How a bonehead trues his toad's front tires!

[scenic route]

First off, buy yourself a big honk'n class 'A' Moho. Hook up your toad with the all new aluminum tow bar and all the shiney new stuff what goes with it...include the auxiliary braking system, mix with 'smoking wallet'. Carefully go by the 'towing checklist' you so diligently composed and follow it precisely including step 7 (turn key to the first detent).

Now we all know that no tire is prefectly round and that a 'true' tire will run smoother and last longer so being a 'bonehead', in the truest sense, I only turned the key until the dash lights went into test mode and turned off. Well, I did my turns to lock the tow bar (which preformed as advertised) but the steering wheel went into the 'tire trueing' and LOCKED position!

Being new to the RV, the fact that the steering was a 'little' off center should have indicated to the driver that something was amiss. However the tires were NOT yet 'true' so he ignored that indicator. The second indicator was a foggy appearance in the rear view monitor from the front tires of the toad aft, but again, everone knows that B & W monitors really do not show 'BLUE' smoke very well and can not be trusted and should also be ignored. Had the driver bothered to turn on the audio portion of the monitor, the loud squealing would have been an area of concern.

To make a long four mile story short, after a few more tight turns and the left side of my white Jeep turning black, a good fellow (who was apparently very versed in the fine art of tire trueing) let me know my tires were now perfectly 'true' due to the hue and density of the smoke and the pitch of the squeal, that they were now 'done'.

Now I have some of the smoothest running front tires ever installed on a Jeep Wrangler...I can't figure out why it sits a little lower in the front than it did before the the 'truing operation' but all is well!

That's the story and I'm sticking to it! Should have bought an '09! Bob

[deadeye916]

Sorry to hear of your learning experience. Some people put a white piece of cloth or tape on the top of the steering wheel so they can see it with the camera and make sure it's turning.

[scenic route]

Quote:

Originally Posted by deadeye916 Some people put a white piece of cloth or tape on the top of the steering wheel so they can see it with the camera and make sure it's turning.

Thanks Dan, for the second tow I'll do that. I was really surprised at the lack of good resolution with the black and white monitor. The very bright blue LED brake indicator mounted on the dash of the Jeep doesn't show on the monitor during daylight, so hopefully, the white cloth will do the trick. There may be a color monitor in our future...more testing required. Bob

[Chuck 1935]

Scenic route...A friend of mine picked up his brand new stick shift after having all the new tow stuff installed and proceeded on their fist trip. After about twenty miles they finally realized that all the folks waving at them might not be wishing them bon voyage, they stopped to look things over. Turns out that they had turned off the ignition with the wheels turned hard left and the car in first gear,OOps! Re build engine and front end.
Don't fret, your not the only one to have a problem the first time out. Don't forget to turn the wheels the other way and run them the same amout to round off the other shoulder.

[wa8yxm]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scenic route That's the story and I'm sticking to it! Should have bought an '09! Bob

I wish I could say I could not identify with that story but fact is.........

I can.. Just last week in fact.. My car is not runnign, Well, turns out when I had my wife assist me at trying to start it she turned the key all the way to LOCK and I never checked...

If I get it running again and find my wheel puller I think I'm going to dremel that lock pin into history.

[scenic route]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wa8yxm If I get it running again and find my wheel puller I think I'm going to dremel that lock pin into history.

My thoughts exactly...only I asked the local Jeep dealer if they would remove it for me as the '09's and '10's do not use the lock. They said "NO"! No MODS??? I'd try the removal myself but with my luck, I'd end up blasted into the back seat when the air bag deployed.

At any rate, it does help 'a little' to know others have done the same thing...a little. Still it makes me wanna !! Thanks Bob