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Have a concern and need advice

Yahoo Message Number: 63088
We are traveling, and will be in the area of Rapid City South Dakota late this afternoon. My front tires are wearing unevenly on the outside of each. Does anyone have a suggestion for a reliable service facility in or near Rapid City ? Thank You I would appreciate any information you could provide.

Stan----Inspire---2005 ---51406

Re: Have a concern and need advice

Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 63091
The only one I can come up with is:

Royal Wheel Alignment Inc 2101 Cambell Street

Rapid City, SD 57701-5893
Phone: (605) 342-2636

Business Types: Brake Repair, Struts & Strut Supports, Truck Repair, Wheel & Frame Alignment

Only truck repair that show wheel alignment in Rapid City. Might call and if they can't, ask them who can.

Good Luck

Leonard Kerns 97' Magna 5418

Re: Have a concern and need advice

Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 63092
Stan if: (1) you are seeing about an inch width of excessive wear along the outer edge of each tire and; (2) by chance you are running Goodyear G670s; in my experience, this is a chronic problem, not due to alignment, etc. but to poor tire design by Goodyear. It generally occurs only on the steer tires, the rears, if also G670s, may look just fine.
I have seen MANY examples of this, myself included. I replaced my fronts with Michelins at 29,000 miles. I am now at 35,000 with the original rear G670s still in place, but beginning to show some if the same wear.
If you do have the G670s as I described, I would suggest you determine if your wear is moderate enough and safe so that you can go to a first rate tire/suspension shop specializing in RVs, without rushing to the first tire place you see. If you're headed to the Minneapolis area I can recommend an excellent shop.

--

Lee Zaborowski

07 Intrigue 12153, Cat C-13

Re: Have a concern and need advice

Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 63100
Whatever you do " DO NOT go to Dakota RV" Their service was lousy when I used them for my Onan generator problem. I had to have the job redone when I got to Oregon. Macke 2003 Magna #6277

Re: Have a concern and need advice

Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 63102
Does anyone have a suggestion for a reliable service
Quote
facility in or near Rapid City ? Thank You I would appreciate any > information you could provide.

Stan----Inspire---2005 ---51406
We are in Rapid City at hart's ranch. Dale's Tire is on Hwy 79, south of the many auto dealers (east side of the road). At least one large truck drive through bay. Looks very busy with large commercial trucks. Usually a good sign.

Dales Tire 3200 S. Highway 79 Rapid City 605-348-1244
Probably heading there myself Tuesday as I have developed a very slow leak on the LR inside dooley.

Ken Sair SOB 2007 Beaver Contessa

Re: Have a concern and need advice

Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 63116

Lee and Stan:

I want to second Lee's advice. Do a search on "rinvering" and "steer tire outside wear" and don't stop at the first few articles, kjeep reading and digging. You will eventually find that some tires, Good Year is only one, will exhibit this problem when there is nothing out of alignment. It is a problem with steer tires and is more common on RV's than many suspect because of the way RVs are designed and more importantly driven - according to some experts anyway.
The best advice I have seen is to make absolutely sure your front tire pressures are at least as high as the tire pressure versus weight chart specifies. I nearly ruined the original Toyo's on the front by letting the pressure get low and then driving through high side winds. The outer treads wore VERY quickly. Been driving through any side winds? I have seen more than one recommendation to run 10% above the minimum recommended tire pressure versus weight (but within the rating of the tire - never exceed the specs on the sidewall of the tire).
Our current brand is Firestone RV/short run truck tires. I run the fronts at 120 and so far they are wearing perfectly and ride as well as anything else I have used.
All the alignment tricks in the world won't stop this once it starts according to posts I have read on RV and truck message boards and online magazine type articles by tire and alignment experts.
I am sure there will be disagreements on this and I, at first, thought it was bologne as well. I have since seen it in too many places to not believe it is at least a distinct possibility. While there are certainly alignment problems that can cause the wear you describe, particularly a serious toe-in problem, if the alignment doesn't check as way out of whack, not just a bit, please seriously consider there is nothing you can do about it except keep that tire pressure up.
Also consider this Stan, if your Inspire is built anything like ours the rear axle is at the design weight limit (20,000) and the front axle is light by thousands of pounds (ours is over 3,000+ lbs lighter than rating). With that much weight disparity the rear of the coach can try to drive the rig. Constant corrections will have an effect on front tire wear. I fixed our wandering problem by shifting all the weight I could to the front of the rig, including inside the coach. Made a world of difference and the new tires are wearing evenly. I made no changes to the alignment as the coach had a 4-way laser alignment in the past and there was nothing to indicate anything had changed or should have.
Just don't throw a bunch of money at a problem that may not be fixable. Remember that front tire air pressure.

Bob (rthandren@...)
'05 Inspire 51178

Proper Tire Rotation

Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 63152
Robert,

Your advice is well taken. I found a Independent Tire and Alignment place that the owner has been operating for thirty five years. Walt Mode owner of Rapid Tire & Alignment in Rapid City South Dakota. He gave me a lesson on how to rotate tires. The last time I rotated tires they simply took the front tires and moved them straight back to the rear. This is what I thought was the correct procedure. WRONG Walt took the front two tires and moved both to the one back side side by side. The reason he said is that since the front tires were worn more than the rear, if you simply moved them straight back you would have one tire with a smaller circumference that the other, therefore one of the tires would be trying to keep up. This made sense since the tire with the wear would always complete one ration before the less worn tire.
I asked the following, if that is true aren't we creating the same condition with the two tires that have a smaller circumference than the two other rear tires. This is corrected by the differential, that is its function.

Finally I had tires dismounted, rotated, spin balanced, ( not the bag solution ), wheels aligned, and pressure brought up to spec. This was all done for just over 300 dollars plus tax. If you are ever in Rapid City and have tire issues this guy is squared away and pleasant to work with. Rapid Tire & Alignment 1-605-348-2502

Stan Canaris

Re: Proper Tire Rotation

Reply #7 –
Yahoo Message Number: 63160

Stan,

Sounds like you found an HONEST, knowledgeable place, I am very happy for you. Although I am not there I agree with what was done. I am aware of the proper way to put used tires on the rear as I learned it that hard way. Many years ago on my first gas coach id moved tires around thinking it was going to extend tread life. Uh uh, the shorter tire of one rear pair wore down to the cord in several hundred miles because it was rubbing on the pavement all the time as the taller tire won the fight. In that case I also mixed brands. Unfortunately the best remembered lessons are the ones that cost money but it also becomes part of the process of education.
Just keep that air pressure up and you might not have a wear problem again.
Since the fronts wear so differently than the rear I don't rotate them at all. It is doubtful I would save any money because we don't wear them out before time becomes the predominating factor mandating replacement. Your situation is one time it might make sense. I like having a deep, full tread on the front tires and moving the two rear tires accomplishes that.
I am sure you feel more comfortable rolling down the road now and that alone is worth the minimal expense.

Safe travels.

Bob (rthandren@...)
'05 Inspire 51178