>
>
>For this reason, we usually feel all our wheels near the center at every
>gas stop we make. It is our belief that if a bearing is starting to go or
>a brake is stuck then that wheel will be hotter than "normal". We also use
>this walk-around to take a quick visual inspection of the GMC and trailer
>along the way.
My wife and I also always perfrom a visual every time we stop. That means we both circle the coach and feel each wheel &
tire for temp. We also look for any leaking fluids.
After we had our brakes rebuilt, we stopped for dinner in San Jose. When we did our "circle the coach" drill, Irene noticed
fluid under the driver's side bogies. Brake fluid.
We ate dinner and then filled the reservoir and slowly drove to a friend's house where he and I checked the hard lines and
tried to tighten the fitting after taking it off on the one end and cleaning it - making the leak worse. It turned out that
the line had developed a crack at the flare.
If we had not done the visual, we would have lost our rear brakes on a nasty piece of road going over the mountains from San
Jose to Santa Cruz.
We've used this approach to all of the vehicles that we've driven since we got married. We've caught tires going bad (tread
separating), broken lug nuts, leaking oil seal, and the beginnings of a radiator leak. We've driven many 100k miles and been
out of commission for more than a day three times: one bad thermostat in a Maxima when I didn't have tools with me, the need
to replace sheared lugs when the tire jockey overtorqued them, and the one time I hit a deer. We've been delayed a number of
times when we needed to fix something else before it became a problem./ Ironically, our tows have all been within 10 miles
of home.
Our procedure for visually inspecting the GMC:
I start with the curbside front tire, move to the front and open both hatches and checks for leaks, and then proceed around
the coach checking each tire/wheel and looking for leaks. Irene starts at the curbside rear and walks in the opposite
direction. we meet back at the door. This means that every wheel is checked twice per stop. Visuals from opposite directions
maximize the chance that we'll catch anything obvious. When we get ready to leave again, we do a visual, but in the opposite
direction.
Henry
Henry Davis Consulting, Inc / new product consulting
PO Box 1270 / product readiness reviews
Soquel, Ca 95073 / IP reviews
ph: (408) 462-5199 / full service marketing
fax: (408) 462-5198
http://www.henry-davis.com
>
>For this reason, we usually feel all our wheels near the center at every
>gas stop we make. It is our belief that if a bearing is starting to go or
>a brake is stuck then that wheel will be hotter than "normal". We also use
>this walk-around to take a quick visual inspection of the GMC and trailer
>along the way.
My wife and I also always perfrom a visual every time we stop. That means we both circle the coach and feel each wheel &
tire for temp. We also look for any leaking fluids.
After we had our brakes rebuilt, we stopped for dinner in San Jose. When we did our "circle the coach" drill, Irene noticed
fluid under the driver's side bogies. Brake fluid.
We ate dinner and then filled the reservoir and slowly drove to a friend's house where he and I checked the hard lines and
tried to tighten the fitting after taking it off on the one end and cleaning it - making the leak worse. It turned out that
the line had developed a crack at the flare.
If we had not done the visual, we would have lost our rear brakes on a nasty piece of road going over the mountains from San
Jose to Santa Cruz.
We've used this approach to all of the vehicles that we've driven since we got married. We've caught tires going bad (tread
separating), broken lug nuts, leaking oil seal, and the beginnings of a radiator leak. We've driven many 100k miles and been
out of commission for more than a day three times: one bad thermostat in a Maxima when I didn't have tools with me, the need
to replace sheared lugs when the tire jockey overtorqued them, and the one time I hit a deer. We've been delayed a number of
times when we needed to fix something else before it became a problem./ Ironically, our tows have all been within 10 miles
of home.
Our procedure for visually inspecting the GMC:
I start with the curbside front tire, move to the front and open both hatches and checks for leaks, and then proceed around
the coach checking each tire/wheel and looking for leaks. Irene starts at the curbside rear and walks in the opposite
direction. we meet back at the door. This means that every wheel is checked twice per stop. Visuals from opposite directions
maximize the chance that we'll catch anything obvious. When we get ready to leave again, we do a visual, but in the opposite
direction.
Henry
Henry Davis Consulting, Inc / new product consulting
PO Box 1270 / product readiness reviews
Soquel, Ca 95073 / IP reviews
ph: (408) 462-5199 / full service marketing
fax: (408) 462-5198
http://www.henry-davis.com
