marjim
Weekender RV’er
Retired EE, Vietnam Vet, God, Faith, Family & Flag. St. Louis area
Posts: 99
|
Post by marjim on Dec 20, 2020 7:04:29 GMT -5
Over the Christmas break, I am going to remove all 4 tires on the '16 Sonic 190VRB. I was looking through the documentation and could not find the part# or spec for the bearings. Anyone have that info handy, or is it specific to the frame/year.
Also, the tires are 4yrs old and decent tread left. In the old days, I ran a tube inside trailer tires for extra protection when hauling stuff in open fields. Is this something to consider for the Sonic? Lastly, does anyone have any thoughts about using Nitrogen vs standard air? Especially since its sits more often than rolls.
Thanks, Jim
|
|
normdave
Newbie RV’er
We just purchased a 2017 169 and are looking for others and any info for changes or upgrades...
Posts: 8
|
Post by normdave on Dec 21, 2020 9:26:48 GMT -5
Usually the bearing numbers are on the bearing itself. Don’t know anything about running tubes in tires. We live in the desert so 4 years is the limit for tires. I have read that nitrogen is just a scam. We travel all over high terrain, I just monitor the pressure. Merry Christmas 😎
|
|
marjim
Weekender RV’er
Retired EE, Vietnam Vet, God, Faith, Family & Flag. St. Louis area
Posts: 99
|
Post by marjim on Dec 21, 2020 20:52:16 GMT -5
Thanks guys.
We were at the farm today and I took a reading on the TP. Seems they lost some PSI will sitting on cold concrete since we moved it during the sale a month ago. all tires were at 28psi +/- 2psi today and they were 36psi when I brought the trailer home after the purchase. I am a bit OCD with tires, since my farm vehicle tires cost a bunch. Three four wheelers, 2 tractors, side x side and 6 various trailers and brush hogs is alot to service each year.
As far as Nitrogen, I am an a USAF Nam vet. In our squadron all the recon and fighters used nitrogen. Nitrogen has a larger molecule and doesn't leak as fast. It also will not change in expansion until -40 deg or more where air can change alot between 80F and 32F. My wife's Honda has had it since it was new and never needed any adjustments in 3 years. My Big Horn 1500 was air, but I had problems the first winter with it not holding pressure on cold days. It would drop 4-6psi before warming up and then regaining proper PSI/ I switched to nitrogen and haven't had any issues with tire pressure fluctuation since. It has 21" rims and needs 42 psi per tire. The science behind Nitrogen is that it doesn't have the larger expansion rate that ambient air does. So it tends to stay at pressure regardless of temp. For the bearings I guess I will determine what they are when I pull them for packing. Since I am removing the tires, I[ve decided to take them to a tire shop and have them dipped in water and checked for leaks. THen I will refill with Nitrogen. Owensville is a farming community so I think they will offer an opinion on the status of the tires for free.
|
|
marjim
Weekender RV’er
Retired EE, Vietnam Vet, God, Faith, Family & Flag. St. Louis area
Posts: 99
|
Post by marjim on Jan 24, 2021 15:42:59 GMT -5
so I pulled a wheel and damaged the metal bearing/axle cap (DURNGUBBIT) and found that I have bearing buddies. So I greased them until the spring cap came out and rotated the wheel. Brakes are OK..since I got about 1-1/4 rotation free spin. No drag and no scrape. I didn't have my torque wrench with me but I added it to my RAMBOX so I can get the lugs back to 120ft/lbs next time out.
Checked psi of all tiers and they are good. used spray bottle with detergent and no leaks found. (didn't dip after all since it was 17F inside the barn)
I did spy that some of the wiring underneath is just wires with no cover or wrap. I have some small wire wrap and will do the brake wires and some of the tank level and heater wires with the same. (Peace of mind) My rustinhibitor spray looks great since my last visit. Everywhere I sprayed turned back to black so the rust color is gone. I did grease the stabilize jack screws with a light coat of bearing grease and made up a 3/4" fiting for my impact battery driver to run the jacks up and down.
So I did get a new cap in the maile and found that my RV dealer had them for $6 each compared to $15 ea on line. I will put that one when I go back later this month.
The kids got us a nice mat to lay under the awing (Christmas gift) and a welcome mat. (Will be making some small purchases to go with that stuff prior to our first test run.)
|
|
|
|
Post by WrkrBee on Mar 1, 2021 16:52:02 GMT -5
I'll probably get dinged for this, but nitrogen is not needed. We're camping here, so check your pressures before each trip. Yes, for military aircraft (I was a B52 mechanic) it makes sense. Altitude changes and temperature extremes, you want the big boys to land when they come back shot up. My Sonic tires have the "green" caps, but let's face it, they have never had 100% nitrogen in them. They can't draw a vacuum on them because they will unseat. They don't fill them in a nitrogen filled room where all the air is displaced. You start with a tire full of air when they add the nitrogen to it, so you have a percentage of nitrogen. Ding away.
|
|
marjim
Weekender RV’er
Retired EE, Vietnam Vet, God, Faith, Family & Flag. St. Louis area
Posts: 99
|
Post by marjim on Mar 2, 2021 21:08:37 GMT -5
LOL...WrkrBee...I spent my time jumping out of perfectly good aircraft...so I never got to the landing part. After replacing the new cap and retorquing the lugs back on, I took it for a spin to Owensville and back (20miles RT) no problems. For what its worth, time, labor and creaking bone joints, and the $75 charge per 2 tires, I will stay with air. I wonder how much cost it is to check your air, vs the $150 worth of nitrogen?  |
|
|
|
Post by WrkrBee on Mar 2, 2021 21:37:06 GMT -5
Marjim... Thank you for your service to our great country. When were you in the USAF? I'm classified as a Viet Vet, but I correct people. I never saw Vietnam, so I'm just a veteran. I got to play around the edge on Guam some with the B52s.
|
|
|
|
Post by WrkrBee on Mar 8, 2021 7:57:15 GMT -5
After thought: The air we are breathing is 78% nitrogen anyway. So you start with 78% nitrogen in the tire. As the tire loses pressure, the nitrogen should stay in the tire. As you continue to add air to the tire, the nitrogen % should increase. Don't think that is happening. Ding Ding.
|
|
