Community Forums

klaus4347 · 09-09-2013, 09:34 PM

This summer while traveling on I90 outside Buffalo and the DW driving we had a left front tire blow at 60mph. She was able to safely get it to the side of the road and with the help of Coach-Net we were able to get some temporary repairs made and a pair of Goodyears put on the front and we finished our 5500 mile trip.
The tire mechanic balanced the tires with a bag of sand and they seem to be balanced. The only thing now I have a slight sawing motion in the wheel. Can not notice anything else in the coach that shows any sign of that.
Right now the coach is in for repairs so that things that were not repaired on the road can be taken care of. After that I will take it in and have the tires spun balanced on the rig just in case the is a problem with the rim.

Mr_D · 09-09-2013, 09:36 PM

Same brand and model of tires all the way around?

I noticed some steering differences when I went to XRV 305/70's in front and the standard XZA2 Energy 275/70's in back. The rig doesn't hold a line as well as it did with the too low a weight rating 275's in front. Should probably have gone with the 305's all the way around.

sc3283 · 09-09-2013, 09:43 PM

slight oscillations of the steering wheel at highway can be caused by out of balance of 1 or both frt tires, 1 slipped/separated belt in 1 or both frt tires or 1 or both rims running untrue.

Typically the oscillations if cause by balance won't show up at slow speeds while
slipped belt oscillation can be visible at slow or fast or all speeds

Balance isn't a safety concern..BUT a slipped/seperated belt is

D Lindy · 09-10-2013, 07:28 AM

Check tire pressure. Tire dealer might not have aired up tire to the PSI needed due to the weight you have on the front axle.

Gary RVRoamer · 09-10-2013, 12:02 PM

"sawing" is not a very precise description, but I associate that with a side to side movement of the steering wheel. That is not a typical symptom of tire balance problem, but could easily result from over-inflation. It could also be a simple artifact of a different tire tread design that gives a feel you aren't used to yet. However, I would bet on the inflation. Tire installation techs tend to set pressure at the max for the tire, as a way to avoid any liability for under-inflation. Nobody has been sued yet for over-inflation.

If possible, get the rig weighed axle by axle and set the front tire weight for the actual load plus a safety margin. If you can't weigh it, use the front axle GAWR, divide by two and add 300 lbs. Goodyear has a load inflation table to tell you how much air pressure is needed for any given weight, and the handling will be best at that pressure or just slightly (about 5 psi) above.

Arch Hoagland · 09-10-2013, 12:13 PM

I too am not sure what you mean by "sawing" but I'm assuming you mean you have to correct a little bit all the time.

Over inflated tires will cause that. I had both my front tires replaced a while back and the dealer inflated them to 110lb. That caused steering problems along with a very harsh ride. For my weight on the front Michelin recommends 85lb.

I knew that at the time but drove the rig about 250 miles just to see what would happen.
Lowered them to 90lb and things improved.

Jim_HiTek · 09-10-2013, 12:14 PM

Don't forget that some roads have pretty bad troughs worn in the road by trucks. If your see/sawing goes away on some roads, or by moving to a different lane, I wouldn't worry about it. RV's have almost the same foot print of big trucks, so they wander back and forth in the troughs. Especially noticeable with new tires and high pressure.

bobmac · 09-10-2013, 06:34 PM

I had a Vibration causing the steering wheel to oscillate at 62 mph. Thought it was the alignment. Had it checked at Freightliner in Gaffney and when they saw the alignment had been done the previous year, suggested that I needed my "runouts" checked. They checked them and corrected the problem. That involved checking for high spots in the tire tread and remounting the tire to reduce the out of round condition by mounting the high spot at the 12 o'clock position on the wheel. Didn't really understand what they did but it completely eliminated the problem and was much less than an alignment.

Big Oil Guy · 09-13-2013, 01:33 AM

I know exactly what you mean by "sawing". I had new Michelins put on my wife's Avalon, and the steering wheel would go back and forth at low speeds (20-35 mph). As you increased speed, it became more of an (almost) vibration at the steering wheel. I took it back to them, and they re-balanced, no change.

I thought maybe one of the alloys was bent, so I jacked it up in the garage and checked the wheel as I spun it (NO runout). When I looked at the tread, I noticed it appeared "wavy" when observed from the front as the wheel spun around. Sure enough, the tread wobbled when the tire was spun, as though the wheel was bent. I took it back, they warrantied the tire, and the "sawing" was GONE.

Raise the front of your rig with the jacks and give the tire a spin. I'll bet your tread was improperly applied to the tire. I hope this helps!