Dougie Brown
Well-known member
PancakeBill said:
I replaced all four lights last year with standard sealed-beam 6x4s. Walmart stocked them and they were cheap as chips, around $10 each.
Adventurer headlights
- Thread starter John Stephens
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
- Status
I replaced all four lights last year with standard sealed-beam 6x4s. Walmart stocked them and they were cheap as chips, around $10 each.
OP
OP
John Stephens
Well-known member
Interesting find. While checking out Dougie's post regarding Walmart, I found they have 00-05 Impala headlights in black for $79.88, and they are in stock. Apparently, they're pretty easy to get if you can find them at Walmart.
John Hilley
Well-known member
Walmart Online links to just about every thing
AnRVAndADog
Well-known member
AnRVAndADog said:
Update: I found more comments and I am effectively scared off of these knockoff headlights...
The rumor that these headlights (2004 Adventurer) are actually GM Impala headlights seems very plausible. They look exactly the same. But I can't officially confirm the rumor so I moved on...
If anyone is interested here are the OEM links:
Right:
https://www.gmpartsoutlet.net/oem-parts/gm-headlamp-assembly-10356098/?c=Zz1lbGVjdHJpY2FsJnM9aGVhZGxhbXAtY29tcG9uZW50cyZpPUNCMDAwMTU1JnI9MSZhPWNoZXZyb2xldCZvPWltcGFsYSZ5PTIwMDQmdD1iYXNlJmU9My00bC12Ni1nYXM%3D
Left:
https://www.gmpartsoutlet.net/oem-parts/gm-headlamp-assembly-10356097/?c=Zz1lbGVjdHJpY2FsJnM9aGVhZGxhbXAtY29tcG9uZW50cyZpPUNCMDAwMTU1JnI9MSZhPWNoZXZyb2xldCZvPWltcGFsYSZ5PTIwMDQmdD1iYXNlJmU9My00bC12Ni1nYXM%3D
I bought the original replacements from Winnebago, more to come...
OP
OP
John Stephens
Well-known member
After someone indicating that the black rubber around the headlight assembly is only cosmetic, I took my coach back to Sam's Club where I had paid to have the fog removed three years ago. The process has a five year guarantee so they cleaned them again for no charge and will continue to do so for the entire five years. If the rubber serves no purpose other than to look good, I'll run with these lights since the rest of the outside of the coach is in less than perfect shape anyway.
AnRVAndADog
Well-known member
AnRVAndADog said:
Had to take the Old Girl to the shop because I wanted to verify front-end alignment because the steering wheel has always been leaning right. She drove just fine but the steering wheel leaning was very distracting. So... She goes up on the lift and boy-oh-boy did things change... The spare tire was the original from 2003, badly cracked and under-inflated. Useless. The inside rear tires were badly cracked and 10 years old. The right inside tire was showing extensive streaks from leaking differential fluid while underway. (Thanks Camping World.) All bad news, all expensive... So now seemed like a good time to pile on! I had the original Winnebago replacement headlight kits and I'm having them installed as I type this. Pics coming soon...
Good news! I have the Safe-T-Plus steering stabilizer installed. That's kind of a big deal. If the RV Inspector (Lemon Squad) had gone under the RV he would have mentioned it. He didn't mention it. If Camping World's 45-point Inspection had gone under the RV they would have mentioned it. They didn't mention it. Bad News: The U-bolts are so badly corroded they have to be sawed off. Then replaced.
Also found a hydraulic fluid leak under the living room slide-out. (Thanks Camping World.)
I'm gonna have to think up a celebration after this when I get the Old Girl back home where she belongs!
John Canfield
Site Team
Yikes! The useful service life of coach tires is 5 to 7 years unless you are a gambler. I prefer to be safe.
AnRVAndADog
Well-known member
John Canfield said:
Yikes! (That was not the first word that I uttered...) I am a very big fan of "safe" as well as "two is one and one is none." When I saw that ancient spare tire I was shocked. Seriously, Camping World, being liars and thieves is bad enough but also being stupid is just not acceptable. I mean, there I am buying a used RV, spending a bunch of money, and of course it's gonna need some work. All they had to do was make me (an absolute rookie) aware of these things and they would have gotten that work! So, now I'm getting those things fixed/repaired anyway, no additional damage/problems happened, and Camping World lost out on lots of work...
I also have to mention that this separation from my RV has been terrible! I miss it!
John Canfield
Site Team
You've learned another lesson - avoid Camping World! Maybe their 45 point inspection was in the cabin 
.
.
Bill N
Well-known member
I am not against Camping World but it would be beneficial to say which location was involved and then write a letter to someone in the organization who could take action. RV Forum is a good place but not very effective in getting Camping World to react. I say this because I have had good experience with the shop service of the Camping World in my particular neighborhood but I would be pretty wary of them on some specific things. My service was installing a hitch on my toad and they did a beautiful job at a ridiculous special price ($39). I have three or four locations in the area that work on RVs and, to be honest, I would not place full trust in any of them. Life can be a crapshoot some times.
Bill
Bill
AnRVAndADog
Well-known member
Bill N said:
To be fair I'll mention this: Almost every Camping World location was originally an independent privately-owned RV Sales & Service location and it became a Camping World location because the owner sold out. When Camping World bought all those nationwide locations they also bought all the parts inventory, all the RV inventory and all the human inventory. So... A crappy Camping World could just have been a crappy privately-owned RV Sales & Service location before Camping World came along... I wouldn't be surprised if there were some excellent Camping World locations out there.
I'm not a crusader, If my local Camping World fails that's on them, word of mouth and the marketplace will sort this out over time. I don't see anything reasonable they can do now to make me feel better about this whole experience. I don't think they owe me anything. I really like my Winnebago Adventurer and I'm not going to let my negative Camping World experiences affect that. All I can do is honestly document my experiences on my website (and here as necessary) and let the chips fall where they may.
I moved on. I found some local mobile RV techs that are honest and competent. I found some other RV Service Centers that are good. My local Camping World is very convenient but unfortunately I'll never go back there again, ever.
OP
OP
John Stephens
Well-known member
John Canfield said:
John - I have lived by this axiom in the past and am now conflicted on what I am about to do. Your opinion would be helpful. My coach has Sumitomo tires that were manufactured in the 50th week of 2013, meaning they will be five years old in another couple of weeks. They presently have about 23,000 miles on them and show little wear with very good tread. However, I know that age is more important than mileage and have always believed in changing tires by the time they are six to seven years old. These tires have stayed covered when in storage, on wood 2x12's to keep the chemicals in the rubber from bleeding into the dirt and grass, kept at proper pressure, both during driving and during storage, and right now, I am finding no cracking or signs of disintegration on the sidewalls of any tire. I am aware that Sumitomo is a mid level tire; not the cheapest, but certainly not the best. It's what came on the coach when I bought it, and they had been recently changed before the purchase, so I have been the one to take care of the tires nearly from the time they were put on the coach.
So if nothing appears out of the ordinary next May, I plan on taking these tires on a 7,200 mile road trip that will last three months, given they will be only 5-? years old and have been taken care of during their life. Do you think that is a safe or crazy thing to do? My plans were that if they lasted through the next trip, I would replace them before our next trip, which will be about 10,000 miles the following summer when they will be 6-? years old. That, in my opinion, would be pressing my luck.
SargeW
Site Team
You have certainly have taken reasonable precautions in your storage of the vehicle. Your biggest issue is the amount of usage the tires have received. A little quick math shows that the tires have been used on average of 4600 miles a year, or 383 miles a month. That figure is pretty low, and tires are best serviced when rolled regularly as that circulates the chemical compounds that keeps them pliable.
That being said, your tires should still be serviceable with even that low mileage on them. For peace of mind you can take it to a tire shop and have them inspected by a professional for issues that you may not see. And more expensive but a better inspection would be to dismount the tire from the wheel and inspect the inside since that is where moisture would affect the tire the most.
Either way, your call.
That being said, your tires should still be serviceable with even that low mileage on them. For peace of mind you can take it to a tire shop and have them inspected by a professional for issues that you may not see. And more expensive but a better inspection would be to dismount the tire from the wheel and inspect the inside since that is where moisture would affect the tire the most.
Either way, your call.
AnRVAndADog
Well-known member
SargeW said:
Nothing "circulates" in the actual rubber. The rubber dries out and cracks from exposure to air and direct sunlight. You can't prevent this. You can slow it down with religious use of tire covers. If you have no visible cracks on either side then drive on. Considering the age I'd inspect them often. My tires showed very minor cracks on the outside side and significant cracking on the inside side...
John Canfield
Site Team
Agree with Marty. I think you will be fine with the age of the tire but you could have a tire shop inspect them. Of course the 'inspector' might be Bubba who's entire skill set involves unmounting and mounting tires. In thinking about this, I think what you need to do is a careful inspection looking for any cracks (also on the inside) - use a mirror for between the duals or you could even stick a phone in there and snap some pictures.SargeW said:
Michelin gives out a plastic card showing renditions of progressively worse cracking (probably due to UV) and what is safe and what size of crack is a no-go. If the crack is very shallow I think that is considered safe. My first (or was it the second) set of Michelin tires had cracks that exceeded normal and I got a discount on a new set. The dealer had to inspect and I suppose run the warranty claim by Michelin. You might be able to find some info about cracking on Michelin's website.
Michelin will okay running a tire up to ten years old if they are inspected my a dealer. I think the oldest set of tires I had on my Horizon was about seven years.
SargeW
Site Team
AnRVAndADog said:
Not true, exactly. To quote a friend and 40 year tire expert,
"I assume you are referring to the rubber oils which help to delay surface checking and cracking. If so, then those oils are brought to the surface as the tire rotates and goes through its heat cycle.
Conversely, if the tire is sitting and exposed to the sun those oils will dry up which is why the tire should be covered if it?s not being used for long periods.
So to answer your question, or maybe confuse the issue more, driving on the tire helps to bring the oils to the surface and sitting covered helps to preserve the oils on the surface."
OP
OP
John Stephens
Well-known member
What you are suggesting is exactly what I had in mind. I thought of taking the coach to a tire dealer that doesn't sell RV tires and ask the manager of the store to inspect the tires; the idea being if they don't sell my tires, the man inspecting the tires won't try to tell me they need replacing if they really don't. It shouldn't matter if I take it to say, a Firestone dealer that doesn't sell my size, because inspecting a tire should be the same regardless of the vehicle it is on.
You guys have eased my mind a lot and have told me my thoughts of what to do are not crazy. But, comma, it will all depend on what the tires look like in six months. I took a cursory look at them yesterday when exercising the generator and couldn't find any surface cracks of any size on the outside of the tires or the inside of the duals, but didn't look at the inside sidewalls. That will have to be done on the final inspection in May.
Thank you very much for your opinions. I really didn't want to spend another $3K on the coach before the next trip after spending $9300 after my last trip this summer.
You guys have eased my mind a lot and have told me my thoughts of what to do are not crazy. But, comma, it will all depend on what the tires look like in six months. I took a cursory look at them yesterday when exercising the generator and couldn't find any surface cracks of any size on the outside of the tires or the inside of the duals, but didn't look at the inside sidewalls. That will have to be done on the final inspection in May.
Thank you very much for your opinions. I really didn't want to spend another $3K on the coach before the next trip after spending $9300 after my last trip this summer.
AnRVAndADog
Well-known member
SargeW said:
Sorry, nothing circulates in the rubber, nothing is "brought to the surface" in the rubber. And the "oils" you mention aren't even oils. Start here: https://tirenews4u.wordpress.com/2010/08/17/tire-ingredients/
Use tire covers all the time, (except when driving).
AnRVAndADog
Well-known member
AnRVAndADog said:
Got my Adventurer back! I missed her bad!! New tires, differential leak fixed, steering stabilizer re-installed with new U-bolts, steering wheel centered. She drives waay better!
New trend: Last time my RV was in the shop (Camping World) the driver's door and driver's door power window worked when I got there and didn't when I left. This time (different shop) the backend camera was working when I got there and doesn't now...
Attachments
John Canfield
Site Team
Wow, the front cap and headlights look great. ) Maybe the backup cam is a simple fix.
) Maybe the backup cam is a simple fix.- Status
