B+ motorhomes

[Daniel_C_]

I just bought a Trail Lite B+ 211s with 8.1 Chevy
engine. This is my fifth motorhome (others range
from an old 20' Vagabond, and three Winnegagos, from 19 to 32'. This vehicle is fantastic. I am
using it as a mobile office (and sneaking in a fun
journey from time to time). It gets about 9.5mpg
and I believe I could pull a bus behind it if I wanted! I paid low $40's which is about what I had expected to pay for a five or six year old Chinook with a nicer interior, but fewer features
(slide). I am delighted thus far.

[Gene_in_NE]

cheese1 - A phone call is cheap. I let my fingers do the walking. I doubt that my shop "Midwest Tire" is the only one in the USA that would provide reasonable help.

[cheeze1]

Gene, that seems like a plan. Should I try my Chevy dealer that services my rig?
They treat me well and are truck specialists.

[Gene_in_NE]

Mainer1 and cheese1 - I too scratched my head on how to check air pressure in the rear duals easier. Considered the remote transmitters like the Pressure Pro, but didn't like the almost $500 price tag. Also didn't like the idea of a transmitter being screwed on the valve stem that could throw the tire out of balance or loosen and let the air out of the tire. My first change was to remove the wheel covers and replace them with stainless steel inserts. They improved the looks, but made the holes in the rims even smaller. Considered the recommended Tire Man stems. The cost of $125 also seemed a little pricey for what you were getting. Finally, looked in the phone book and did some calling around to tire shops that installed tires for the big semi's. Found a real likeable one called "Midwest Tire". He had chrome plated brass stems that he used on the "big" rigs. Charged me $1.98 each no matter what the size or twist required. He then charged me $9.95 each to install them in the rims. Two guys working, took them less than 1/2 hour. Then went to Wal-Mart and bought a Campbell Hausfeld digital tire gauge which measures 5-99 PSI. Now I check my pressure in less than 15 minutes before I leave on a trip and then monitor the tire temperature at rest stops using the Non-Contact Infared Laser Thermometer. Life is good. :B

[cheeze1]

I sure wish there was an easy solution to checking rear tire pressure. I just don't have occasion to have the wheels taken off for the bent metal valves, and I don't like what I've heard about the do-it-yourself extensions. It's even a bit harder with the SS wheel covers.

[Mainer1]

GENE wrote:
My real question for "Mainer1" was one of interest in the ride quality. My rig has so much excess capacity that the ride on the suspension could jar'rrrr false teeth loose. I have to deflate the tires for a cushioning effect, yet not exceed the capacity of the tires at a lower pressure.

Gene,

As you already indicated some of our rigs are under the CCC a bit as mine is with the 14,050 GVWR GM Chassis. I estimate my CCC to be around 2,600 lbs.
I know I shouldn't talk about tire pressures or CCC capacity until I weigh each corner of my loaded rig, that will happen this Spring!;)

My ride quality was surprisingly good driving back from Rogers, AR for 1,600 miles but I now know why.
I just went out to NAPA today to purchase a new straight truck air gauge for my duals and found my tire pressure was too low,~42 PSIG.
I couldn't reach the tire stems in AR so when I returned home I removed the wheel covers to access the tire stems, more about that later.
So I may not be as happy with the ride quality after I increase my rear air pressure to the correct pressure, time will tell.
I do want to keep a soft ride and will keep the rears towards the lower rated pressure of the tires ~50-55 PSIG. My 251 came with 225/75 R16 Load range E Uniroyal HDH tires. I'm running ~65 PSIG in the front and I can feel every bump!

I may do what OKCharles did and install GM center caps with OEM SS trim rings, I also contacted Mor/Ryde to inquire about their rear rubber spring kit that will fit our rigs to soften the ride.
More about that later as I haven't heard back from Mor/ryde as yet.

Ralph

[qtla9111]

cheeze1 wrote:
Thanks for the update Burl.
qtla911, that is a good price. Do what you can to find out the list, it might be on the company website. However, in this economy especially, I doubt that is rock bottom. If you are in the market, and that dealer is convenient, negotiate the heck out of the dealer and get yourself a nice rig!

NADA shows an MSRP for the 2009 Ford gas at 96,900. I don't know where they get this price from, if the manufacturer reports it or what?

[cheeze1]

Thanks for the update Burl.
qtla911, that is a good price. Do what you can to find out the list, it might be on the company website. However, in this economy especially, I doubt that is rock bottom. If you are in the market, and that dealer is convenient, negotiate the heck out of the dealer and get yourself a nice rig!

[burlmart]

qtla911 - looks like a lot of RV for an MSRP of $65k. A good time to buy???

Geme, for the under weight small rigs like ours, I learned from you and others on this thread to inflate my tires to 55 psi, and all seems well.

On Edit: I saw where I had pasted some clipboard stuff from the previous post and removed it.

[qtla9111]

Always shopping for something, I did a search for the Monaco 293TS with triple slide and was amazed to see it priced as low as 65,000 for a 2009. Could someone do better on price?

Monaco 293TS

[Gene_in_NE]

burlmart - Having been around engineers for the last 40 or more years, I know exactly what you are talking about. However, as you stated, ratings are for a reason - to provide that margin of safety. Much like roof loadings, floor loadings, bridge ratings etc. a margin is needed for those unexpected events. On an RV, it could be side loadings going around a curve, hitting a curb or pothole, or some other unexpected object. I agree that 100 lbs or maybe even a 1,000 lbs may not make the difference, but it does decrease that safety margin.

My real question for "Mainer1" was one of interest in the ride quality. My rig has so much excess capacity that the ride on the suspension could jar'rrrr false teeth loose. I have to deflate the tires for a cushioning effect, yet not exceed the capacity of the tires at a lower pressure.

[burlmart]

Gene, I was just kicking the B+ thread back from a 14 day hiatus in posts so it would reappear for Cheese to see.

You and Mainer are currently talking weight limits, and I know for much heavier 30 ft. Cs there is an approaching of the stated limit on cargo carrying capacity - CCC.

As an engineer by training, I am always aware of a safety margin in stated limits. Many, MANY discussions on these forums are about the CCC being close to or over-exceeded by 100 lbs, or something like that.

Is that really a big deal? I know our little rigs are nowhere near CCC issues, but even where folks are, what will happen if you exceed CCC by 1000 lbs?

[Mainer1]

Mainer1 - Been meaning to ask if you've ever taken your rig across the scales? Just wondering how close you might be to the GVWR. I have heard it said that Chevy is still using the 1 ton 3500 chassis which is rated at 12,300 GVW. They supposedly consulted with workhorse, put their name on the door plate, and uprated it to compete with the Ford E450 which had a 14,050 GVWR. Just curious.

No, I haven't had it on the scales as yet, but I will as soon as the weather clears here in Maine after mud season... about April:R
OKCharles had the same rig as mine except his was the 12,300 GVWR, I think his weighed in at 9,600 empty and ~10,300 loaded.

I will post my loaded weight as soon as I can, I'm curious too to see what my CCC is!

Ralph

[Gene_in_NE]

burlmart wrote:
It is here.

Hey Burl did I miss something? Did you mean Click here for Monaco floorplans?

Cheese1 is correct RVision is very slow updating their website. When I visited them in Warsaw a few years ago, I mentioned that to Mike and he said they have a hard time keeping website savy employees.

Mainer1 - Been meaning to ask if you've ever taken your rig across the scales? Just wondering how close you might be to the GVWR. I have heard it said that Chevy is still using the 1 ton 3500 chassis which is rated at 12,300 GVW. They supposedly consulted with workhorse, put their name on the door plate, and uprated it to compete with the Ford E450 which had a 14,050 GVWR. Just curious.

[burlmart]

It is here.

[cheeze1]

Changes seem ok. FYI, Mainer, Rvision is notoriously late updating the online site. I think the '07's were out when they updated to '06