Hi All , New Owner Here !

[ChairmanMeow7]

Hi all. Great site here (just wished I had found it before I made my purchase a month ago) !!

I have been trying to post on here for a few weeks , but by computer or firewall or whatever was not allowing me to ( I had a virus or something or other and what a headache that was , I'll tell you !).

I just purchased an 86 Winnebago with the 22RE engine. From all I am hearing (both here and from Toyota pickup owners) , these engines are fantastic and pretty much bullet proof. The only issue is the obvious lack of power on steep grades. But , I think I can learn to live with that for fuel economy's sake , which is one of the main reasons I decided to buy a Toy (and of course their legendary reliability). Besides , when I am driving this on vacation or wherever , I do not intend to be in any hurry to get anywhere ! The reason I got it was to get away from the everyday RUSH-RUSH-RUSH !!!

It had 42,000 on it when I got it about a month ago and I have about 45,000 on it now. The coach and cab both seemed to be pretty well maintained , and in good overall shape , and no squeaks , rattles or worrysome noises to speak of. It does have a couple of (minor ?) issues , which has got to be normal for a 21 year old vehicle. I paid $4800 for it , so did do you think I did OK ???

I do have a few questions :

The person I purchased it from rebuilt the bunk and did a very good job as it is quite solid. Looks like he used 3/4 ply and put linoleum over it (he claimed for easy clean up , but that is another story).

He also replaced put some wood panels over the bunk (appears to be cedar or something , but it looks nice and it looks like he did a nice job).

Turns out he had bought this from an estate , and it had been sitting for a bit. After driving it and inspecting the condition of the coach , I was quite pleased , and decided to make an offer. Of course I had asked why the bunk was rebuilt and there was new wood panels over the bunk. Obviously I had suspected water damage , but he claimed the was water damage due to the vent being left open. Well , not being one to act like I just fell off the turnip truck , I thought "yeah , right"..... But , I was impressed with the (appearant) quality of the work he had done , I felt confident that it was NOT leaking NOW (as he had claimed). WRONG.......... After I got it home , I found that I still had some roof leaks above the bunk.

The roof is two part with a plain aluminum from about halfway on the top of the bunk to the back of the coach. The other part is either painted aluminum , fiberglass or plastic (not sure , can someone clarify this for me ?). Well , I ended up sealing up the roof seam and around the front vent with marine epoxy and fiberglass cloth. I then recoated it with another coat of epoxy. It doesn't leak now , but I talked to someone at an RV repair place I should NOT have used epoxy to seal the roof , as it would not allow it to expand and contract. What do you think , am I headed for problems here ?? (If so , I wish I had found this site sooner) !!! Or do you think that as long as I have solved the leak problems I should be OK ??

Secondly , it came with all new tires except one. I just discovered that one of the inside duelys is bald and needs IMMEDIATE replacement. I went to either Goodyear or Firestone (I forget which one) and they told me they don't make the size tire required for this vehicle any more. Somebody must make them , so where can I find them (and what size is it that I would require) ?

Also , when at the tire place , the guy informs me that I don't even have the proper load range tires on here ! He said what I have on it are for a passenger car. One question.... Do you think I can "get away" with running these on the rear since they are like new , and I would have a bit of a "safety net" with the duelys (having a second tire to support the load should one blow out) ? I mean , I certainly want to put the proper tires on the front , as there is no safety net there , but I was hoping I could run the ones I got on the rear until I get done fixing a few of the other issues (not to mention , I kind of stretched my budget just a little further than I should have by getting this at this time). But , I would also say I don't believe I have any regrets on purchasing it !!

Lastly , I am due for my 1st oil change shortly. I was planning on running synthetic and adding a little bit of that Lucas oil additive to it (I hear Lucas is supposed to be GREAT stuff , and the big rig truckers swear by it. Any thoughts on this ?).

But , I just met a fellow toy owner the other day and I started chatting with him. He had a V-6 , but he said this was his 3rd Toy. He said he had one previously with the 22RE engine and he got 304,000 out of it !!!! He told me to stear clear of sythetic oils as they would just "blow through" the engine , as it was NOT designed to run synthetic oil. He reccomended a high quality conventional oil (Castrol in particular). I find it a little hard to argue with someone who got 304,000 out of theirs. What are your thoughts on this ?

Sorry for the long post , but these issues have been bulding for a while , and I hope this post is going to FINALLY make it on the board.

Thanks for your help and replies !!!

[turtle]

I paid $4800 for it , so did do you think I did OK ???

Very good purchase for a Winnie

I ended up sealing up the roof seam and around the front vent with marine epoxy and fiberglass cloth. do you think that as long as I have solved the leak problems I should be OK ??

Fiberglass should be fine. I just fiberglassed the entire central roof on mine (4 layers of 1.5 oz chop mat). As long as you did not fiberglass down any of the "removables" such as the roof vent or the waste stack vent as these need to be replaced on occasion as they wear out

Secondly , it came with all new tires except one. I just discovered that one of the inside duelys is bald and needs IMMEDIATE replacement. I went to either Goodyear or Firestone (I forget which one) and they told me they don't make the size tire required for this vehicle any more. Somebody must make them , so where can I find them (and what size is it that I would require) ?

Also , when at the tire place , the guy informs me that I don't even have the proper load range tires on here !

You "should have" 185 R14 load range D tires. You did not say what is on it. You SHOULD replace the bald dual with the exact same tire (brand, size, tread) otherwise you will have a miss match and might run into issues of overheating etc.

Here are some options for D range tires

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compare1.jsp...;x=108&y=15

I have just put on 6 of their continental load D tires last week

Lastly , I am due for my 1st oil change shortly. I was planning on running synthetic and adding a little bit of that Lucas oil additive to it (I hear Lucas is supposed to be GREAT stuff , and the big rig truckers swear by it. Any thoughts on this ?).

Your friend is right. Switching to synthetic after you have a lot of age or miles on an engine can cause a lot of blow by the rings. It is best to stick to petroleum based oils in older engines

[dogmush]

Welcome new owner, mine also had (still does) the standard passenger car tires, p205 r14 and i've put 15k on them since i bought it last fall, but WILL replace them before winter... like yours mine were new when i bought it so i wanted to put the money to other things; just make sure that inflation pressures on each dually stay exactly the same and keep an eye on them. I check my tire pressure every few days with these since they are NOT the recommended d rating. I also had an '80 toy 4x4 that went 300k and i tried synthetic fairly early and it did go right through the rings so switched back to castrol and no problem...

[ChairmanMeow7]

I currently have Cooper Trendsetter SE P205/75R14 that say Max. load 1532 Lbs. at 35PSI (Max.).

Do you think I can "get away" with running these on the rears , as they are like brand new.

And what should I be running for pressure on these ? I noticed one owner said to make sure they were ALL at the same pressure. Is it extremely critical that I check these on a very frequent basis ?

Or am I taking TOO much of a chance (and should I just upgrade all the way around) ??

And if I can get away with running these , what would you suggest I get for the fronts that would (may) be compatible with the Coopers (and what should the pressure be) ?

The reason I ask about running these on the rear is I figure I have a little bit of safety built in with the duelys . Please correct me if I am wrong about this , but if one of the Cooper rears blew out , the second one shouldn't neccessarily go at the same time , should it ??

Money is a little bit of an issue right now , as I have a few other things I want to fix , on the camper , my boat and around the house. But I CERTAINLY don't want to put anyone's safety at risk !!!

Thanks for your help

[smokepolehall]

I think if its halfway decent you did fine on the purchase. Stick with the castrol, the tires if newer should hold up if you don't go too heavy in coach.

[ChairmanMeow7]

I try to keep it light as possible. Usually it's just me or my and my GF , and I try to bring just the necessities.

Still , I had it weighed and I believe it came out to about 6800 , or 6850. Does this sound about right for a Winnie ?

And , I really do want to get the correct load range tires for the front (at least) , because I really don't have any sort of safety net should one of them go , like I do on the rears. Do you think that by running a different load range , brand , or size on the front will cause any problems ?

Any particular reccomendations (brand) on what may be a good match for these (and where might I find them) ???

As I stated , the Coopers are like brand new and I have 5 of them , so 1 might make a good spare. But again , they are P205/75R14 ' s .... Will running the (reccomended) load range D 185/R14's on the front cause (handling) problems if I keep the Cooper's on the rear (at least until I can afford a full upgrade) ?

Once again , GREAT site and thanks for all the helpful info !!

[smokepolehall]

My my how long is it? The front doesn't carry near the weight that the rear tires do. I have 205/75/14's on the front of mine and 195/75/14's on the back duals. Some folks say there isn't enough room to run the 205's on back as duals. I took my duals off and looked, i don't see any problem with that size all around. Your weight is 3000 lbs. more than mine is empty. When you buy tires again get load range D, Cont. or Yoko or Nankang, Cooper. Remember you want LT tires. Light Truck.

[turtle]

Still , I had it weighed and I believe it came out to about 6800 , or 6850. Does this sound about right for a Winnie ?

Do you think that by running a different load range , brand , or size on the front will cause any problems ?

Any particular reccomendations (brand) on what may be a good match for these (and where might I find them) ???

Winnies are VERY heavy, much more so than other coaches.

No issue with running different sized tires front/rear only issue would be mismatching rears (don't even mismatch tread patterns on the rear). Stick with D range ONLY if you replace any tires.

This might be your best bet for price

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compare1.jsp...p;x=71&y=12

[keitholivier]

I paid a little more than $100/tire including shipping from Tirerack.

What ChairmanMeow7 needs to consider is how expensive it is to have a tire fail in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere, or worse, on the interstate at a big city (try Chicago). Thats assuming that all goes well and you don't have an accident and get hurt.

The stress associated with unplannned failures of this kind is what has me doing something about it. I had 4 pretty good tires on the back of my Dolphin when I bought it, but they were load range C. Any of these tires are hard enough to find that being stuck on the side of the road is an invitation to shops in the area to literally rape you on replacement price. And it may still take a couple of days to get you going again.

Thats my 2c worth...

Keith

[motoyhomme]

I run Yokohoma R195X14 LT all around on my 6500 lb Sunrader. I left a primitive campsite in Tennessee last year and traveled 550 miles to my home. In checking/cleaning out my rig after the trip I found that one of the inside duals was flat with the tip of a quartz arrowhead stuck in one of the grooves. So I had traveled the entire trip on 3 rear tires at an average speed of 65MPH. I don't think a passenger tire could have done that. The Yokohoma tires have shown no wear in two years and seem to be especially designed for our Toy rigs.

Allen

83 Sunrader

[Pat]

Lastly , I am due for my 1st oil change shortly. I was planning on running synthetic and adding a little bit of that Lucas oil additive to it (I hear Lucas is supposed to be GREAT stuff , and the big rig truckers swear by it. Any thoughts on this ?).

But , I just met a fellow toy owner the other day and I started chatting with him. He had a V-6 , but he said this was his 3rd Toy. He said he had one previously with the 22RE engine and he got 304,000 out of it !!!! He told me to stear clear of sythetic oils as they would just "blow through" the engine , as it was NOT designed to run synthetic oil. He reccomended a high quality conventional oil (Castrol in particular). I find it a little hard to argue with someone who got 304,000 out of theirs. What are your thoughts on this ?

I'll have to agree to disagree with others on the synthetic oil thing. I hauled petroleum products for over 20 years, and was in and out of many refinery labs. Synthetic oil, imo, is the only way to go. But use a true Group 4 base stock synthetic oil, not a Group 3 base stock. And forget Castrol Syntec (unless it is the "made in Belgium"). The U.S.A. Castrol Syntec is not a Group 4 oil and therefore not a true synthetic oil made from synthetic base stock. As to a synthetic oil "just "blow through" the engine", if it does, the engine is no good. Needs new rings and seals, nothing wrong with the oil. Regular Castrol is a excellent dino oil and needs no additives. Changed often, following a severe service schedule, and it should be good. Forget the Lucas Oil and Oil additives. You will not find a major trucking company out there using the stuff. Oil (including synthetic) is all about additives, and good oils already have the additives that they need. The additives sold to be put in oil by a customer is snake oil, high priced and not effective! My personal choice is Mobil 1 Extended Performance 10W30 and it is very easy to get. If it were more difficult to get, I would be using a European synthetic oil like Elf.

[ChairmanMeow7]

Seems like I am slightly more confused than when I started !

smokepolehallPosted Jul 30 2007, 08:57 AM

My my how long is it?

You mean your wife didn't tell you about me ??

(C'mon now , I hope you can all take a joke around here)

When you all refer to the length of your rigs , are you talking from from bumper to back of the coach or bumper to bumper ? Mine is 19' to the back of the coach and 20' overall.

It seems that I had all new tires (even had the nipples on them) on this when I bought it , except for the one inside duelly that I missed. Now it seems that the one running on the outside with the baldy (inside) is wearing quite quick after just about 3000 miles. I guess this should be expected , especially seeing they are passenger car tires , no ? Unless it didn't have as much tread as the others , but I could have swore it did (but seeing I missed the inside baldy , I guess anything is possible). That'll teach me to start a 3+ hour trip to NJ to see this , only allowing myself about an hour and a half of daylight (and wouldn't you know I would hit all the NYC traffic and turn it into 5 + hour trip) ! So basicly it was just getting dark when I got there.

Although I have a few "issues" to deal with , I still don't regret my purchase !!

So , as far as the tires go , I think I really do need to upgrade to good class D's all the way around, maybe even the spare too , so I won't get raped in the event of a tire being damaged beyond repair. I just hate to spend big bucks on a tire that hopefully won't need to be used (and maybe just sitting underneath dry rotting). Do you think it is a wise investment to get the spare as well , should I NEED it (so all the tires will be matching , at least in brand and tread pattern , not necessarily wear)?

Also , I seem a little confused on the size. Seems like I am getting a lot of different responses as to what I should be running. From what I can gather , they SHOULD be 185/75 R14's right ?

But I find it hard to argue with the owner who said :

I run Yokohoma R195X14 LT all around on my 6500 lb Sunrader. I left a primitive campsite in Tennessee last year and traveled 550 miles to my home. In checking/cleaning out my rig after the trip I found that one of the inside duals was flat with the tip of a quartz arrowhead stuck in one of the grooves. So I had traveled the entire trip on 3 rear tires at an average speed of 65MPH. I don't think a passenger tire could have done that. The Yokohoma tires have shown no wear in two years and seem to be especially designed for our Toy rigs.

I like the sound of the Yoko's and I think a few of the other owners on here had some good things to say about them. My question now is what would be the advantage/disadvantage of running 195's vs. the 185's ?

Oh , I ended up pricing a set of 6 185/75 14's Vrelanders (I believe that is how it is spelled , I never even heard of them) , at my local small town tire center and they wanted over $900 installed !! Sounds quite pricy , no ??

Lastly it seems most folks agree that Castrol is good oil , and that you shouldn't switch to synthetic after a "lot" of miles. What is considered a "lot" of miles ( I have just over 45,000 now). From what I am hearing , sounds like this 22RE may just be broken in !!

I've had good results with Castrol in the past , but I am still somewhat inclined to try synthetic. When you say blow by , do you mean it will be consuming a lot of oil (because synthetic tends to be lighter ?) ??

I recently changed the oil in my GF's Saturn with just over 100,000 on it. It was going through a quart to a quart and a half between changes. It actually (believe it or not) seems to be consuming much less oil now.

I also like the idea that synthetic (supposedly) will hold up under extreme heat and even extended times between changes (not that I would want to do this , but it would be nice if I couldn't change it at the reccomended interval for some reason).

Will I do any harm trying the synthetic at 45,000 or should I just steer clear of it ?