Chinook RV

Thanks for the follow up. Mind if I ask why the rib ones instead of LTX's? (I love those put 2 on the front, but need to change out the back 4 eventually)

Manitou wrote:Thanks for the follow up. Mind if I ask why the rib ones instead of LTX's? (I love those put 2 on the front, but need to change out the back 4 eventually)

Prior to making the decision, I googled "michelin ltx m/s2 versus michelin rib" and read several threads. I could have gone either way, but I decided to go with the Rib because I plan on trying some light off road adventures and wanted the extra sidewall protection.

I did similar research before I went Michelin LTX M/S2. From what I gathered the XPS rib is a heavier duty tire, with heavier sidewalls. It is also not as good in mud/snow. I could have gone either way, but since my Chinook is "light" compared to most Class C's, and since I did not want any harsher ride, I went with the M/S2. I've also added "other methods" of controlling sway, etc. (betters shocks, better anti-sway bars, etc.) Of course now I can't compare "real life," as I have not had the rib on the same vehicle.

I have a friend with a maxxed out E-450 (15,000#) and he went with the rib due to the weight he has on them. He also has no "special" added features, suspension wise.

Would be fun to compare our "same" Chinooks with both types of tires!

BG, I've started some suspension and handling upgrades being motivated by some of your prior posts. I've added the Hellwig front and read sway bars. Next will be to upgrade the shocks.

I will say with the new tires, the ride is much more quite (except for the Fantastic Vent wind noise ).

Speaking of the Fantastic Vent, I had my daughter make a cover for a 18" x 18" piece of foam. I now Velcro the covered foam over the vent cover while on the road. It does dampen the wind noise, but it still louder than I'd like it to be.

1998chinook wrote:...the ride is much more quite (except for the Fantastic Vent wind noise ).

Speaking of the Fantastic Vent, I had my daughter make a cover for a 18" x 18" piece of foam. I now Velcro the covered foam over the vent cover while on the road. It does dampen the wind noise, but it still louder than I'd like it to be.

Oh that darned Fantastic Vent! My LTX M/S2's are nice and quiet, so I can fully "appreciate" the vent noise I can't remember if I posted this or not, but I went ahead and bought one of their "insulated domes." It's much thicker and more rigid than the regular one. Result: Nice clear dome, which I really like compared to the old opaque one; but absolutely no reduction in the noise. When I let them know about this (they were curious), they said they weren't surprised, and that it's somewhat likely the noise is coming from air hitting the front side of the "curb" (part of base that sticks up) since it's so close to the front.

My next step is to cut something like a pool noodle and tape it to the front of the curb, then do a test drive. If that changes the noise at all, I will fabricate something better and more permanent. If not, then I think it's out with the Fantastic Vent and in with a flush marine vent (would move the Fantastic aft).

Keep me posted on your vent experiments. I'll try a few of my own. I was thinking about taking some left over foam, cutting it to size, wraping it in gorilla tape and stuffing it in the dome.

The wind noise from that "FANTASTIC" Vent is so loud I ended up routing the sound of the TV through the stereo speakers so the kids could hear their DVDs on long road trips.

If anyone is interested...I have my Glacier up at Quadvan in Portland getting 4x4 installed. They will be taking off the Alcoa wheels with new Michelin tires (2014 date code). They ride nice with no shimmy or anything like that. Talk with John at Quadvan if interested as he plans on selling them. (No affiliation other than they came off my rig)

Not sure what he is asking, tires only have about 3 thousand miles on them (225/75/16).

Robert:

First, ooh congrats! I had my 2014 front end put on at Quadvan last fall (2WD) and couldn't be happier with John and Co, the experience while at the shop, and the end product. All fabulous!

Second, I'm really interested in the wheels, and have a message in to John now. Thanks for the tip!

What's this about Fantastic vent noise? The Fantastic Fan on the coach? Road noise? Is the dome lock on when driving? <I'm full of questions >

There was a thread, perhaps on the Yahoo forum, wherein one member asked about fixes for "wind noise" on the Fantastic Vent when driving (with dome closed). Then a few more people piped in to say, yep, same noise. I added that I have had the noise since I bought the rig, and the PO had a few service orders trying to fix it as well (to no avail).

I determined that mine is NOT coming through the vent lid/base interface, but that IS coming from the vent.

I contacted Fantastic Vent, and a tech person there with many years' experience right away said "is it near the front of the roof"? Yep. Well then apparently this is a common problem and has nothing to do with the dome seal. They made the lid lock to try to help the issue, but since it's not coming from that interface it didn't change it.

This person used to work for many years as head of an RV service department, and said they had sometimes used fairings on certain RV models where the vent was near the front of the roof and made the "wind noise." But since my dome was old/opaque, they said why not try a new insulated dome first (it's thicker). I ordered one and it is a very nice dome, but no change in noise. I called back and they weren't surprised, and said it is probably coming just from the wind hitting the front face of the whole unit (not leaking in, in other words).

So, I'm going to give it one more try, which is to simulate a fairing, or more mass at the front of the unit on the roof or on the vertical curb of it. We'll see....