POG / TGO Rally has started

[merle&louise]

Tuga..........I certainly hope you post this in capital letters on the Newell site. Let those folks know about Parliament and Prevost folks.

If one air bag failed, may we assume you have 7 more ready to pop, or was that one the only one you had not had a chance to replace?

BTW, notice my 10 year projected life of air bags.

Jon,

I thought that I was doing good because I had 2 different size air bags in my coach inventory. When the tech removed the bag that burst we discovered that NEITHER of my bags were the right size. Newell is overnighting 2 bags that will fit the drive axle front (one for a spare). You are right on with the 10 year life of air bags; I am changing the other 7 as soon as possible. The tech and I looked at the other bags and they look o.k., but I am still going to change them.

I can't emphasize enough the need to carry spare parts.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

I too carry spares, but there are some things I will have to deal with via preventive maintenance such as changing brake chambers and air bags prematurely. The cost of having items like that fail while on the road far exceeds the cost of replacing good parts.

There are other parts that are going to fail and I don't worry about it because I can live without the item, or because it is imposible to predict what parts are required. What parts should I carry for a refrigerator, or the engine? I got along just fine with a failed alternator because I ran my generator (and inverters and battery charger for the chassis).

On the other hand I carry a generator watchdog, a Webasto control, guts to rebuild an inverter (even though I have a bypass), a spare generator fuel pump, two Norgrens and some solenoids. Also a drawer full of relays, switches, light bulbs, circuit breakers, fuses, and sensors.

I arbitrarily selected 10 years as the replacement of my air bags. I arrived at that based on my own personal experience with a failed air bag, but also the experience of two other POG members who had one fail at 10 years. Theirs did not burst, but they both had leaks. Another POG member let me have an air bag he replaced at 10 years and his showed extreme dry rot or cracking supporting my theory. My 5 year life on brake chambers is based on my experiences and in that case I had a failed emergency brake diapraghm. Stuff like that is anecdotal, may not bear any relation to reality, but absent other information I am willing to do preventive maintenance on my terms, on my schedule, and not on the terms of a far away mechanic who has me at his mercy.

[Orren Zook]

You're right about spares (and routine maintenance) Jon, I had a customer pick up a 2424 piggyback Saturday for a spare - he had one fail on a USMail delivery truck that was on a scheduled delivery run. He paid $143 plus the road service call for one at the Mack dealer in Cleveland ended up with a $478 bill, I sell them for $37.12! You're at the mercy of the service provider when you're away from home. Most feel they'll never see you again so anything goes.

[rfoster]

More on the TGO POG. For those of you who have never met my new two best friends: Granvil Tracy on the left and Andre Ducote on the right.