1982 Itasca Spectrum

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farmerbrown

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Joined
Aug 29, 2011
Posts
5
My Uncle gave me a 82 Spectrum, we just got it home early Sunday morning. Drove it from El Cajon to Arkansas which is several hundred miles. It is in general over all good shape, but does have a few areas of concern. It's a Class C sitting on a P 20 GM frame.

  The main concern is that it really weaves side to side whenever it encounters any type of wind, even wind from a small car passing. You have to fight the wheel to get it to quit darting. I can't see any sway bar bushings worn, but the tires seem to be feathering some. 

I would like to hear any comments and would enjoy connecting with others who have or have had these rigs.


                                                  Thanks and have a nice day, Bill
 
First thing you should check before going further is the date codes on the tires. RV tires normally wear out from age long before they wear out from tread wear. The absence of cracking is not a good indicator. It is generally recommended that tires over about 7 years old be replaced. I can tell you from experience that you don't want to experience a catastrophic blow out due to old tires. Once you know the condition of the tires, the next thing to do is to get the rv weighed at least on each axle and adjust the tire pressure according to the load charts for the tires. Also check and see if that chassis has air bags (possibly inside the front coils) and if so check the air pressure in those.
 
Dennis, yes, there is a salvage yard up in town. They may let me axle out on their scales. I know the weight of the MH is 5800#.

  T he front tires were put on and drove home some 5-7 years ago and parked. So they are very close age-wise, the rear, I have no idea on their age.
It's a single tire in the rear, instead of duels, so it may would be a turn over --- well it wouldn't be good if any of the tires were to blow.

I will check the codes/ look for air bags and go from there.

                                              Thanks, Bill
 
I haven't had time to check the weight of the axles, but was able to find a chart in the manual. According to it, the 50 psi that I am running is way too low, after I axle out I wouldn't be surprised if the chart doesn't call for between 65-70 psi. Maybe more, my Uncle or someone has 75 psi circled in the chart. Also while looking for an air bag system I noticed that the shocks could have been installed by Moses's great grandson lol. 

  This is going to be a fun rewarding project, wish that I had more time to put toward it.

                      Bill
 
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