Attention: TDR Forum Junkies I was coming back thru Arizona a few weekends ago, cruising at about 70mph pulling the fiver (a 30' double slide, about #11,500).
It was about 90 outside, and the pavement was hot. When suddenly I felt the RV "wobble", and checked the mirrors. What I saw was the rear tire on the passenger side disintegrating. I pulled over asap, but not before that 16" flying belt of steel tore up the bottom skirting of the RV. I pulled the tire off, and limped to a tire shop about 13 miles up the road (thank heavens for the Exit Authority and a cell phone. )
When I got to the next stopping destination, I called the factory in Indiana, and asked about the replacement parts. They said that they could sell them to me reasonable enough, about $200, but since the metal skirt had a curve at the bottom, it would have to ship in one continuous piece. Ship a 20' section of sheet metal from Indiana to CA??!! That about tripled the price. The solution I came up with was to have a metal shop by my house cut me 13" strips of diamond plate, with a 45 degree inward break at the bottom. It came in 4 X 8' sheets, so cut in strips, it took one sheet per side. I cut out the openings with a jig saw, and riveted the diamond plate over the existing sheet metal.
The result was a dramatic improvement in the looks of the RV, improved strength of the lower sheeting, and I did both sides of the RV from front to back, for less than the cost of buying and shipping the original metal from the factory.
Just a suggestion if anyone has a similar problem. The diamond plate was about $89 per sheet, and another $100 for cutting and bending. Well worth the money, and it took about 2 days.
Sarge
It was about 90 outside, and the pavement was hot. When suddenly I felt the RV "wobble", and checked the mirrors. What I saw was the rear tire on the passenger side disintegrating. I pulled over asap, but not before that 16" flying belt of steel tore up the bottom skirting of the RV. I pulled the tire off, and limped to a tire shop about 13 miles up the road (thank heavens for the Exit Authority and a cell phone. )
When I got to the next stopping destination, I called the factory in Indiana, and asked about the replacement parts. They said that they could sell them to me reasonable enough, about $200, but since the metal skirt had a curve at the bottom, it would have to ship in one continuous piece. Ship a 20' section of sheet metal from Indiana to CA??!! That about tripled the price. The solution I came up with was to have a metal shop by my house cut me 13" strips of diamond plate, with a 45 degree inward break at the bottom. It came in 4 X 8' sheets, so cut in strips, it took one sheet per side. I cut out the openings with a jig saw, and riveted the diamond plate over the existing sheet metal.
The result was a dramatic improvement in the looks of the RV, improved strength of the lower sheeting, and I did both sides of the RV from front to back, for less than the cost of buying and shipping the original metal from the factory.
Just a suggestion if anyone has a similar problem. The diamond plate was about $89 per sheet, and another $100 for cutting and bending. Well worth the money, and it took about 2 days.
Sarge
