Escapees September-October 2024

mark, my words

“If you are going to store your RV with out a hookup to AC power for several weeks, it is best to disconnect the house batteries…”

PHOTO COURTESY OF MARSHA AND PAUL WEAVER

DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION FOR MARK? Submissions must not contain commercial advertising or consumer advocacy issues. Due to the large volume of material and corre spondence submitted, we may be unable to reply or acknowledge receipt of your material. Material will be edited. Questions and answers with the highest general interest may be repeated in subsequent issues. Questions can be sent by mail to“Mark, My Words”Column, 100 Rainbow Drive, Livingston, TX 77351-9300 or to techquestions@escapees.com. pressure, you need to understand that the rim or wheel also has a max safe in fl ation pressure. For most steel wheels, the max pressure is stamped on the inside of the wheel. If you decide to go to a higher load-range tire and in fl ate it to a higher pressure, you must be careful not to exceed the rim’s pressure rating! For now, until you can determine what the correct pressure should be, run the tires at the same pressure until you can get the rig weighed. If you fi ndyouneed to raise the pressure after weighing, be sure to check the wheel rims to ensure that the higher pressure doesn’t exceed the wheel’s max pressure rating. Tire Upgrade Q. I just bought a new set of tires for our RV. I went from load range C to load range D. I probably did not need the Ds, but I wanted to upgrade. My question is, since the new tires’ max in fl ation pressure is 65 psi, will it hurt the tires if we run at a lower psi? The old tires maxed at 50psi. I would appreciate your opinion. Thank you very much. Wilkrich A. It’s not as simple a question as you might think. While going up a load range will get you a stronger tire, there are other things to consider. If you ran the old C-rated tires at 50 PSI and the tread wore normally and the tires performed well, you can probably get by with the same in fl ation pressure on the new tires or maybe just a few pounds more. Running the D tire at the lower in fl ation pressure won’t hurt it unless that lower pressure is inadequate for the load that the tire is actually carrying. All tires must be in fl ated to a correct operating pressure for the weight they carry. Since you have to know how much weight the tire is carrying in order to make an informed decision, you really need to have your rig weighed. Once you know your corner weights, you can use the tire manufacturer’s load/in fl ation charts for your tire and determine the correct pressure. Now, let’s just say that your weight requires that the tires be in fl ated to 60 psi. Before you raise the

Storing Batteries

Q. I have gotten mixed replies to the question of whether or not I should disconnect and possibly store the 12-volt, deep-cycle batteries in my Palomino fi fth-wheel. And before you answer, I do know that, during winter, even here in the Paci fi cNW, winterizing includes battery removal and storage. Speci fi cally, my question is: “Should I disconnect the batteries during periods of non-use, perhaps in a four- to eight-week time frame?” Dan A. If you are going to store your

RV without a hookup to AC power for several weeks, it is best to disconnect the house batteries to prevent normal parasitic loads in the RV from draining them over time. You can install a commercially available battery disconnect switch, or simply remove the ground lead(s) from the battery terminal(s) when you

put the rig into storage. A switch isde fi nitely more convenient, so here are some examples of various inexpensive disconnect switches and remote relays:

WWW.AMAZON.COM/DP/B07T288VN8 WWW.AMAZON.COM/DP/B07JJSTFMN WWW.AMAZON.COM/DP/B072N8NYN2

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September/October 2024 ESCAPEES Magazine