'99 Dutch Star 3862, anything specific to check?

[marka]

Howdy,

We just put a "bring it here so we can check it out in person" deposit down with our local dealer (the MH is at one of their other out of state lots) on a '99 Dutch Star 3862. It supposedly has a 300 Cat on a Spartan chassis, with a 7.5kW diesel generator. ~30k miles.

Is there anything in particular I should be looking at on this model before I sign the check?

Thanks!

Mark

["007"]

Welcome Mark to the Newmar forum.
Here is a LINK to a 99 for comparison.
Here is a link to PDI LISTS to check what you should look for.
Good luck in your hunt should be happy with a NEWMAR.

[Norm4015]

The 1999 Dutch Stars came standard with a CAT engine on a Freightliner chassis and the upgrade was a Cummins engine on a Spartan chassis. Both engines were rated 300 hp, but the CAT had 860 lb ft of torque and the Cummins had 950 lb ft of torque.

Check the tires very carefully and have them replaced if they are six years old according to the DOT code on the tires. The 99 DSDP came with 255/80 tires and there was a recall to upgrade the front tires to 275/70 tires. Many of those models were overloaded on the front axle with the smaller tires because inflated to the max they could only support 10,410 pounds on the axle. With the upgraded tires the front axles was re-rated to 12,000 pounds and Newmar sent a new sticker to show the upgrade.

I recommend the DS have 275/80 tires all around and the second option is 275/70 tires. If it has 255/80 tires you will be overloaded and have a rough ride.

[marka]

Howdy,

Quote:

Originally Posted by Norm4015 The 1999 Dutch Stars came standard with a CAT engine on a Freightliner chassis and the upgrade was a Cummins engine on a Spartan chassis. Both engines were rated 300 hp, but the CAT had 860 lb ft of torque and the Cummins had 950 lb ft of torque.

Interesting. The listing says 300 Cat on a Spartan chassis... Something else I'd seen said the Cummins went with the Spartan and the Cat with the Freightliner as well. Guess I'll find out soon enough.

Quote:

Check the tires very carefully and have them replaced if they are six years old according to the DOT code on the tires. The 99 DSDP came with 255/80 tires and there was a recall to upgrade the front tires to 275/70 tires. Many of those models were overloaded on the front axle with the smaller tires because inflated to the max they could only support 10,410 pounds on the axle. With the upgraded tires the front axles was re-rated to 12,000 pounds and Newmar sent a new sticker to show the upgrade. I recommend the DS have 275/80 tires all around and the second option is 275/70 tires. If it has 255/80 tires you will be overloaded and have a rough ride.

Very good info, thanks! I was going to check the datecodes on the tires and was planning on having to replace them, so if that's the case an upgrade on the tires would be easy enough I guess. The same wheels work for the 275/80 tires, right?

Mark

[tmitchell]

I second the recommendation of upgrading to 275/80 tires. They fit the same wheel width as 275/70 tires.
Tom

[Norm4015]

As Tom said, 275/80 tires will fit your wheels and you will have plenty clearence in the wheel wells. In the 99 model year I have never heard of a CAT engine on a Freighliner chassis. In 99 we were at Newmar and got a personal tour from a sales rep and I asked him about the engine / chassis options. He said my options were CAT/Freightliner or Cummins/Spartan and they would not mix the two.

[marka]

Howdy,

Thanks folks. I'll certainly plan on a tire upgrade if its not already done.

How does this affect the speedo, and is there a way to recalibrate it? Looks like about a 4" difference in diameter?

Mark

Mark

[Norm4015]

A different diameter of tires on the rear will throw the speedometer and odometer off. A facility that works on engines and chassis can connect a computer and change the setting in the ECM. You will need to know the rpm (revolutions per mile) of the tires you install and you can get that from the tire manufacturer's online charts.

[tmitchell]

When I switched from 275/70s to 275/80s it put the speedometer and odometer off by exactly 5%. When the speedometer shows 60 my actual speed is 63. I haven't bothered to have the speedometer re flashed to correct the error. It is easy enough to factor in the 5% while driving and figuring fuel mileage. I have a GPS on the dash and that gives my exact speed, if I was concerned.
Tom

[marka]

Howdy,

Related to tires...

I saw a mentionon a forum of a 305/70 tire that has a load capacity similar to the 275/80 but is similar in diameter to a 275/70. However, I can't find a tire of that size on Goodyear or Michelin sites... My experience with car tires tells me that a 305/70 would be a decent bit taller than a 275/70 though? If I can increase the load capacity and not have to worry about speedo correction, that would be good (though I tend to think I may just not worry about speedo correction... I'm not going to be in a rush driving this thing!).

Also, what are my options and approximate prices for 275/80's? I see Goodyear and Michelin both make them in various models... Is one better than another? Anyone else make these tires? Goodyear and Michelin seem to have cadilac prices in the smaller sizes...

Thanks again for the help!

Mark

[Norm4015]

Mark, the wheels on a 99 DSDP are not large enough for 305/70 tires and if you upgrade both the wheels and tires you may have a clearance problem on the front wheels. You can upgrade to 275/80 tires without any problems.

When it comes to tires and safety I like to stick with name brand tires even though they cost more and I have always had good luck with Michelins. Last year I bought Michelin XZA3 275/80 LRH tires at Spartan for $435 each, plus mounting, balancing and tax, so a set of six was about $3,000, and that is the best price I could find. (Newmar/Spartan had already replaced my front tires for a rough ride problem so I only bought four tires.)

As Tom said, if you upgrade to 275/80 tires your speedometer will be off 5% and you can live with that. Spartan automatically updates the ECM when a different size tire is replaced so I didn't pay anything.

[marka]

Howdy,

Well, we're officially making payments.

:-)

Turns out it had 275/80 front tires and 255/80 rears. The fronts were from 00, so I got them replaced today. They looked about perfect, but better safe than sorry I guess. The G670's that got put on were date coded from '07... I suppose if they were stored properly that's no big deal, but it makes me wonder when those '00 tires were actually installed. :-)

Also drove it across the scales... 9780 front, 15760 rear, 25540 total. That was with full fresh water, full fuel, full propane, and empty pretty much everything else (no personal stuff in it yet to speak of). That only leaves me ~1250 lbs left on the rear axle though, which isn't so great considering the trailer I want to hook up has a 1k to 1.1k lb tongue weight and there wasn't any of our crap in the coach.

Are the rear tires the limiting factor on the rear axle rating like the fronts were? The rear tires are from '04 and look great, but I'm wondering if I should bite the bullet and put a set of rear 275/80's on there to match the fronts?

Any input?

Mark

(Watching the guy change the front tires was pretty cool. I'm sure there's some technique, but it looked to be a heck of a lot easier than some race tires I've done, and all with hand tools (except for the balancer)!)

[Norm4015]

Ouch, you bought new two year old tires.

Your rear axle is probably rated 19,000 lbs and Newmar derated it to 17,000 lbs so it wouldn't compete with the Mountain Aire. Slide under the rear axle and check the label for the rating.

Your Dutch Star has a 5,000 lb hitch with a 500 lb tongue rating so be careful what you hitch behind your motorhome.

[marka]

Howdy,

The story I got from the tire dealer (and I have no reason to disbelieve him), was that Goodyear had a bunch of tires made in '07 for the '08 season, and then were sitting on a ton of them because the economy went in the toilet. Made sense to me. (edit: Particularly with the rebate they've got going on)

I took a look at the rear axle just now, and saw three tags, but none of them seemed to have a weight rating on it. Two of the tags were stamped metal on rear end housing on the right side of the pumpkin, and the other tag was a white stick on tag stuck to the back of the pumpkin.

Just going on the tire rating, it seems like I should be good to 19.2k, like you say.

The rig goes to the welder tomorrow for some hitch reinforcements. :-)

Mark