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08-31-2019, 02:54 PM
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#1
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Member
Join Date: Feb 2017
Posts: 68
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Federal Certification label.......
Hey everyone. I'm in a little bit of a pickle here. Have a 1995 Damon Challenger series M-3300 on an F-530f. I'm currently unable to locate the Federal Certification label that has the axle weight information. Only thing I can find is the VIN. The placard is not left of the drivers seat on the wall or door pillar or in a kitchen cabinet as Damon/Thor suggests it is.
This is a 34' class A motor home and I really need to figure out the front and rear axle weight, and GVWR/GCWR. Ford list three different sets of weights.
Hoping to get lucky here and find someone who owns one and could give me the information....I know....needle in a haystack....but all other attempts to get this information has failed.
Thanks in advance....fingers crossed here.
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08-31-2019, 03:03 PM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Dallas,OR
Posts: 4,584
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Outside left side near the front. There should be a metalized tag giving you everything you neec to know.
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Don and Lorri
Resident Dummy.
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08-31-2019, 03:06 PM
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#3
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Member
Join Date: Feb 2017
Posts: 68
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Is this on the frame itself or on the house section?
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09-01-2019, 08:05 AM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 1,152
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Check all of the cabinets also. I have one on the driver's door and another from Winnie in the hall closet.
If that fails inspect the axles as they may have a tag, a stamping, or a number cast into them/ The diff usually has a tag on the housing.
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09-01-2019, 12:25 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: Wilmington,NC USA
Posts: 1,986
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The Ford 530f chassis was used on a bunch of motorhomes that year. Weight ratings are speced by the chassis manufacturer(Ford) not the motorhome builder. We don't have specs for Damion but we can get specs for a Winnebago Brave or Adventurer the same length and chassis make. The GVWR for that chassis is 17000# The specs for the axles are not listed, but if you research the springs and axles used in that chassis you will likely come up with something like a 6000# front and 12000 rear GAWR give or take 500#.
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2019 Forest River Sunseeker 2850
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09-01-2019, 12:47 PM
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#6
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Member
Join Date: Feb 2017
Posts: 68
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Thanks 450donn and leadman. Did check and no extra tags in the cabinet. I'm the 3rd owner and I think a repair was done within the area that the label should be by the door. The material of the label doesn't allow it to be peeled off easily and there is no indication of it ever being there (residue or laminate damage of wall).
I did find the area of the tag that 450donn mentioned but what looked like a stamped tag was deteriorated beyond reading.
With the length of the RV and having the 460 and E4OD I'm fairly certain I'm in the 17000 GVWR and 25000 GCWR which is the highest of the three ratings for the 1995 F530f chassis.
A coworker had a friend with a Fleetwood on the F53... same year, same length, same engine and transmission and it showed the GAWR front at 6000 and the GAWR rear at 11000....GVWR at 1700. So I'll be looking at the tags on the axles as suggested. I know there were two front axles offered for the M- series 3300 Challenger.
Not to be long winded....but at the end of last season we experienced what I describe as a "death wobble" at 55 mph on a two lane highway. It took everything I had to keep it in my lane as it felt like the front end was hopping off the road as I tried to slow it down. It was severe enough that it completely blew out the passenger front shock and the shock of the steering stabilizer. I can't even say if I hit a pothole or debris that was in the road, it just happened and I initially thought I blew out the passenger front tire. My wife was following behind and said all she saw was heavy white smoke and the RV jumping sideways and thought someone had pulled out in front of me and that I had locked up the brakes. After getting to the side of the road I found the passenger tire intact and no indication of anything wrong. Brake caliper was free, rotor intact, and front suspension intact except for the shock oil from the passenger shock and the stabilizer shock was leaking oil. A roll check backwards and forwards indicated nothing was hanging up. Drove the last 10 miles at 35mph on country back roads home.
Our trusted repair shop said that they found broken belts in both front tires and that the passenger front toe in was excessive (wasn't sure if it was from the incident happening). Along with the passenger shock and steering stabilizer shock blown out. They told us that the fairly new Westlake tires put on by the previous owner we're known "China bombs" and were known to have issues. Was also told that Damon was notorious along with other manufacturer's for building the coaches heavy for that generation of F53 chassis with 16" rims.
They replaced the shocks and steering stabilizer and replaced the cross link and tie rod ends. They put a set of Firestone Transforce HT2 LT235/85R16 tires (single- 3042 lb @80 psi/dual- 2778lb @80psi....same as the Westlakes) on the front and suggested replacing the Westlakes on the back with the same. They said their inspection of the front brakes showed everything was good but suggested replacing the front bearings and races because of the incident.
I'm just looking at this from all angles to see what I might have missed. It's our first coach to see if this is something we would enjoy....and have. So I've started with the tire ratings versus the weight ratings only to find the certification label missing of all things.
Thanks for your help once again....if there is anything else you might suggest I'm all ears to suggestions. Everything with this first coach has been quite the learning curve and I've enjoyed it being able to do most things myself.
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09-01-2019, 12:53 PM
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#7
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Senior Member
Country Coach Owners Club Solo Rvers Club iRV2 No Limits Club
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Vancouver, WA
Posts: 37,725
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For RV's I don't think they were required till much later models so yours may never have had one.
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2009 45' Magna 630 w/Cummins ISX 650 HP/1950 Lbs Ft, HWH Active Air
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09-01-2019, 12:53 PM
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#8
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Member
Join Date: Feb 2017
Posts: 68
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Thanks RickNC....Your confirming what I'm starting to find out. That gives me a good starting point.
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09-01-2019, 01:21 PM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Lansing MI
Posts: 2,826
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Maybe the "death wobble" was caused by the blown shock, not the other way around. It also sounds like you may have hit something on the road since the alignment was out. Just a guess, but a blown shock should not have caused an alignment issue and an alignment issue should not have caused a blown shock. Same with the steering stabilizer. The white smoke was likely caused by the shock/stabilizer oil on the exhaust manifold. Again just a guess, but the symptoms fit.
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09-01-2019, 01:35 PM
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#10
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Member
Join Date: Feb 2017
Posts: 68
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I was wondering that myself Mr_D so that's why I posted here to ask....lol. I'm from a mechanical background and like having specifications to work with when trouble shooting. I'm starting at the tires and know there are higher rated tires and was wanting to confirm that the current ratings I have are adequate. If the numbers are correct at 11000 rear and 6000 front I'm good at 11112 rear and 6084 front with E rated LT235/85R16 tires. So I assume the next step will be filling the propane tank, gas tank, water tank half full ( for cushion I'm told)...and weighing the axles without additional items for baseline axle weights. That way I can have an idea of what would be reasonable for loading after passenger weight.
Right now we are just doing short trips as we learn and adjust, so we don't tow a vehicle. Eventually when we do it will be four wheel down and I'll learn all that before then...lol.
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09-01-2019, 02:06 PM
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#11
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Member
Join Date: Feb 2017
Posts: 68
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Quote:
Originally Posted by arcaguy
Maybe the "death wobble" was caused by the blown shock, not the other way around. It also sounds like you may have hit something on the road since the alignment was out. Just a guess, but a blown shock should not have caused an alignment issue and an alignment issue should not have caused a blown shock. Same with the steering stabilizer. The white smoke was likely caused by the shock/stabilizer oil on the exhaust manifold. Again just a guess, but the symptoms fit.
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I was hoping the shop would of had a better idea of what might had happened but they said there were too many variables involved. They were focused mainly on the quality of the Westlake tires.
I agree with your thinking and that was my initial thoughts also, so I'm looking at everything from ground level up to make sure I understand everything. I've read about the tire inflation charts and the four corner scaling....yet my shop says with the size of RV and the 16 inch rims that I should always inflate to 80 psi. So I'm trying to lock down the GWAR to verify proper tire specs. Then find the baseline axle weights of the coach for loading.
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