Jack suggestions?

[Neal and Bev]

Anyone have suggestions for what type of jack to take on trips in case of a flat tire? I use a floor jack at home but I need something smaller for the road.

Neal

 

[Sam Shields]

jacks

I have had my share of flats. In the past 2 years I have had 7 flats, realy bad luck. I use a ramp,that I bought from camping world. I have found pulling or backing back on the ramp is a lot easer than trying to jack it up. The ramp cost only $40.00. I also carry a 6 ton bottle jack incase I have 2 flats on the same side at the same time. Also while we are talking about flat tires I sugest you stay away from Carliel tires. I have never got more than 8,000 miles with out a blow out. My experance is go for the more expensive tire by a known tire mfg. and you get what you pay for. I hope I never have a double blow out, but I have known someone it happened too.
Sam

 

[Neal and Bev]

Sam-

I never heard of a tire ramp before. I did some surfing on the Internet and low and behold there it was. How cool!

Not only does it replace the jack, it also acts as a jack stand for safety AND I can use it for a tire chock the rest of the time. I've attached a picture for anyone that hasn't seen one of these. BTW- they only work on double axles, you’ll understand after you look at the picture.

DW and I realize that we need to watch what we pack due to limited space and that whenever possible select items that could be used for more then one thing. This gadget qualifies and then some.

If my local Camping World doesn't have it in stock I'll order it today. I found it on several websites and all the reviews I read on it were all positive.

Great suggestion Sam, thanks!

On the subject of tire brands, I dread having a flat and I was tempted to buy an off brand, I forgot the name but it was about 40% less money then the Goodyear’s I bought. I've read a lot of pros and cons on every brand out there. I know you can have a flat or blowout on any tire but I want to reduce the possibility as much as I can.

There doesn't seem to be any one brand that everyone agrees on, BUT, what I have seen while reading various RV websites, is that people that run the better tires report less problems.

Sam thanks again for the great suggestion.

Neal

 

[MagnaFazer]

I replaced all four of my wheels and tires on my 1994 21FLL with these-

H188 ST175/80D13 / B78-13ST Load Range C 5 lug White Spoke Wheel/Tire | eCustomHitch.com, Carrying Thousands of Hitches, Trailer Tires, Car Hitches, Truck Hitches, Trailers, Ball Mounts, Couplers, Trailer Parts & Accessories

They were on sale for $75 each (it is also a local store) and I checked/packed each wheel hub with Valvoline synthetic wheel grease as I changed wheels/tires. I used my Larin 2.5 ton hydraulic floor jack and it worked so well I threw it into the trailer and brought is with us on our 2,000 mile trip to Lafayette Louisiana and back to SW Florida that we just completed. The tires performed flawlessly and the tread looks as deep and new as before the trip. My 2009 Toyota Highlander pulled it easily at 65 mph, which was also our max speed for the most part. My next trip is to Key West for a week at the end of May. I expect no issues from these tires on that trip as well.

So far, so good. I'll keep a mileage and time log on them for future reference.

 

[Lloyd-HILO]

Brake wiring

I've found (again) that the brake wiring is very susceptible to breakdown as they age. The brake connectors on mine were bugged together with a screw on connector and after a while the connections corroded and actually broke away. I replaced two last year with connectors, which I filled with silicone grease then taped over them. This year I was able to use crimp connectors, also pre-lubed with silicone.. A flat tire also broke a brake connector. Get out and under!