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Shock brand choice
I have a 2003 Dodge 2500 4x4 with diesel engine. 72,000 miles. I am towing a 2019 Jayco 29.5 BHOK. It is time for new shocks and I will be adding air ride bags when they are replaced. Any information about shock choices would be interesting. I have read many comments on other sites about different brands under different conditions, but very few deal with towing a fifth wheel and shock performance. Thanks.2.5KViews0likes14CommentsWisconsin to Washington DC
We are planning a trip to Cherry Hill in mid-July. In the past we have gone down I39 to Champaign Il to I70 to avoid Chicago. Google Maps is suggesting I90 to Chicago, then South on I65 to I70. Any suggestions/life experience would be appreciated. I am also considering taking I79 to I68 South of Pittsburgh to avoid the tolls in PA. Good? Bad? Thanks for any road knowledge. We will be towing our 5th wheel.577Views0likes3CommentsRe: New Orleans RV Resorts
We stayed a week at New Orleans West KOA for a week in 2016. What nice people! They changed our reserved site to one with more shade as it was quite hot. This was their idea, I had not said anything about shade. Site was great, location is really easy to explore the area from. Ask at the office and they can give you great tips about where to park for free and ride the street car to the quarter or just a tour of NOLA. They made a wonderful experience for us. I was concerned about some reviews that the campground was in the city. Never was an issue and is not really in a city setting. This is in my list of top ten just because of what a great time we had and how helpful the office was.544Views0likes0CommentsRe: Blowing tires on 5th wheel
I noticed one other thing now that I am reading all of the posts. I had the opportunity to be educated in, well, the limits of tire capability from a tire industry engineer, but related to auto tire capability. He told me that tires must be inflated to the sidewall pressure COLD. ON the day of use the tire must be at the psi on the sidewall for the maximum load carrying ability of the tire. I was told, absolutely, that no one would pass the driving course I was taking with the tire pressure less than the manufacture's sidewall pressure on the tire.DO NOT deflate it for smoother ride or any other reason. For whatever reason, in the course of my employment, I have scuffed a sidewall nearly to the wheel and I did not have a tire failure. I attribute not crashing in that situation to the advice I was given. Maximum load carrying capacity is AT the sidewall pressure for the COLD tire.485Views0likes0CommentsRe: Blowing tires on 5th wheel
Ok, from the guy who always read about tire problems and believed people checked pressure after driving, thus were not at max cold pressure and experienced tire failures due to under inflated and overloaded tires. Today, I was the most lucky person on the road. I really did not need it, but I pulled in for fuel and a driving break and heard the hissing. 2009 Jayco with orginal Goodyear Marathons. I check tires daily, and when I left Green Bay WI this am they were fine. The tire must have broken an internal belt as the center was "hunched up" and it had a deep wear area the size of my hand just off to the outer 1/3 of the tread only about 6-7 inches long along the tread. The rest of the tread in that zone is uniform. The leak was near the edge of the tread and I could see no foreign object or indication one was there and had been ejected. It appears that it was leaking air from the start of the complete tire failure. Had I not heard the hissing, that tire would have failed before I reached home, no doubt causing RV damage. Now looking for replacement tires...oh boy.483Views0likes0CommentsRe: Truck Tire Recommendations?
Follow up: The original tires worked for their living. My truck is either in the shed, or it is pulling my 12,000lb dump trailer with a Bobcat in it or the Jayco Eagle. The original tires went 49000 mile and still look good. They have quite a bit of tread left and that was my biggest hurdles to buying new tires as they still look fine and I am a cheapskate. PS: I am really happy with the new wheel and tire look.415Views0likes0CommentsRe: Truck Tire Recommendations?
I have always favored Goodyear, but the last set I put on a Dodge Grand Caravan were really bad. They handled terrible! They were sold as "mileage savers" and they were the worst tires I have ever had. My 2003 2500 Ram now only has 49000 miles and the original tire look fine, but we were headed to South Dakota and I read that they were beyond the service life based only on age. The tread still was good. I was not in the mood to experiment with how the truck might handle pulling the Jayco. I bought a new set of the tires that came on the truck: BF Goodrich Long Trail load range E. No surprises, they handle great. Bought them from Discount Tire Direct. I was VERY happy. (I bought new wheels also) Three days they were delivered by UPS, free mounting, balanced, and shipping. Very helpful customer support when I had questions about wheel backspacing etc.414Views0likes0CommentsRe: Tripod support
WOW! After ten years with a fifth wheel, I had come to believe that I should get a tripod because it seemed most other 5ers used them. I never bothered to ask anyone. I use X chocks and they do the job. I just thought I may be missing something but apparently, I can save my money. Good news, thanks everyone!457Views0likes0CommentsRe: Inspection / wheel bearings
When I checked mine last year, I found the rear seal had popped some time ago letting grease flood the brakes. Never noticed while towing. It was a mess to clean up and there was very slight discoloration on the inner bearing. On line search set me up with Dexter parts and it took a solid afternoon to hand repack the other bearings, replace the brake pads, seals, and clean each assembly. The blown hub got new bearings, races, seal and pads. Glad it is done, not that big a deal to do your self.289Views0likes0Comments
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