Tap's 1981 280 Motorhome (Purchased January 2016)

[Tap]

Tony,
I just saw that in an earlier post I missed that you pointed me to the Get together thread.

I went back and read all of the past posts regarding the upcoming 2016 Pennwood gathering and guess what... I'm in!!! I'd love to join you guys!! It would be SO good for me to see everyone's classics and get some tips and hopefully even some parts. And best of all to meet you all in person.

Now I have a lot of work to do to get my 280 roadworthy between now and then. I'm installing the new windshields this week, buying all new tires soon, replacing the belts, etc., and tons more, but I really, really want to join you guys.

It will be a long drive from Minnesota, but as long as my baby doesn't breakdown, it will be so much fun.

Thanks again for mentioning it to me!

I'll post my info in the Get together thread right now.

[Tap]

Originally Posted by PeterH-Airstreamer

...And, yes, I have another set of front centramatic wheel balancers that were specifically made for us. Give me a shout if you want them.

Yes Peter, I want them!
Thank you!

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by Tap

Thanks so much for mentioning it and including me. That means a lot. But being a total newbie, I have no idea what Pennwood is.

I just googled it and see that it's an Airstream park in Pennsylvania, but I assume you're possibly referring to a rally that takes place there at some point?

Is there a website or something with all of the info and dates for that event? I didn't see any mention of it on the Pennwood park website.

Thanks so much!

All of the info for the event is in this thread. Scroll to post 175 late last year and start reading. You should find most of the info there.

Hope you can make it!

Brad

[Tap]

Thanks Brad.

Next question guys...

If I need to replace air conditioner unit on the roof of my '81 280, what model would you recommend?

Which is best for my AS and is there an affordable one? I keep shelling out so much money on every fix.

Thanks!

[Tap]

Originally Posted by Isuzusweet

Other makes of tires to consider are Toyo M120Z (made in Japan) and Hankook AH-11 (made in Korea).

Tony, I did some research on the Hankooks and those are the ones I want to buy. Great suggestion!

What size AH11 do I need for my 1981 280?

Thanks so much!

[mayco]

8r-19.5

[Tap]

Originally Posted by mayco

8r-19.5

Thanks mayco.
Question. When I see RV people talk about their tires online, they usually list a series of numbers.

i.e. "275/70R/22.5"

What do each of these mean? And what am I missing from your number that you said?

Thanks so much.

[shepherd57]

I would concentrate on getting all of the other things i.e. mechanical ,and pluming ,propane system, Before you think about the air conditioner you may be surprised it my work fine.

Don't forget the purchase price is just the entry fee, Have fun and enjoy the experience it is unique. And when you get the thumbs up on the highway and the conversations at fuel stops it will all be worth it

[martin300662]

Originally Posted by Tap

Thanks mayco.
Question. When I see RV people talk about their tires online, they usually list a series of numbers.

i.e. "275/70R/22.5"

What do each of these mean? And what am I missing from your number that you said?

Thanks so much.

There are two different naming conventions; some light trucks use a convention called the Light Truck Numeric (or Light Truck High Flotation) convention, which is basically height and diameter (so the 8r-19.5 means 8in high - 19.5in diameter). However most tires are now described by a system which is made up of, 'use' (so for our tires 'LT' for light truck), width, wall profile (percentage of width) and diameter with additional tags for load and speed rating. So your 275/70R/22.5 means 22.5in dia, 275mm wide, side wall 275/100*70mm....the complication with the newer system is it is a mix of various codes (some measured in SI/metric units, some not).....its a mess!

[Tap]

Originally Posted by shepherd57

I would concentrate on getting all of the other things i.e. mechanical ,and pluming ,propane system, Before you think about the air conditioner you may be surprised it my work fine.



Don't forget the purchase price is just the entry fee, Have fun and enjoy the experience it is unique. And when you get the thumbs up on the highway and the conversations at fuel stops it will all be worth it

Thanks for all of that.

I would totally agree, except that the current air conditioner attached to the roof is missing the rooftop plastic cover over it, and it's been stored inside until this week when I have to start storing it outside.

So my worry is, without a plastic cover on it, will rain come in? Also, I assume it's not good for the metal air conditioning parts to not be covered and exposed to rain, possible snow, etc.?

[Tap]

[Tap]

Originally Posted by martin300662

There are two different naming conventions; some light trucks use a convention called the Light Truck Numeric (or Light Truck High Flotation) convention, which is basically height and diameter (so the 8r-19.5 means 8in high - 19.5in diameter). However most tires are now described by a system which is made up of, 'use' (so for our tires 'LT' for light truck), width, wall profile (percentage of width) and diameter with additional tags for load and speed rating. So your 275/70R/22.5 means 22.5in dia, 275mm wide, side wall 275/100*70mm....the complication with the newer system is it is a mix of various codes (some measured in SI/metric units, some not).....its a mess!

I see... I think. 😝

So when I call up a tire place that sells Hankooks, do I need to say anything more than that I need AH11 8r-19.5 ?

Thanks!

[mayco]

All auto and truck tires have a DOT manufacter date code. Youll want to try and work with your tire supplier to try and find the "newest" tires that you can out of their stock. With motorhomes, you rarely wear out the the tread on a set of tires before they "age out". There is some arguement in regards to this but I believe the DOT recommends that motorhome tires be replaced at 7-8 yrs REGARDLESS of tread wear. Most folks dont put enough mileage on their tires to wear out the tread before they age out. Some folks swear by this recommendation of tire replacement and some folks will run their tires longer. Thats up to you to decide. The principle is based on the fact that the rubber in the tire deteriorates and becomes unsafe even though the tire may "look" just fine. I cant remember off hand how to read the date code but just Google "DOT tire date code" and youll find the answer. Many tires may sit on the shelf for quite some time, months or even years. If you were to purchase a set that had been sitting on the shelf for a year then essentially your "new" tires are already a year closer to needing replaced. So you want to find the newest tires you can off the shelf. Tires will be one of your biggest expenses off the bat so this is important. I also bought Hancook tires and they were 4 to 5 months old when I bought them. Best I could find at the time as far as age is concerned. Ive run them for 5000+ miles now and have had no problems at all. I had them bead balanced. To answer your original question....yes, that should be all the info they need. 8r 19.5, AH11 for Hancooks.

Mike

[shepherd57]

You can wrap it in 6 mil Plastic until you find out if it is working if it works get a cover for it.If it is a coleman I have a used cover that should fit I will check

[Isuzusweet]

Reading tire manufacturer codes.

While the DOT number appears on both sides of the tire, the four numbers that will give you the manufacturing date will appear on only one side of the tire in an embossed area at the end of the DOT number. As I posted before the first two numbers are the week, for example 35 for 35th week of the year, followed by the year, 15 for 2015.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...jsp?techid=172

As far as the A/C unit is concerned, find out the make and getting a new cover should be easy, but as John stated, its at the end of your priority list.

Cheers
Tony

[Tap]

Want to see a beautiful sight?



My Airstream finally has beautiful new windshields! No more smashed glass. I'll finally be able to actually drive it!!

[Tap]

It sure wasn't cheap!

$2,300 for the windshields, rubber gasket, crating, and shipping.

And then an additional $650 to have it professionally installed.

Ouch!

But at least I can see out the windshields and rain can't get in.

Now on to spend a lot more money on a few side windows and a full set of new tires. 😬

[mayco]

Saweet

[Tap]

Here are the huge shipping boxes and the old, removed rubber gasket:

[Tap]