Newbies need help with Vibration, Chasis A/C and were to buy new and used parts.

[brianharrison]

Hi we are newbies at the RV world and have lots of questions,

We have a 1999 Jayco Eagle 241M, Ford Chassis with Triton V10 which
we just bought used, it has not been used a lot and was stored indoors
most of it's life, 27,000 miles and in mint shape. Just had all the tires
and wheels checked, balanced. When we are doing at between 50 to
70 we get a vibrating as if the tires are out of round,as we go faster
it seems to smooth out a bit, is this normal in an RV to get some
vibration, the tires are fairly new, Toyo, and what pressure should
they be at? The mechanics that balanced and turned the wheels on
the rims said it is probably the tire and of course tried to sell us new
tires. The existing tires are nearly new and were just put on due
to the age of the original tires starting to crack.

Also the chasis A/C is not cold, could it just require recharge and if so
can I do it myself? It is a Triton V10 and I have been quoted all sorts
of estimates and told have to replace compressor etc., and none of these
mechanics have even looked at it. When we turn on the AC we hear the
solenoid click in, with full A/C on we get no cold air.

Next question we are missing one of the back wheel chrome decorator
units, anyone know were to get a decent priced one? It's called a
versa-liner and found a part # V160F7 problem is the price 200.00 to
300.00. Anyone no of were to find a used one?

Any information is helpful, as we said newbies.

[Terry]

Welcome to the forum. I can't direct answer your questions, but if you have a chance come on over to the new member forum and introduce yourself.

[rdhousejr]

Hello and Welcome,

I have a 1995 294FL with the 460. Anyhow, tires even new ones can be out of balance or bad. I would have them rebalanced and then check to see if the vibration goes away. That is the least expensive option. Let me know what you find and we'll go from there.

Regarding the A/C, I would not recommend doing yourself unless you can get a hold of a vacuum pump. What should be done at this point is to pump it down to approximately 25 inches of vacuum and hold that for 1/2 hour. Then recharge to the manufacturers spec by weight. Overcharging can be a big problem and I do not recommend blindly recharging your unit. It can cause premature compressor or hose failure. I know, the alternative is an expensive trip to your local shop.

[brianharrison]

Hi Bob

Thank you for the reply and the welcome, we are currently trying out the RV for the first time in Parksville and love it, everything works like a charm, with the exception of the vibration when driving. We took the RV in and had the tires balanced and according to the shop they spun the wheels on the rim and remounted 3 of the tires and balanced all six tires. The vibration seems a bit better but not a lot. It smooths out quite a bit at 60 or so MPH but the vibration is still there at lower speeds. Everyone is telling me that it is still a tire issue and I should take it back after spending 200.00 plus on balancing etc. , not sure what we should do, what is your recommendation? There is no pulling left or right, no shimmy in the steering wheel, just a general vibration as if the tires were out of round. The tires are Toyo, fairly new. Any recommendations as to were a good shop is to figure out this problem?

Thanks in advance
Brian and Cathy

Originally Posted by rdhousejr

Hello and Welcome,

I have a 1995 294FL with the 460. Anyhow, tires even new ones can be out of balance or bad. I would have them rebalanced and then check to see if the vibration goes away. That is the least expensive option. Let me know what you find and we'll go from there.

Regarding the A/C, I would not recommend doing yourself unless you can get a hold of a vacuum pump. What should be done at this point is to pump it down to approximately 25 inches of vacuum and hold that for 1/2 hour. Then recharge to the manufacturers spec by weight. Overcharging can be a big problem and I do not recommend blindly recharging your unit. It can cause premature compressor or hose failure. I know, the alternative is an expensive trip to your local shop.

[rdhousejr]

Okay, let's assume the tires are just fine for now as it seems you've done everything you can to weed that out. If they were out of balance it should get worse with the increase in speed.

Before I get into the next area is there any noise assosiated with the vibration? The next step would be the drive line. When I say check the driveline please do not crawl underneath your coach unless you are sure of the safety considerations that MUST be taken. With the parking brake set and the engine off, transmission in nuetral, rock the drive shaft back and forth about a quarter of a turn both directions while observing each u-joint. There should be absolutely no play in the u-joint. If there is, you've got a bad u-joint. Once you've checked the u-joints put the transmission back in park. Check the carrier bearing for wear. It should not move laterally, if so then the isolator bushing itself is likely bad.