Tires and axel suggestions

woodman1 · 10-07-2016, 05:03 AM

I'm sure this has been discussed here many times before, however; we're new to Redwood and just purchased a 2017 36 RL last week from a dealer in Elkhart, Indiana. It was manufactured days before the H tires and 8000# axles became standard. Dealer said he hasn't gotten any negative feedback since RW replaced the standard "E" rated and went to the "G" rated tires. We are picking the unit up sometime later, so have the option and time to have the dealer replace the Westlake 16" G rated tires with Goodyear "H" tires and 8000# axles for about $4K. The dry weight is 14,192#. Wondering if it is worth the money, so am mulling this over. We could just replace the tires and wheels for $2500 and leave the 7000# axles. Any thoughts? Thanks

**piper guy** · 10-07-2016, 06:45 AM

If it was me, and since the unit is in Elkhart, I'd switch the tires and wheels to the Sailun H rated that Titanguy sells and take the coach over to MorRyde and have the IS installed and be done with it. The IS is about $3300 and I think Rons tire and wheel setup is around 1750 or so.

Shane Wood · 10-07-2016, 07:00 AM

My 36rl is weighing in at 17200lbs I went to the house rated tires and discs from Ron. I am happy with the 7k axles and if I have a problem I will upgrade. Hopefully you have disc brakes as that is worth way more than tires and axles. Ron's Hrated Goodyear tires and rims will cost you 2700.00 shipping included for 5 of them and you can pick up 8k axles for 150.00 to 200.00 each without labor to install.with labor to replace axles is cheaper than the dealer price

RW Cal · 10-07-2016, 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by piper guy

If it was me, and since the unit is in Elkhart, I'd switch the tires and wheels to the Sailun H rated that Titanguy sells and take the coach over to MorRyde and have the IS installed and be done with it. The IS is about $3300 and I think Rons tire and wheel setup is around 1750 or so.

I agree with Vaughn. I'd prefer Goodyear H's, but the Sailuns look ok and they are a helluva lot cheaper.

Grizzby · 10-07-2016, 02:00 PM

I have not seen or read anything negative about the Sailun tires...and you can get them for a great price from Ron "the Titan guy" Russell. I do like how Goodyear stands behind their product.

Bob

rickc · 10-07-2016, 02:27 PM

We have a 2016 38RL and just put on Sailun H tires and morryde IS suspension with disc brakes. Very happy we did, peace of mind is a good thing .

Ford truck guy · 10-07-2016, 02:46 PM

Out of all my upgrades . the MORryde IS -Titan Discs - 17.5 "H" are the best 3 hands down . . .

Those 3 gave my 100% peace of mind while towing , no more worrying about the shackles , tires , bushings ,stopping ect. . .

bergeman · 10-07-2016, 06:28 PM

The order I did the upgrades was:
1. Disk Brakes -Reduce chance of me hurting other people
2. Tires - Reduce chance of damaging Redwood
3. IS Suspension - Reduce chance of breakdowns

Changes where made within 8 months of purchasing the Redwood.

That said, I thought that the 2017 Redwoods come with upgraded suspensions. If that is true I would have passed on the suspension.

travelin' texans · 10-07-2016, 08:06 PM

My '13 has somewhere between 40-50k with the drum brakes, 7k axles, & G rated tires & the first year I had to replace all 4 sets of brakes due to cheap grease seal & added the MorRyde heavy shackles with wet bolts at that time & no problems since. Later this month I'm swapping to the H rated Sailuns tires & disc brakes from Ron, not because of problems, but the brakes/tires are worn due to mileage & then we're good for another 40-50k miles. I would upgrade to disc brakes & start traveling.

thomas861 · 10-08-2016, 03:59 PM

We replaced our Westlakes with the Sailuns from Ron before we hit the road full time a month ago. Almost 4000 miles so far and I'm very comfortable with them. They look great and have performed well.

gbownva · 10-08-2016, 06:23 PM

Really 7K -8K is it that big of deal for the extra cost not worth it, stay with the 7K save the hassle ,look just be where of what you load in this trailer, don't haul heavy items if you don't need them be smart , and my question is why hasn't the Redwood made the change if this appears to be a issue to so many folks, their also adding disk brakes again why do we have to spend the extra money if these units aren't save to pull, Good luck and enjoy your new unit

gbownva · 10-08-2016, 06:29 PM

question is their a issue on the the tire that come on these units that might be a safety concern, that need to be addressed at a higher level like the NTSB ! Why every body spending money for Good Year tires can somebody enlighten me, before i hit the road please

woodman1 · 10-08-2016, 08:03 PM

I believe the conception by majority of RV'ers is that American made Goodyear trailer tires, i.e., G614's and G114's are considered to be the "Gold Standard" (and the most expensive) and that Goodyear stands behind these more so than any Chinese manufacturer. That said, there are many other good tires that are cheaper and reliable. Westlake tires, on my new Redwood, are manufactured in China and had some problems in the mid 2000's where the Chinese were substituting poorer quality materials. They've supposedly made improvements now, however; and that impression stays with them.

Shane Wood · 10-08-2016, 08:40 PM

The reason I run goodyear is they will pay to fix the side of your coach if the tires at fault. The others not so much. To me that's worth the extra dime. The other answer to your question is RV manufacturers install tires and equipment that are the minimum required to legally sell which increases profit margin. That is why people are upgrading so there is a larger safety cushion.

**piper guy** · 10-08-2016, 09:18 PM

Also - starting with the 2017 models, 8k axles are standard. If you've never pulled a big fifth wheel with disk brakes, you don't know what difference there is. Rig will stop in half the distance.

woodman1 · 10-10-2016, 07:11 PM

Contacted Mor/Ryde regarding trailer axles, IS and disc brakes. For 7000# rated axles, the whole package would cost between $5700 and $6200 including parts and labor. The difference in cost is determined by whether you elect to have a Kodiak 2-piece bearing assembly ($5700) or a Dexter "Never-Lube" bearing assembly ($6700). For an additional $500, you can get the 8000# rated axle. The two piece bearing assembly requires yearly maintenance of changing the grease and inspection of bearings. The Dexter "Never-Lube" has a 5 yr. warranty that afterward needs replacement. Complete time to change over is between 2-3 days. The real kicker is that the original axle is scrapped, so there's no trade-in value, unless you know someone who needs a new axle. The dry weight on my RW is 14,192# and given that about 20% of that weight (2838#) is distributed the hitch pin weight, then the weight on the axles represents 11,354# allowing me well over 2500# of cargo, added to that, I'm getting "H" rated Goodyear tires. I know there are many RV enthusiasts that will advise me to go ahead and buy the IS/Disc brake option, but maybe there's a bit of "overkill" and the price for this IMO, is steep. Any thoughts are, as always, appreciated. Thanks

**piper guy** · 10-10-2016, 07:49 PM

It's a decision you have to make for yourself. I did the IS and Kodiak disc brakes almost 4 years ago when my coach was 4 months old. Have never regretted it and in fact consider it the best decision we made. Ride difference in ththe coach is night and day and there is absolutely no comparison in the braking. We tow long distances frequently and I wanted the peace of mind with not having to be concerned with springs, shackles, bushings, etc. when mine was changed at 3000 miles, one shackle was broken and one cracked.
When you see the suspension and the work that goes into the change, you'll appreciate why the price is what it is.

I would suggest not getting the Never Lube but instead having the Timken bearings stalled while doing the change. Adds about $160.00. I would also do the 8 k axles.
MorRyde will weigh the coach before and after to see what loading is on each wheel so they can put the appropriate shear spring in each one. If the weights you are quoting above are brochure weights, or even the weight from the inside door, you'll find that actual is much more. My 36RL came from the factory showing a dry wight of 14,208 and a pin weight of 2650.

The real world weight, loaded and ready to go, is 17450 and a pin of 3460. I put 8k on because I knew we would be loaded heavy.
As far as pulling, we don't even take the coffee maker off the counter or the toaster oven and they don't move. Only time something moves in a cabinet is if we have been on REALLY nasty roads (think CT, NY, MA)

The othe thing w did was change the Pinbox to a MorRyde and the hitch to a Comfort Ride Hitch. Again, a night and day difference.

If you'd like more info on anything, feel free to PM me.

travelin' texans · 10-10-2016, 11:42 PM

I can totally understand your concerns, like I've posted before I've got a lot of miles on my 7k suspension with drum brakes & honestly don't have the $$$ to replace it if it ain't broke. We probably travel as much or more than Vaughn & I'd very much like the set up he has, but just can't justify the cost & toss parts away. If you are ordering yours by all means get the H rated tires & the disc brakes & in my opinion do the MorRyde heavy shackles with wet bolts fairly quickly & go enjoy the experience. Just my .02 cents.

Shane Wood · 10-10-2016, 11:50 PM

I am running 17000 plus lbs on my rl. We have put 16000 miles on it and have had no problems with 7k axles. I installed centerpoint air ride and shocks which has helped the ride of the trailer. I installed disc brakes which was the best thing I did and H rated good years because I wanted to. The G rated good years performed well in 8000 miles of towing.if I have problems with the axles I will replace them with 8k. I am very happy with the setup I have now

**Dave&Ginny** · 10-11-2016, 03:34 AM

When I had the Redwood, I seriously questioned the extra money I had spent on the factory installed disk brakes until.........

We were coming down a steep grade on our way into Phoenix at dusk (2 lane road). There was some construction on both sides of the road and right in front of us was the most beautiful bull Elk who was staring me down. I told Ginny to hang on because there wasn't anyplace to go other than right at the elk and I really didn't think I'd be able to stop.

We did stop and the rig stayed straight and true just inches from the Elk who didn't move (Ginny couldn't talk for several miles). The Elk just walked off the road like he'd been daring us. At that time I knew the money was well spent. Because of that incident, when we were looking at new diesel pushers, Ginny insisted on the tag axle for the motor home. She wanted all the brakes she could get. She was right again.... and yes it did pay off going through the mountains this past year.

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