New to us 2008 Aspect 26A

[John Canfield]

) )

 

[X-Roughneck]

Hi fraim,

Maintenance: We lube the front end every 20K miles.  Working from memory...think there are 6 grease fittings. 

Happy trails

I am going to check for those Zerks.  I guess I am going to have to break down and invest in a Grease Gun.  We are just getting going in our adventure.  I still need to do alot.  We downsized, walked away for the Rat Race Accepted that we were going to be alot less well off financially.  We sold our house and moved to Small Town USA.  In the Texas Desert.  I love it here.  We love it here.  We want to get out and see our Great Country before we fall apart, literally. 

I am lucky enough to pay $0.00 to store my RV.  I deep clean it when we return.  I take everything out. Clean it and put it all back ready for the next trip.  I am finding out in retirement if I can stay out of Mama's hair I can stay out of trouble too.  I love to piddle around. Jus Piddlin is my new thing. I am so happy being free from the race, I forgot all about being sad for being poor. 

Yea...Never Skimp on Engine oil.  Oil is Dirt cheap compared to the cost of engine repair.  Our Rig just turned over 6K on the odometer.  I have already changed the oil here at the Launch Pad.  I do love the ease of access.  I most definitely, need to work on the gut a bit though. 

I have noticed the rear end and front cap overhang clips bonded poorly at factory. It looks like the seams are semi suspect, at best.  I may do a DIY reinforcement with some Fiber glass on the top.  Only eyes to see it would be the birds.  I am just keeping a eye and taking no action at this point. 

As for Ride.  The 30J tips in at bumper to bumper 32.5' ride can be rough, depends on the surface of the road, air bags and tire pressure. 

Me I would rather be on the high side of tire pressure error than the low side.  I will take a rougher ride as opposed to heating up the tires running low.  I can imagine some steel belts going all Ninja Blender on the wheel wells with belts, sh*t whippin your under carriage at 500 RPM a minute.  I can tell that would be a costly Blow Out. 

I also know the 30J can be like flying a kite with our Motor Home being the Kite if a gust of wind hits you just right, I learned quick not to let my guard down.  I was driving thru a wind farm, day dreaming, almost home from Detroit on our Buy and Drive to Texas, and luckily there was nobody near me on that little back road.  I could have easily been the cause of a bad accident.  Luckily I got control of things on the shoulder.  No harm.  Lesson Learned Yes. 

I attached a Pic there is a swing I have anchored down we sit out and play with the dogs.  This year the Mistletoe is Thick in the Mesquite Trees.  We were goofing around taking selfies. 

 

[Rolin]

Hi X-Roughneck,
I believe that on the newer Ford E450 like yours the front end has all sealed joints.  The older one like our 2007 Aspect on a 2006 chassis has the zerk fittings.

Our 26ft, aside from riding rough, is easy to drive.  The wind and semi's have an effect but not dramatic and not uncomfortable.  I was very concerned after hearing the chatter about the Fords poor handling but the previous owner must have taken care of any issues in that department.
Rolin

 

[X-Roughneck]

Hi X-Roughneck,
I believe that on the newer Ford E450 like yours the front end has all sealed joints.  The older one like our 2007 Aspect on a 2006 chassis has the zerk fittings.

Our 26ft, aside from riding rough, is easy to drive.  The wind and semi's have an effect but not dramatic and not uncomfortable.  I was very concerned after hearing the chatter about the Fords poor handling but the previous owner must have taken care of any issues in that department.
Rolin

Noted...will look.  Actually I am getting close to the suspension upgrade I am having done.  I will ask the tech what if anything is there to grease on the front end.  I will look while changing oil this next time.

 

[fraim]

on our trip back to dallas after picking our rig up in georgia ( took the scenic route through alabama, to the gulf shores, & then heading west through mississippi, louisiana & then up through houston to dallas) i didn't notice any flagging from semi's.  is there that big of a difference between your 30' & our 26'?  the only thing we notice is the rough ride & the loud cabin noise vs the quietness of my subaru.  hope your suspension work is worth your investment.

we still haven't gotten the registration yet & the temp plates have expired.  the rig is covered & parked in a "public storage" facility.  i have to take it & have it weighed, get another inspection & then head to the tax office for registration (again).  we have a cover over the rig & it's a real pain to put it on & so we're waiting til it gets closer to usage time before doing the above.  in the meantime we go & start the engine & generator about every couple of weeks.

 

[X-Roughneck]

Frain, the 30J is 32'4" and has a corner shower.  I like your long kitchen galley layout better (on passenger side), but like the extra few feet of length.  To me I need to get out of the thing after 3 weeks and love going home.  Being shorter is a advantage at National Parks, or so I have heard.

I probably am spouting off facts you know, but the TX sales tax is at 6.25% and the TX registration for window sticker was I think was $135. 

I am looking at and will probably move forward with a 36x 15 with 14' legs corrugated metal roof cover RV carport.  I am pricing with Alan's and American Steel. 

Looks like the carport is going to set me back between 5-6K and $100 for the permit.  The salesman pricing it over the phone told me I would have 9 trusses (?) each being drilled and bolted to concrete at their foot.  18 bolts in concrete total.

I was looking at fabric options and I just don't think I could get beyond 10 years best case before they would burn out.  Wind is another huge concern. 

If I go ahead and get this I think now is the time to do it, we just got it last August.  Our 2017 is still fresh and it only has 7K on the odometer.

 

[X-Roughneck]

on our trip back to dallas after picking our rig up in georgia ( took the scenic route through alabama, to the gulf shores, & then heading west through mississippi, louisiana & then up through houston to dallas) i didn't notice any flagging from semi's.  is there that big of a difference between your 30' & our 26'?  the only thing we notice is the rough ride & the loud cabin noise vs the quietness of my subaru.  hope your suspension work is worth your investment.

we still haven't gotten the registration yet & the temp plates have expired.  the rig is covered & parked in a "public storage" facility.  i have to take it & have it weighed, get another inspection & then head to the tax office for registration (again).  we have a cover over the rig & it's a real pain to put it on & so we're waiting til it gets closer to usage time before doing the above.  in the meantime we go & start the engine & generator about every couple of weeks.

Texas has a presumptive value calculator on their .gov web site. If you run your Aspect VIN it is only pulling the value of the Ford E450.  You may want to take you chances on to what they will charge you for sales tax. I had a bill of sale in hand.  It was in blue book range, + to - price and that is what they based my sales tax from.

As a FYI I have been experimenting with rear air bag pressure.  I am starting usually at around 75 PSI with or without tow.  I had to replace the stems, I was scared that the O rings would get messed up if I sprayed to loosen.  The caps from factory allow road debris to seep in there which froze mine up so they would not take air.  Mine seem to lose a bit of air which I bet is common.  Get you a TST or some type of Tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS), and a good pancake compressor to travel with.   

I went with 14,600 LBs for weight which was on the sticker under the door handle release.  We travel light, but I want to get weighed once I am loaded up/ 

 

[fraim]

sure, i know the gross weight as you said it's on the sticker & also on our title.  But to register it, the tax assessor wanted the "dry weight" also which is not listed anywhere.  So they wouldn't register it until i take it to get weighed... where? They didn't know...only that it had to be "official" & state approved.  where was that scale?  They didn't  know.  So yesterday i emailed winnebago & after a couple emails they told me the dry weight of our rig.  I'm taking that printout & other docs to the taxman tomorrow & hopefully walk out with plates.... fingers crossed.

 

[SpencerPJ]

I would think a Cat Scale would meet their requirements.  https://catscale.com/cat-scale-locator/?gclid=CjwKCAiAvonyBRB7EiwAadauqVIwBQwsPKzPFkEHBR4mAf_DO9WNxFyMnHf4c7uPhevKG1RdhF2bOBoCSlAQAvD_BwE

 

[fraim]

yep...went to the tax ppl today & winnebago's email listing the rigs dry weight was no bueno... so... off to a CAT scale for me

 

[Rolin]

Hi Fraim,
We found a State scales along the road when it was empty.  Our weights were as follows:

2 people, full gas tank, 1/2 tank fresh water, full propane
Front: 3650 lbs
Rear: 7750
Total: 11400

Loaded with food, cloths etc on our way to a campout.
Total: 12250 lbs

We used these weights to calculate our tire pressure for front and rear
We also run about 70lbs pressure in the air bags.
Rolin

 

[X-Roughneck]

Hi X-Roughneck,
I believe that on the newer Ford E450 like yours the front end has all sealed joints.  The older one like our 2007 Aspect on a 2006 chassis has the zerk fittings.

Our 26ft, aside from riding rough, is easy to drive.  The wind and semi's have an effect but not dramatic and not uncomfortable.  I was very concerned after hearing the chatter about the Fords poor handling but the previous owner must have taken care of any issues in that department.
Rolin

Rolin I am still looking into it and ensure if there anything I should be greasing bumper to bumper on the chassis. I am thinking about calling Winnebago and asking.  They have been helpful in the past. 

I just found out that I was making the greasing of my Stehl Tow Dolly a lot more complicated than it really is.  Probably like a 30 second project per side.  Each axle has a dust cap where I just attach a Grease Gun and give it a few pumps to lubricate the inner and outer wheel bearings per side.

The gizmo is called a "bearing buddy" or something like that which allows the greasing of the inner and outer bearings with the one easy to reach Grease Point/ zerk near valve stem to air tire. 

I had envisioned busting it all the way down to the Axel for some reason in my mind. 

 

[fraim]

so i made it to a CAT scale on friday to have the rig weighed.  Winnebago in their email to me said dry weight based on my vin was 10,276.... I went to the scales with 1/4 tank of gas, grey/black tanks empty & almost nothing inside the aspect.  Weight came out total as 11,120.  So at least that's finished anyway.  This will be my 3rd time trying to get the title transferred & get plates.  Each visit there's something new, so....

 

[SpencerPJ]

Good Luck  ) 

 

[X-Roughneck]

This will be my 3rd time trying to get the title transferred & get plates.  Each visit there's something new, so....

Ah yes.... the good old Texas DMV. 

I know that misery loves company so here is my Texas DMV story I will share with you. 

I realized very quick that these people are not working on commission or do they really care about accuracy. 

Even after I found the (Temp Tag) answer on the web, when I went to get the plate there was chaos and arguing amogst the staff on how to proceed. 

I finally had to throw the card of "I talked to the Supv, Becky and she agreed". 

Of course they had to go find Becky and ask which took another 10 minutes. 

My Fiasco: Temp Tag Fiasco for Initial Drive from Michigan to TX. 

BTW, Nothing was said about weight when I registered the MH.  I think they went with weight on the title.  Came out finally to around $135 for the year to register and plate it.

Sound like the weight issue you are having is in your local Dallas DMV, "Pet Peeve Department". 

The worker putting my VIN of my new motor home incorrectly typed 2 of the 17 VIN numbers. In my book a 12% error rate 2/17 is not good when you job is to deal with VIN numbers. 

I Learned a valuable lesson....Always bring eye glasses to DMV.  :-[

I registered in August and they gave me a sticker expiring in July the following year.  Nothing like paying for a annual registration and getting one good for 11 months.  I ask why.  No real suitable answer from staff. 

I will say when I mailed off for my military affiliation Plates they gave me the plate and the new window sticker expiring at the end of September next year so I will chalk it up as a win in my book, but it took awhile to play out as a win.

When I got the MH inspected on the return trip from Detroit area (Purchase Location) to West Texas, the man just happened to copy the incorrect VIN he saw on the temp tag in the front wind shield.  Of course I had to get the inspection in Wichita Falls which is a couple hundred miles from home also which compounded the problem. 

Luckily for me after I explained to the guy on the phone, the guy that did the inspection changed the VIN in the TX inspection system for me and I was able to register / plate it and pay the 6.25% sales tax. 

 

[John Canfield]

[Continuing our off-topic theme]

When I registered my new 2000 F-250 in Florida I remember the clerk asking me what weight I would like to declare. Apparently the tag fee was based on the Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR), not wanting to cause issues for myself in the future I paid for the full GWCR.

Now my Texas DMV story (not nearly as dramatic as yours fortunately) - we recently registered the truck in Texas (long story why.) First I had to get the truck inspected before applying for a Texas registration, Florida has no inspection requirements so this was the first time somebody else fondled my truck  . Then I found out you must register a vehicle in the county where you live so we drive to the county courthouse. Florida doesn't care what county tag office you use.

So far so good. Then we discovered the county office personnel took 90 minutes off for their annual Christmas party just before we arrived. So we wait and wait. Finally registered the truck with my Vietnam service medal and disabled vet notation on the tags.

[End of off-topic]

 

[fraim]

finally!!!!  took everything to the tax man to get the title transferred & registered.... 4th time.
this time the process went through & we're now registered!

but..... they charged me $50 ($25x2 months) for being late in getting the title changed & registered.  WHAT??? I told them this wasn't my fault because they changed what they wanted with each visit.  No matter... they still wanted their $50.  Paid it, got the plates & walked out.

 

[X-Roughneck]

finally!!!!  took everything to the tax man to get the title transferred & registered.... 4th time.
this time the process went through & we're now registered!

but..... they charged me $50 ($25x2 months) for being late in getting the title changed & registered.  WHAT??? I told them this wasn't my fault because they changed what they wanted with each visit.  No matter... they still wanted their $50.  Paid it, got the plates & walked out.

Some Victories in life must be painful.  What's the old saying, "4th Time is a Charm?"

Now go enjoy this Great Land of Ours. 

Winnebago- The Cadillac of semi well built motor homes.