jimiflow

Here's a pic of my '86 Mini-Crusier awning. You can kinda see the little wheel/caster on the top rear corner of the door.

Update/the saga continues.... Thought it would be a good idea to have the transmission serviced while the RV is in getting the new engine installed. Turns out, the transmission also needs to be replaced or rebuilt. Mechanic found totally cooked fluid when he drained and dropped the pan along with some metal pieces that indicate the transmission is toast. At this point I'm too far into this thing to stop now. At least I won't be left wondering if the transmission is going to be an issue later down the road, so just gonna bite the bullet now and get the transmission rebuilt if it's salvageable. Guess that's what I get for taking on the risk of buying an RV with a blown engine. 🤷‍♂️

Hope you got some before and after pics?

Simpletire.com coming through with speedy delivery. Received the Petlas before I had a chance to drop of the Thunderer for return so did a side by side photo. Thunderer on the left, Petlas on the right in both photos. Thunderer looks like a general HWY tire to me and from others experience/input here, it does the job well. Petlas looks like a bit more aggressive/all terrain tread that should do well on both highway and gravel or dirt roads where I spend a lot of time in rural Oregon. Also worth noting the Petlas is 3lbs heavier and feels much more solid in general. I’ll have ride and drive notes soon as the engine is being installed this week!

Oh, gotcha (about the snow tires) There are Petlas tires on the front of my rig. Only reason I even looked into the brand or new it existed. Did a little research and found the AT style in 185s. Maybe we’ll have another affordable option for a good tire. Maybe I’ll regret the purchase. 🤷🏼‍♂️

Those are about $10/tire more than I paid for the Petlas I ordered from simpletire. I realize it’s not a known quantity for the forum, but seemed to be a good option for what I was lookin for in a tire. I’ll follow up with more once I’ve got the tires on the rig.

I ordered the Petlas from simpletire.com. It does have a snow raiting, though I’m guessing that’s similar to most AT these days. Wouldn’t consider it a soft compound snow tire like a blizzack or the like.

Which Nexen tire are you referring to?

I originally ordered the Thunderer and was surprised when I received them because the tread wasn't what I expected... also appeared to be an aggressive tread from the website photos. After doing some image searches, I found photos of the Petlas and they look like a more aggressive tread to me. The image on the simple tire website isn't a very good representation. I'll take photos of the Thunderer before I return them and also a photo of the Petlas once I receive them and follow up with a post of both here. I had the same problem with the tire size search that you did... I found that I had to search for the tire make and model I was looking for, then select the size in the drop down menu to get the 185r14, but they do have them.

My two inner rears are just at 7 years old (outers are 9 years old and the front 195's are only 4 years old), so ordered 6 tires and will use the old inners as spares for now. Simple Tire is having a memorial day sale that has already started. I got the Petlas Advente PT875 for about $88 each and free shipping. https://simpletire.com/brands/petlas-tires/advente-pt875#curationPos=none&curationSeq=none&curationSource=none&itemId=198688&mpn=PT40370&pageSource=PLP&productPos=none&tireSize=185-r14&userRegion=10&userZip=97217 They also carry the Thunderer Ranger 101 for a little over $80 each. I went with the All Weather/more aggressive tread because I'll be boondocking mostly.

Is that a 2wd or 4wd?

I'll be doing my rear leaf springs later this summer and contemplating the same thing. I'm leaning toward new.

Sourced a 4.88 3rd member from a 92 4runner today for $180. Had to pull it myself, but it was easier than expected and glad I know the process now. Probably do the 3rd member at the same time I do the leaf springs and shocks.

Good to know, thank you. Now if I can talk the fella down on price...

10s or 20s? Please share your progress.

Nice!

Thanks for the feedback. Curious on your thoughts on braking smaller 5lug vs larger 6lug rotors? Did you notice a difference?

I'll have to check... here's hoping. The door plate shows 185s front and back... not sure why the previous owner put 195s on the front.

That is pretty rad! 😲

I've got an older rig with the 5 lug front 6 lug rear. Came with a front spare and I just got a 6 lug wheel for a rear spare. Looking into a new tire on each wheel (the 5 lug spare looks to be original or nearly as old as the rig is)... fun fact, my front tires are 195s and my rears are 185s... with a winter tire outer and all season inner. I have 3 different types of tires on this thing!! Really wasn't wanting to buy 8 tires. ☹️ The "getting to know you" phase is getting expensive on this thing.

Yeah, this one was built a month after the chassis. Still titled in 86 though. It's been an interesting learning process.

I'm familiar with how the awning fits in the the channel... I've only ever seen that channel on the bottom of the rail before. It's all getting replaced eventually.

I found the whole assembly, like WME suggested. Does $100 each sound reasonable? Same source can provide the 14" 6 lug dually wheels for $60 each. Picked up a spare wheel yesterday to have a rear spare (my rig has 5 lug front spare only) and in talking with the guy discovered he had all the parts for the conversion. I'm currently falling fast down the rabbit hole of repairs and upgrades (also looking for a 4.56 or 4.88 3rd member) and cost is my only concern. Things are adding up fast. Will the larger rotor make that much difference in braking? Is it worth the cost of parts and installation? Thanks in advance for any feedback!

I'd be real interested in seeing the seating you mention. I've been thinking about doing something similar. Please share?

Any progress? I'm in the same boat of deciding on 10 vs 20