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5:08 am
July 7, 2010
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jjmummert
| | Columbia, MO | |
| Member | posts 8 |
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Ok….so with the tire quality of the Chinia made tires in question……..do most of you think it's fairly safe to assume one can get 3,000 miles from them without (hopefully) any problems?
(and please don't tell me the joke about "assume") ^^
We plan to replace ours, but were planning to do so for next season.
We pick our 19BH up tomorrow….and take off Sat.
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Jenny & George Mummert – Columbia, MO – 19BH – Ford Flex with tow package
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7:31 am
July 7, 2010
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smilinjohn
| | Minnesota Prairie | |
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| posts 380 |
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Good morning, Jenny and George.
I chose to be leary of the ST-175/80R13 OEM China-made tires that came with our 14RK. I replaced with Maxxis ST-185/80R13 (made in Thailand) and had local tire installer replace OEM rubber valve stem with all brass stems……both added extra margin of safety. Maxxis has very good history of holding together on the road. Purchased three each Maxxis ST-185/80R13 at $79 delivered from Gripston Tire, to include the spare. Called Alex, the owner beforehand to request he ship tires no older than six months per date code on tires……turned out tires were no more than 10 weeks old upon receipt. George, should you decide to order from Gripston, PM me. I'll furnish additional info on Gripston. My local installer mounted, balanced and supplied brass valve stems in the deal and to boot, paid me $20 each to purchase all three OEM tires.
I had wanted to replace with Maxxis ST-205/75R14, but KZ-RV Design Engineering did not recommend……not enough clearance in wheel wells. Perhaps, enough clearance when axle/leaf-spring reversed, as some Sport. Classic owners are doing for various reasons.
 John
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2010 Sportsmen Classic 14RK; 2005 Ford F-150, 5.4L V8; "…..it is always advisable to perceive clearly our ignorance." Charles Darwin
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7:58 am
July 7, 2010
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smilinjohn
| | Minnesota Prairie | |
| Moderator
| posts 380 |
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jjmummert said:
Ok….so with the tire quality of the Chinia made tires in question……..do most of you think it's fairly safe to assume one can get 3,000 miles from them without (hopefully) any problems?
(and please don't tell me the joke about "assume") ^^
We plan to replace ours, but were planning to do so for next season.
We pick our 19BH up tomorrow….and take off Sat.
George and Jenny, if you do nothing else, be sure to get the OEM tires balanced and keep inflated to max PSI, when cold. Note, as I recollect from my readings, brass or stainless steel valve stems should be employed where max PSI approaches 65 PSI and beyond. Maintaining 60 mph or less tends to keep tires from overheating to the point of delaminating/falling apart on the highway.
John
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2010 Sportsmen Classic 14RK; 2005 Ford F-150, 5.4L V8; "…..it is always advisable to perceive clearly our ignorance." Charles Darwin
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8:58 am
July 7, 2010
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jjmummert
| | Columbia, MO | |
| Member | posts 8 |
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Thanks for the helpful advice, John. I'll share it with George.
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Jenny & George Mummert – Columbia, MO – 19BH – Ford Flex with tow package
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1:31 pm
July 12, 2010
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mitch36
| | Oak Lawn, Ill. | |
| Member | posts 40 |
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Jenny & George, we just returned from a 7300 mile trip with our 16BH to the Pacific Northwest. I was real worried about the ROAD RIDER tires that came with the trailer so I bought two spares , a patch/ plug kit and a quality air pump.I also got all the tires balanced prior to leaving. Every morning before hitting the road, I checked the pressure (never did have to add air) just to make sure they stayed at a constant 50 psi. I was very happy that we experienced no tire troubles on the trip, even though I was fully prepaired. We kept our speed at or below 65 mph and kept an eye out for holes and rough sections of road.
I have flipped my axle so I will be buying larger tires and wheels in the future and possibly upgrading the Dexter axle to a higher load capacity one. I really could use the extra carring capacity that the tires and axle will afford. Mitch
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1:40 pm
July 12, 2010
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Steve
| | San Antonio, TX | |
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| posts 193 |
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What does "flipping an axle" mean exactly, and what benefit is that?
Thanks
Steve
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http://haven106.blogspot.com
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2:32 pm
July 12, 2010
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carolandjack
| | Spring Hill, Tennessee | |
| Member | posts 62 |
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Mitch, I am so impressed that you drove over 7,300 miles on your journey. That really speaks well for the KZ Sportsmen Classic. You also told us that you really had no problems along your journey. I gather that you used the tires that came standard on your unit. You had them balanced and kept the air pressure at 50psi . Is that correct?
Would you share with us what your tow vehicle was and if you had any difficulties along the way. We need to start a section where folks can share with us their experiences along the road along with pictures.
I also would love to hear about this axle flipping and just what the advantages are in doing it.
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2010 Sportsmen 16BH * 2011 Ford F-150 XLT Super Crew *ECO BOOST Engine* Reese Weight Distribution Hitch * Anti Sway Bars
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7:31 pm
August 19, 2010
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mitch36
| | Oak Lawn, Ill. | |
| Member | posts 40 |
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Carolandjack, we towed with a 03 GMC Savana with a 5.3 engine and 3:73 rear gears. Only noticed the trailer back there in windy conditions. The 16BH performed flawlessly the whole trip, some times though it was kinda cramped with 7 people trying to occupy the space for 4 in the evenings.( we slept 4 in the trailer and 3 kids in the van at nite) Over the 7300 miles, we burned up over 1700 dollars worth of fuel, I never did check my mileage, didnt matter, we were having fun!! All the miles were put on the original tires, I had them balanced before we left and I brought 2 spares with just in case but we never needed them. Kept the tires inflated to 50 psi and checked them every day. Only had to add a bit of air in one tire, possibly due to rough roads. As for the axle swap, I made up some spring pads much like Dexter sells in their axle flip kit and welded them opposite of the pads already on the axle. After that it was just removing the springs, and installing them on top of the axle and replacing the u-bolts and nuts. It gave me 5 inches of extra tire/ ground clearance, no more tire rubbing. It also made it easier to drain the gray and black tanks. I believe every Classic needs this modification because they all sit too low for what ever reason. I also reinforced the tongue area where the jack is mounted, the stock mount was real flimsey so I boxed it in with steel plate and rewelded the area. Now its good and solid, no more wobbly tongue jack. All in all it was a great 7300 miles and I cant wait to get her out on the open road again, camping is a blast. See ya, Mitch.
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