Sunday, May 20, 2012

Getting ready

The last time we towed the trailer we recognized that the right rear tire was wearing strangely; in fact it was 'cupping' on the sides.  Tuesday we are taking the trailer to our local rv shop to see what they say about it.  It should be interesting; the last time I was there they had about 15 motorhomes in the lot and 2 towables.  There is a heck of a difference so we'll see what they know about trailers.  Also, the next day, we'll try washing the rig!  Should be fun.

My theory is that there is a slight difference in the towing angle between the front axle and the rear that accounts for the wear pattern.  You might want to fix that but on the other hand, you must replace trailer tires every four or five years because of the damage from the sun.  These are 2 years old already and haven't had much relief from the sun.  So should I:  1) fix the problem or 2) just rotate the tires or 3) fix the problem AND rotate the tires.  Hmmm...   Well, you should know that cheap me is thinking of leaving the problem and just rotating the tires.  After two years these tires are probably half gone just because of the sun; why not rotate them and kiss them bye?  So, we'll see how honest/intelligent our local guy is.

We have NOT done some of the less critical things:  wall off the utensil drawers from invasion by dog hair, replace the bathroom sink (it IS extremely small but replacing it is kind of daunting), and replacing some of the lights with LEDs.  I'm hoping that we'll at least wall off the utensil drawers before we go anywhere.  The problem with LEDs is that the amount of electricity used is not a matter of concern for us the way we use the trailer.  If we were boondocking it would be very important; for us but I doubt if we will boondock 3 nights this year.  Hmmm.  Any cost-benefit folks out there?  Who cares if the mid-summer folks like us pay a bit more for their power?  Well,  of course some folks are concerned about the extra $.50 a day but I don't think it bothers us on a yearly basis.

Tomorrow, Monday, we are planning on going to Las Vegas for supplies:  the list doesn't include any real basic things but more of the stuff that we miss as treats.  There is also a question of bedding -  our current trailer bedding is too small and we are still searching out something better. It's managed  to keep us warm for two years but you can believe I've heard about it every week or two.

Hope you have a good one!  I'm planning on it.  Take care.

1 comment:

Croft said...

I ordered an LED replacement light from Ebay for $10 just to try in the outside light by the door. http://www.ebay.com/itm/150804290069?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649#ht_4101wt_1261

My vote is to repair and rotate. It might get worse. But then I put about 10K mikes a year on the RV so the tire would soon grind down on mine. Another consideration is the added friction with the road and it's effect on gas mileage.