nuts on both tierods were left completely loose by chevy or r-vision.

i don't foresee much changing until the number of RVers grows to a point where 1) safer vehicles and 2) better quality hardware and service can be had. better regulation and competition will result.