Minor alignment issue... but a long story
My 2012 nexus 24' Class C has always had excellent ride and handling. To the best of my knowledge it has only had one alignment and that was back at the factory as the last stop on the Nexus production line was the alignment booth. The original owners had it for 18 months and just 6,205 miles when I found it at La Mesa RV in Tucson.
We have put over 63,000 trouble free miles over the last 8+ years including a 2 month trip from Tucson to Maine and a whole lot of places in-between. During that 7,800 mile trip I am pretty sure we encountered/hit every pothole in the continental US. Some of the worst were found in Washing DC but New England, Michigan and Indiana contributed enough jolts to fracture my bumper mounted spare tire carrier. {A stop at the Nexus factory in Elkhart got me a custom mounted spare carrier securely welded up under the rear of the coach} but I digress...
About a month ago after a short trip I noticed just a tiny bit of wear on the outside edge of my right front tire. I had never had any unusual tire wear in the past typically getting 40K miles out of my Michelin's so this caught my attention. I guessed it to need at bit of toe adjustment and set out to get it done. The local Big O could not work on my coach so I called my indie mechanic. He recommended a buddy of his who ran the alignment and tire shop for Steve Coury Ford here in Payson.
I took it in and he agreed it probably just needed a minor adjustment but I asked him to give it a thorough check/full alignment and once again we agreed the right front should have 4.8 degrees of caster with 4.5 on the left. He found the alignment to be spot on, with nothing worn out and the caster was on spec with it needing only the minor toe adjustment. I have 3 tires that are 4 and 3 that are 2 years old {don 't ask,,, another long story} but they are all in excellent condition and I keep them aired up to support the load they actually carry {which often changes dramatically}. Two of the newer Michelin Agilis' were moved to the front and the rears changed sides as well.
Lastly the metal bars that lock the battery tray in place had rusted/fractured which I discovered in the middle of a trip a few months back. I secured the tray with some heavy duty nylon strapping and had been trying to come up with a permanent solution. When I pulled into his shop and we were going over the rig we found that the interior bars had let go as well and my 2 AGM's were sliding off of the tray at a precipitous angle. :S
"Want me to fix that? he asked and of course I told him to do whatever it took and noted that I did not care what it cost. Here is his solution:
The all thread {both front and back} is double nutted on the outside of the box and can easily be disconnected as needed. {yes, I will be cleaning up the rust with a wire brush and putting down some new black paint in the near future} All in all a pretty good solution and the total repair {parts and labor} came to $149. The full four wheel alignment with everything set to spec was $129.95 and another $50 for the tire rotation {his labor rate is $50 an hour - when is the last time you saw that rate?} The total bill was $344.73. :B
If you are anywhere near Payson and need tires or alignment give Jeff a call at Steve Coury Ford {928 363-4113}.
:C
We have put over 63,000 trouble free miles over the last 8+ years including a 2 month trip from Tucson to Maine and a whole lot of places in-between. During that 7,800 mile trip I am pretty sure we encountered/hit every pothole in the continental US. Some of the worst were found in Washing DC but New England, Michigan and Indiana contributed enough jolts to fracture my bumper mounted spare tire carrier. {A stop at the Nexus factory in Elkhart got me a custom mounted spare carrier securely welded up under the rear of the coach} but I digress...
About a month ago after a short trip I noticed just a tiny bit of wear on the outside edge of my right front tire. I had never had any unusual tire wear in the past typically getting 40K miles out of my Michelin's so this caught my attention. I guessed it to need at bit of toe adjustment and set out to get it done. The local Big O could not work on my coach so I called my indie mechanic. He recommended a buddy of his who ran the alignment and tire shop for Steve Coury Ford here in Payson.
I took it in and he agreed it probably just needed a minor adjustment but I asked him to give it a thorough check/full alignment and once again we agreed the right front should have 4.8 degrees of caster with 4.5 on the left. He found the alignment to be spot on, with nothing worn out and the caster was on spec with it needing only the minor toe adjustment. I have 3 tires that are 4 and 3 that are 2 years old {don 't ask,,, another long story} but they are all in excellent condition and I keep them aired up to support the load they actually carry {which often changes dramatically}. Two of the newer Michelin Agilis' were moved to the front and the rears changed sides as well.
Lastly the metal bars that lock the battery tray in place had rusted/fractured which I discovered in the middle of a trip a few months back. I secured the tray with some heavy duty nylon strapping and had been trying to come up with a permanent solution. When I pulled into his shop and we were going over the rig we found that the interior bars had let go as well and my 2 AGM's were sliding off of the tray at a precipitous angle. :S
"Want me to fix that? he asked and of course I told him to do whatever it took and noted that I did not care what it cost. Here is his solution:
The all thread {both front and back} is double nutted on the outside of the box and can easily be disconnected as needed. {yes, I will be cleaning up the rust with a wire brush and putting down some new black paint in the near future} All in all a pretty good solution and the total repair {parts and labor} came to $149. The full four wheel alignment with everything set to spec was $129.95 and another $50 for the tire rotation {his labor rate is $50 an hour - when is the last time you saw that rate?} The total bill was $344.73. :B
If you are anywhere near Payson and need tires or alignment give Jeff a call at Steve Coury Ford {928 363-4113}.
:C
