Q&A for November 07 by Mark Polk

*NOTE: At Mark's discretion, material might be edited to suit a wide audience. Due to the large volume of material and correspondence we receive, individual replies might not be possible, nor can we acknowledge receipt of submitted material. Selected questions will be answered in future issues of our RV Education 101 newsletter and on our site. Thank-you for your understanding.

Q We recently purchased an '82 Sunline... 17.5 ft. total. It is a double axle...and came with used Carlisle tires. We recently took a one night trip to a campground near us in St. Petersburg...and before we left I inflated all of the trailer tires to 50 psi. I checked them the next morning....three of them were now 40 psi...and one was at 35. We did some extensive on-line research yesterday on tires...and nobody had a good thing to say about Carlisle tires. Lot's of blowouts... and tearing up their trailers to boot. What was strange though...is that although everyone seemed to despise the Carlisle tires... and the Goodyear tires as well (Same company)...we never found a single recommendation from anyone on what brand of tire is considered good and reliable.
Care to make a recommendation???
Our current tire size is ST175/80D13... Load Rating C.

Mark Says: My first recommendation would be to replace the tires on your 82 Sunline trailer. The general rule is to replace tires on RV's that are over six years in age. There is a DOT number on the tire sidewalls that will inform you how old they are. Information on how to interpret the DOT number is in the link to my tire article I included in this response.

I have heard the same horror stories about Carlisle tires, but in their defense since they supply most of the tires for all trailers manufactured you're bound to hear the few who are not happy with the product.

The truth of the matter is, in most cases, tire failure on RV's is due to a lack of maintenance and proper care. The causes for tire failure are numerous; overloading the tires, under inflating the tires, over inflating the tires, age, extended exposure to ozone and UV rays from the sun etc.

This is a link to one of the articles I wrote on tires that might be helpful http://www.rvuniversity.com/staticpages/index.php/tires_101

And this is a link where you can download some free brochures with great information on taking care of your tires and worksheets on how to weigh your RV to make sure it is not overloaded. http://www.bridgestonetrucktires.com/us_eng/rv/index.asp

Read over this material and it should clear up any questions you have about the tires on your trailer.

Q My wife & I are planning on towing an RV trailer with our 4 cyl. Toyota Tacoma, 4x4. What is the towing restrictions we have to adhere to so as not to harm our vehicle?

Mark Says: You can go to www.trailerlife.com and towards the bottom of the page click on the tow rating guide section. Once there go to the guide for the model year vehicle you have and look it up to see what the tow rating is. Pay attention to any special notes that may apply.

Remember to subtract any weight that will be in the fully loaded vehicle from the the tow rating. Any weight added to the vehicle takes that same amount off of the tow rating. When you purchase your trailer the truck should be capable of towing the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) of the trailer you select. And be sure and use the proper hitch work required to safely tow the trailer.

Q. I have an 07 Georgetown 373 class A. When I'm not hooked up to city water and using the water pump it pulses when it runs. It seems to stop & start while a faucet is on. I just bought the unit new last May & I only have 5000 miles on the coach. Any ideas why this is happening?

Mark Says: It is most likely the quality of the water pump itself. I have seen and heard of this problem many times. You can replace the water pump with a higher quality pump to solve the problem if it warrants such action. Some people say it interferes with showers and other things when using the water pump. Go to www.campingworld.com and put water pump in the search box. It will list several pump upgrades that will eliminate the problem.

Q. My wife and I converted a Springdale rv into a mobile kitchen. We live in Denver, CO where the winters can be harsh. During our cooking in our rv we use water everyday. If we keep the water in our tanks during the cold days and nights, will that freeze and burst our pipes our or tanks? It would be a great hassle to get fresh water and to dump water everyday if need be. When we store our trailer overnight I can use an external power source for my heater. Can I keep that running during the night to keep the tanks from freezing?

Mark Says: This is a tricky question. Basically if all of the water is above floor level, in a heated space, and you keep heat in the trailer then it should not freeze. Some RV's are manufactured with the fresh water holding tank mounted below the floor, outside, exposed to the elements. If this is the case it can freeze and cause costly damage to the water system.

If all of the water is loacted in a heated space you still need to consider things like the water heater. It's possible for water in the water heater tank to freeze and expand, damaging the tank. If you have water in the water heater tank keep the water heater turned on too to prevent this from happening. Also keep in mind the water going down the drains into the gray water tank. I would recommend pouring some RV antifreeze into the gray and black water tanks to prevent the contents of the tanks from freezing.

So I guess the answer could be yes or no depending on your particular situation. We have actually used our RV in climates where the high for the day was 12 degrees and didn't have any problems, but you have to exercise caution and keep an eye on everything. I always leave the faucets dripping water to keep the water moving through the system too.

Copyright 2007 by Mark J. Polk owner of RV Education 101

RV Expert Mark Polk, seen on TV, is the producer & host of America's most highly regarded series of DVD's, videos, books, and e-books. http://www.rveducation101.com/