New tire or front end problems.

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New tire or front end problems.

July 15, 2015, 01:14:10 pm

Well I finally did it. I replaced the tires on the coach. My old tires were almost 9 years old. I bought six new Michelin XZA3's from Herman Power Tires in Nac. I then took a short trip to Fredericksburg Texas and then back home to the Waco area.
Now I have another problem I think. With the old tires the coach handled pretty well, at least I was happy with it. Now it wanders all over the road if the road is not perfect. Hwy. 7 west was a nightmare, which it always is questionable, but really bad with the new tires.
Do I need front end checking over and alignment and where is the best place to go in Nac or the Houston area because I go to Houston more than Nac. I don't mind going back to Nac except I have to use Hwy7 west of Crockett and it is in bad shape. I have never hade any front end work done on this coach and I don't know if the PO had any done.
Thanks for any input you might have.

Re: New tire or front end problems.

Reply #1 – July 15, 2015, 01:44:44 pm

Have you verified the correct tire pressure?

And, yes brand new tires will have a little more squirm than used ones. The tread is deeper and the rubber softer. But it should not be a hazard to drive.

Re: New tire or front end problems.

Reply #2 – July 15, 2015, 03:15:46 pm

From what I have read here the Factory is your best bet for an alignment. Brett's suggestion is good. Make sure that the pressures are correct. To high or low and it will wander.

Keith

Re: New tire or front end problems.

Reply #3 – July 15, 2015, 05:00:07 pm

I have had my coach weighted at all four corners in Livingston. I did check pressures before I left Nac. and they were 5 to 8 pounds over what the Michelin charts recommended, which is what I told Herman Tire to put in them. A little bit of security.

Re: New tire or front end problems.

Reply #4 – July 15, 2015, 05:19:19 pm

roadrunner,

If you do decide on having the front end checked we use (& recommend)Big Truck Alignment in Lufkin. Top notch place that does things the old school way. Just a family owned place I don't think they even have a web page only word of mouth. They are familiar with how to set up a Foretravel.

Pamela & Mike

Re: New tire or front end problems.

Reply #5 – July 15, 2015, 06:39:20 pm

Thanks Pamela & Mike, I have been reading some very good things about Big Truck Alignment in Lufkin.
Does anyone know if I go to MOT will they do front end work or job it out?
I just got through having my yearly service done at FOT and I here Wayne is good on the front end work.
As you might imagine after work at FOT and tires at Herman Tire I have left a few coach bucks to stimulate the NAC economy. But I like NAC and my at least yearly visit is looked forward to each year.

Re: New tire or front end problems.

Reply #6 – July 16, 2015, 12:47:16 am

Quote from: Roadrunner – July 15, 2015, 06:39:20 pm

Thanks Pamela & Mike, I have been reading some very good things about Big Truck Alignment in Lufkin.
Does anyone know if I go to MOT will they do front end work or job it out?
I just got through having my yearly service done at FOT and I here Wayne is good on the front end work.
As you might imagine after work at FOT and tires at Herman Tire I have left a few coach bucks to stimulate the NAC economy. But I like NAC and my at least yearly visit is looked forward to each year.

May I suggest you alter the tire pressure to exactly match the per tire load?

Two pounds makes a difference if you are sensitive.

Trust me. Over inflated wanders. Center rib is making contact. Hundreds of long conversations with worried Rv owners about this when I ran a Foretravel stores sales dept.

Then we can ask if you had a dead spot in the steering before the tire swap.

Worn Pittman arm ends and drag link contribute to wander as do not preloaded wheel bearings.

Mine steers straight as an arrow with no dead spot and requires 1/4" to 1/2" edge of the steering wheel corrections normally.

Can be driven from the bottom of the wheel is my favorite description.

Easiest to start with is the tire pressure....

Fixed so many coaches long ago. Mine had a dead spot until my guru preloaded the front wheel bearings a little when replacing the seals. Fixed.....

Quote from: Roadrunner – July 15, 2015, 05:00:07 pm

I have had my coach weighted at all four corners in Livingston. I did check pressures before I left Nac. and they were 5 to 8 pounds over what the Michelin charts recommended, which is what I told Herman Tire to put in them. A little bit of security.

Re: New tire or front end problems.

Reply #7 – July 16, 2015, 10:30:14 am

Thanks for all the info, I am going back and double check the Michelin charts and check the air in the tires again with a better gauge.

Re: New tire or front end problems.

Reply #8 – July 16, 2015, 12:13:32 pm

Donald,

In case you don't know the alignment specs are on a small label under the lift up top of the dash.

Keith

Re: New tire or front end problems.

Reply #9 – July 16, 2015, 12:56:55 pm

Quote from: Roadrunner – July 16, 2015, 10:30:14 am

Thanks for all the info, I am going back and double check the Michelin charts and check the air in the tires again with a better gauge.

I bought the expensive one someone posted here from the co2 tank guy. XXX.X accuracy and a five foot clip on hose and straight tip. Big digital dial

Re: New tire or front end problems.

Reply #10 – July 16, 2015, 07:16:19 pm

We've had our coach five years. It pulled to right when we bought it. We had Wayne at FOT align the front wheels several months after we bought it. The improvement was remarkable. Wayne replaced the steering gear later, after it started leaking. He did another alignment and the steering was slightly better.

About 18 months ago, I took the coach to Big Truck Alignment, now in Huntington, TX. They trued (shaved) the front tires, checked the tie rod ends, adjusted toe, statically balanced the front tires, and centered the steering wheel (drag link adjustment). The coach has steered the best ever since they worked on it.

The guys at Big Truck Alignment use low tech tools and allow you to closely watch everything they do. They looked at the wear patterns on the tires and recommended that I run more pressure. I was already running pressures about 5 psi above Michelin recommendations for our axle weights. I am currently using XZA-1+ (load range G) that have been on the coach for five years. We have driven about 72K miles on the tires. I now run pressures about 10 psi above recommend pressures. I have been pleased with the results.

Wayne at FOT has good tools and a lot of experience. He has done some good work for us. My experience has been that he will recommend tire pressures that are lower than the numbers recommended by the charts I have seen on the Michelin web site.

I will likely use Big Truck Alignment for front end alignment. In the past, MOT has sent vehicles to BTA for alignment.

Re: New tire or front end problems.

Reply #11 – July 17, 2015, 08:47:51 am

An inexpensive tire tread depth gauge is the tool needed to verify tire pressures and possible suspension issues in my experience.

And write down the results in a log book

Re: New tire or front end problems.

Reply #12 – July 22, 2015, 08:03:34 pm

Does Big Truck Alignment do air bags and fuel lines as well? Loved Bernd in NAC

Re: New tire or front end problems.

Reply #13 – July 22, 2015, 11:25:17 pm

I've had my Class 8 front end set at Big Truck several years back. If they do as good a job as I got, you will be pleased with their results for your MH. If I'm in Houston (I am btw), I'd head over and visit with Heitman (sp), they have done excellent work on my assortment of money makers for over 40 years without any problems and can fix all of your front end issues. pc

Re: New tire or front end problems.

Reply #14 – July 23, 2015, 11:01:39 am

Roadrunner,

When we bought our coach last October, I had the same problem as you do, regardless of what road I was on. I had Big Truck Alignment (actually in Huntington south of Lufkin) align our coach and true the front tires. No more wandering. I am very happy with the results. Safe travels. Royce

Re: New tire or front end problems.

Reply #15 – July 23, 2015, 05:07:22 pm

When I started this discussion a week ago I had just gotten back home from a trip to Fredericksburg. Since then I have been down with back problems and have not gotten back out to the coach.
I still need to double check the tire pressures.
Thanks for all the response. It looks like I will have to pay Big Truck Alignment a visit if verifying the tire pressures does not do the trick. They sound like the place to go.
Thanks again

Re: New tire or front end problems.

Reply #16 – July 23, 2015, 08:26:52 pm

Quote from: Tim Fiedler – July 22, 2015, 08:03:34 pm

Does Big Truck Alignment do air bags and fuel lines as well? Loved Bernd in NAC

I think BTA is not prepared to do air bags and fuel lines. I was able to make an appointment with them by telephone for alignment of my coach.

This review is consistent with my experience and the contact information I have for BTA:

http://rvservicereviews.com/ReviewDetails.asp?Submit=&FacilityID=3235&State=TX&Search=&CategoryID=

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New tire or front end problems.

July 15, 2015, 01:14:10 pm

Re: New tire or front end problems.

Reply #1 – July 15, 2015, 01:44:44 pm

Re: New tire or front end problems.

Reply #2 – July 15, 2015, 03:15:46 pm

Re: New tire or front end problems.

Reply #3 – July 15, 2015, 05:00:07 pm

Re: New tire or front end problems.

Reply #4 – July 15, 2015, 05:19:19 pm

Re: New tire or front end problems.

Reply #5 – July 15, 2015, 06:39:20 pm

Re: New tire or front end problems.

Reply #6 – July 16, 2015, 12:47:16 am

Re: New tire or front end problems.

Reply #7 – July 16, 2015, 10:30:14 am

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Reply #8 – July 16, 2015, 12:13:32 pm

Re: New tire or front end problems.

Reply #9 – July 16, 2015, 12:56:55 pm

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Reply #10 – July 16, 2015, 07:16:19 pm

Re: New tire or front end problems.

Reply #11 – July 17, 2015, 08:47:51 am

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Reply #12 – July 22, 2015, 08:03:34 pm

Re: New tire or front end problems.

Reply #13 – July 22, 2015, 11:25:17 pm

Re: New tire or front end problems.

Reply #14 – July 23, 2015, 11:01:39 am

Re: New tire or front end problems.

Reply #15 – July 23, 2015, 05:07:22 pm

Re: New tire or front end problems.

Reply #16 – July 23, 2015, 08:26:52 pm

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