Mods to 377 RLBH?

[Dskyward]

Originally Posted by WeRVoyagers

Understandable, how long is the bed on your truck?



I still need to find out my turning radius. When I was backing it up at the campground it looked dang close at about 45 degrees, but it was also midnight and was probably not as close as it looked. Will need to go out to a nice big lot and turn it until a spotter says stop to see where it is at.

I have a 6’5” bed. Standard issue on all Dodge Ram Megacabs. North Points don’t have the cap cut outs as some other brands that are very friendly to short boxes. But at 45 degrees, I remember about a 2” cap-cab clearance. So this last time, I thought I was safe but wanted to get out and check anyway...I came within an index finger, or rather call it a pinky finger width backing in at the dealer campsite in Middlebury. I was quite shocked how close I got. Maybe I went to 50 degrees on that maneuver?! A wake up call to me once again. Yes I’ve a manual slider and only used it 5-6x out of 109 to date. So in a sense, a slider is comparable to having a 4 wheel drive. Rarely gets used, but when the time comes, is an ‘insurance policy’.

[JetTech]

Originally Posted by Magnolia Tom

I have a 30 amp plug at home. I do have the residential fridge as well. We do the same thing...our fridge is always on keeping condiments, beer, sodas, beer, etc cold in between trips.

When I tested mine, they were both set to 72.
Maybe you had a weak breaker at the campground? What was your voltage? Lower voltage requires higher amps

I think we were just under 120 Volts on each leg. I know we were pushing 25-26 total amps as we walked out of the camper. When we walked back in a couple hours later, it was pushing 90 degrees inside, and our battery voltage was down to about 8 volts. I'm guessing the battery did what it could for a very short period keeping the fridge cold, but even it was warming up pretty good. I think the freezer was 36 degrees when it should've been somewhere near 0. I don't recall what my thermostats were set to, but I'd guess mid to upper 70's. I'm guessing they probably cycled and tripped the breaker under their starting amperage draw, or as you mentioned, perhaps the breaker was weak to start with.

It sounds like you tested yours with the same things running (2 A/C's and a fridge) on the same 30A source. I'll give it another go at some point in the future and hope for the best. I was REALLY hoping I'd come back to the camper and have a nice cool spot to sit as I've always been told you can't run two of these on 30A service, but I think that's assuming the cycling on and off that they would do if you can reach the set temperature! As with many of the posts here, I'm aspiring to have your results!

[glitelover]

Originally Posted by Fire_Instructor

Hi, Guys! I know that I haven't been around much lately, but today I became a dues paying member of the China Bomb Club today, when we discovered this on one of our 5'er tires (that had less than 3500 miles on them). We were about 70 miles out from home, when I noticed that this tire was running about 6psi lower than every other tire, but since it was holding pressure, I just continued. Made it into my driveway and discovered this baseball size tumor. Now I'm comparing the Endurance, Marathon, Sailun, and a few others on-line, to try to figure out which tire we are switching to.....

Any suggestions?

These are the upgraded tires that came on our 2017 375 from the factory. They are Goodyear G614.



The specs are in this link: https://www.amazon.com/Goodyear-Unis.../dp/B004ZW6NYG

So far, so good.

[jasum]

Originally Posted by Fire_Instructor

Hi, Guys! I know that I haven't been around much lately, but today I became a dues paying member of the China Bomb Club today, when we discovered this on one of our 5'er tires (that had less than 3500 miles on them). We were about 70 miles out from home, when I noticed that this tire was running about 6psi lower than every other tire, but since it was holding pressure, I just continued. Made it into my driveway and discovered this baseball size tumor. Now I'm comparing the Endurance, Marathon, Sailun, and a few others on-line, to try to figure out which tire we are switching to.....

Any suggestions?

Goodyear G614

[bdreinv]

Does your dryer vent outside?

[RedHorse1]

I posted a little earlier today that my G614’s have a touch over 20k miles.

[AKRUEBBE]

Originally Posted by Fire_Instructor

Hi, Guys! I know that I haven't been around much lately, but today I became a dues paying member of the China Bomb Club today, when we discovered this on one of our 5'er tires (that had less than 3500 miles on them). We were about 70 miles out from home, when I noticed that this tire was running about 6psi lower than every other tire, but since it was holding pressure, I just continued. Made it into my driveway and discovered this baseball size tumor. Now I'm comparing the Endurance, Marathon, Sailun, and a few others on-line, to try to figure out which tire we are switching to.....

Any suggestions?

If you're wanting to exit the "China Bomb Club", I would not consider GY Marathons because I believe they are real big members of that club!

[bdreinv]

DT has a camper tire Hartland speed rated at 87 mph and load rated high 120s!

[Magnolia Tom]

Originally Posted by glitelover

These are the upgraded tires that came on our 2017 375 from the factory. They are Goodyear G614.



The specs are in this link: https://www.amazon.com/Goodyear-Unis.../dp/B004ZW6NYG

So far, so good.

I like those fancy center caps with the Jayco logo! Wish mine had those.

[Dskyward]

Originally Posted by Magnolia Tom

I like those fancy center caps with the Jayco logo! Wish mine had those.

Wow, the logo is very nice. I actually ask to buy two more center caps for my rig from Jayco Service. One is getting pretty cut and dented at the base, then a spare. We'll see what I get.

[glitelover]

Originally Posted by Dskyward

Wow, the logo is very nice. I actually ask to buy two more center caps for my rig from Jayco Service. One is getting pretty cut and dented at the base, then a spare. We'll see what I get.

Originally Posted by Magnolia Tom

I like those fancy center caps with the Jayco logo! Wish mine had those.

Thanks! I've always been a sucker for nice wheels/rims on any vehicle. I call it "jewelry." LOL.

[WeRVoyagers]

Originally Posted by bdreinv

Does your dryer vent outside?

Was that question for me? If so, yes it does.

[prm99v6]

I upgraded The steel protection in wheel well.
First, I fixed the hole left under the drivers side when my tires made contact with the bottom of the trailer and added additional sheet metal for protection. Jayco is replacing the springs (3500lb rated to 4000lb rated) under warranty but I didn’t want exposed wood sitting around until this happens.

All pics are before the bed liner.

On the drivers side, there was a 2” gap in the sheet metal from the factory that ran the length of the trailer. That’s where the hole was.






On the drivers side, I sealed the hole in the plastic with Nashua self fusing silicone tape. Then I added 3 12x24” pieces of 22 gauge steel over the existing 8” wide metal covering the gap. I attached the larger metal to the existing right angle pieces (need to remove screws and put in rivets) and then used spray on Herculiner bed liner to cover everything.





On the passenger side, there was no contact so no hole, but the factory metal didn’t go past the top of the front tire leaving about 1.5 feet without any protection. I did the same with 3 12x24” pieces of steel and extend this behind the front fender and offering much more protection than from the factory.







Hopefully this will provide some additional protection in the event of a blowout or something getting kicked up by a tire.

[PlayersZ28]

Originally Posted by Dskyward

2 for 1 here- I have the springs under the axle like 2naEagle and it looks like Lippert shocks cannot fit this arrangement so apparently only the Joy Riders are my only choice when it comes time to install shocks as 2naEagle did on his rig last year and they look great. He recently added the SRE4000 and has yet to test. These two upgrades are about as far as you can go on suspension upgrades, and am anxious to hear his review. I know for myself I’m tired of the severe chucking I get on certain highways.

Update- My Sailun tire expert ‘ACE’, said for me to lower my tire pressure down to 70 psi to curtail the shoulder rib wear that tire specialists refer to as ‘the river’. I’ve got 15k on the tires, mostly at 85 psi, and they all have similar wear like this(driver side front):Attachment 42834Attachment 42835
And here’s his reply to my question why are they wearing this way:
“The bouncing you describe for such a short period of time is not likely the culprit of your shoulder wear. This shoulder (river – what we tire guys call it) wear is a result of a much longer distance traveled. This condition is a characteristic of radial tires on a free rolling axle. It is more prevalent where the tire is over-inflated because the footprint is not flat on the road. There is a radius to the footprint that causes the shoulders to be raised off the asphalt slightly. There is a natural squirm created. If it was the bounce causing an issue it would be more of a cupping at about 4-6” intervals around the tire. Essentially, the center three ribs are carrying all the load (and wearing evenly) and the shoulder ribs are trying to keep up.

I reviewed your weight versus the table again. You are safe as low as 65 psi when carrying 12,300 lbs. I would recommend you lower you pressures to 70 psi. It is difficult to overcome or correct this wear pattern but, you may be able to slow the process by getting the footprint flat on the road. It may also help with the “bouncing” you described in rougher road conditions. There is no cause for concern with this wear pattern. Just keep an eye on it. I’m not sure it will help but you could try rotating from one side to the other.”

Al Eagleson ‘ACE’
Segment Manager, Commercial Tires
Off. (289) 499-3240 x202
Cel. (416) 315-9391
Sailun-logo-truck
300-1 Kenview Blvd.,
Brampton, ON, L6T 5E6

I have a similar wear on my S637's but not as extreme. They are 3 yrs old, 100psi & about 20k miles on them. Trailer is a 361REQS and I'm running at 15k lbs when loaded.

[Dskyward]

Originally Posted by PlayersZ28

I have a similar wear on my S637's but not as extreme. They are 3 yrs old, 100psi & about 20k miles on them. Trailer is a 361REQS and I'm running at 15k lbs when loaded.

Thanks for the info PlayersZ28! Always nice to hear from others experiences on these Sailuns. I still like them a lot, as they’ve taken good care of me, even with the big bolt picked up on Memorial Day. Did you read the reply I posted of the Sailun rep? I should back off to 70 psi to allow the whole footprint to make proper road contact.

[PlayersZ28]

Originally Posted by Dskyward

Thanks for the info PlayersZ28! Always nice to hear from others experiences on these Sailuns. I still like them a lot, as they’ve taken good care of me, even with the big bolt picked up on Memorial Day. Did you read the reply I posted of the Sailun rep? I should back off to 70 psi to allow the whole footprint to make proper road contact.

I was in contact with the same guy back in 2015 & 2016. He sent me a chart in '16 (was a Goodyear RV tire chart) that shows various loads for different inflation pressures. In 2015 he told me that 80psi allows 3042#/tire which is what the chart shows. I have just under 12000# on my axles so assuming equal load then I'd need 80psi. I would expect that the ODS is heavier due to the kitchen appliances, furnace and wtr htr all being on that side which would mean running higher than 80psi. I'm also running the Sailuns on my stock wheels and I check them regularly, so far so good. The tires are very stiff though and certainly transfer a lot of the road into the trailer.

[bdreinv]

Just curious how much of that weight would be distributed through the hitch pin?Thanks

[PlayersZ28]

Originally Posted by bdreinv

Just curious how much of that weight would be distributed through the hitch pin?Thanks

Are you referring to the 12k# I mentioned? If so that's the scaled weight on the axles. I have 3k on the pin and I'm @ GVWR of the trailer when loaded. It's a '14 361REQS.

[bdreinv]

Yes thanks is that 3k on a one ton truck? Bet it rides nice all hooked up!

[WeRVoyagers]

Just curious if anyone has done any mods to the dimmer switch in the master bedroom slide? That dang thing has the brightest little LED light that is positioned so that it shines right in my eye. Not sure how the thing comes off where I could disable the LED or cover the hole from the inside.