Thom and Cari's Parkliner

[accrete]

On a COMPLETELY different note:

I grew up with sailboats in my family being a San Fransisco Bay kid of the 1960's, so the idea of working a marine look into the Parkliner was one of the first interior-design mods we pondered. About a year before we purchased the base van for our van conversion in fall of 2010 we were considering purchasing an XP Camper. One of the things that stood out about the interior was the use of synthetic Teak flooring as shown in this XPC shot:




Below is an image i took today of the PlasTEAK samples on the floor of Parkliner #35. We are thinking about going this route purely for aesthetics since there is no advantage over the stock linoleum flooring. The light wood sample is Maple (which is also what the cabinets are) and darker Teak stripe. The plan is to hang out in #35 for this spring/summer adventure season and see how we like things after the use/abuse the stock flooring goes through. What we don't want to do is get a flooring that would be less robust. We think the PlasTEAK would finish off the interior in a nautical/marine look. BUT it might just prove to be to pretty for our liking/use...after all we are NOT glampers! rather we find ourselves off grid on BLM and Forestry camps next to a rushing river.



Time will tell !
Thom

[accrete]

As a preemptive strike...
I asked Chandler what type of caulking they were using on the parkliner.

OSI QUAD Clear 000


You should also watch the info videos to get idea of how to apply this stuff...If you just apply it like you would other caulk and try to finish it by _tooling_ you will ruin the finish/application. Just put a simple bead and let it dry, no finger or tool-triming/smoothing.

Here are a couple informative videos:

From OSI

From Home Depot (this one demonstrates sealing a hole inside a bucket full of water!)

Cheers,
Thom

[accrete]

Replacement tires have arrived and are mounted on stock wheels now powder coated to match our van's. There is now a significantly greater clearance than the original/stock bias ply 205's. The first road trip from a fellow Parkliner owner, Brian in NY with PL #034 and same replacement tires, says they work great and have no rub issues!

Here is a quick image i shot this afternoon:

[gmw photos]

Thom,
That's a SV820 tire ?

Originally Posted by accrete

Replacement tires have arrived and are mounted on stock wheels now powder coated to match our van's. There is now a significantly greater clearance than the original/stock bias ply 205's. The first road trip from a fellow Parkliner owner, Brian in NY with PL #034 and same replacement tires, says they work great and have no rub issues!

Here is a quick image i shot this afternoon:

[accrete]

Originally Posted by gmw photos

Thom,
That's a SV820 tire ?

Yuppers. Just checked the sidewall.
Load range D, 8 ply, 1875 rating, 65psi...Chandler is having us run them at 60psi (and the tire shop boyz agreed).

[gmw photos]

Originally Posted by accrete

Yuppers. Just checked the sidewall.
Load range D, 8 ply, 1875 rating, 65psi...Chandler is having us run them at 60psi (and the tire shop boyz agreed).

.....hmmmmm....good choice ! ....let's see load range D, LIGHT TRUCK tire.
Again....good choice....this will likely be a very reliable, cool running, safe, long lasting tire for this application. Chandler took care of you well on this, IMO.

EDIT: by the way, the wheels look great.

[accrete]

Thanks for the thumbs up on the tires George.
In a prior post i'd mentioned that i'd had the boyz at the same tire center look for an appropriate tire while Chandler was also doing his research...the tire they came up with was basically this tire from their distributor.

THX also on the wheels...$25 bucks each...a cheap face lift!

Cheers,
Thom

[Mimi Lee]

The painted wheels do look great Thom!

And glad to hear that you are both getting the tire rub issue all squared away.

[gmw photos]

Originally Posted by accrete

Thanks for the thumbs up on the tires George.
In a prior post i'd mentioned that i'd had the boyz at the same tire center look for an appropriate tire while Chandler was also doing his research...the tire they came up with was basically this tire from their distributor.

THX also on the wheels...$25 bucks each...a cheap face lift!

Cheers,
Thom

And I'm sure you already know this, but be sure to re-torque the nuts a couple of times in the first few hundred miles. The powder coating on the seating cone area will mush out ( technical term ) in the initial miles, and the nuts will be loose as a result. I would check them after about 25 miles, and then again a couple of times in the next few hundred.

[Francesca Knowles]

Originally Posted by accrete

Replacement tires have arrived and are mounted on stock wheels now powder coated to match our van's. There is now a significantly greater clearance than the original/stock bias ply 205's. The first road trip from a fellow Parkliner owner, Brian in NY with PL #034 and same replacement tires, says they work great and have no rub issues!

185r14's!
Original tire too wide for the well, eh?

Who'da thunk it?

Originally Posted by Francesca Knowles

Is it possible that the tire's too wide for the well? A 205 tire is a hair over eight inches wide.

I don't know how deep the wheel well on the Parkliner is, but on my Trillium it's eight and a half inches. Not enough depth there to accommodate any sidewall flexing that might occur with a 205, even with an ST with its stiffer sidewalls.

Mine are 175 width tires...

Francesca

[gmw photos]

Originally Posted by Francesca Knowles

185r14's!
Original tire too wide for the well, eh?

Who'da thunk it?

....and I had wrote in the other thread on this issue:

"if you all can find ( or measure accurately ) the diameter of your 205/75-14 tire, then you will be able to do some cross-checking/shopping for different brand and size of tires. As a possible replacement, you may end up considering a Kumho 857, in either a 185-14 or 195-14. Tirerack shows the specs of them, including diameter. In either size, you would be going to a LRD tire, with more load carrying capacity, and a 99 mph speed rating. I am going to hazard a guess here and say that a 185-14 is going to be just slightly ( and maybe enough to cure you interference issue ) smaller in diameter than your current 205/75-14.
Just something to consider. I know if it were mine, I would rather take that kind of step, if it would cure the issue, rather than having to do axle and frame work. "

===========

....and with that, what in the world is going on here in the FGRV forum.....Francesca and I actually AGREED on something ?? !!
....what's it all coming to... ???

[Francesca Knowles]

Don't I get Extra Credit for calling it first?


Francesca

[gmw photos]

Originally Posted by Francesca Knowles

Don't I get Extra Credit for calling it first?


Francesca

well yeah, but your extra credit is offset for my extra credit for getting the actual size recco correct !
.....and I get extra, extra credit for recco of LR D "and" LT tire specs !

[Francesca Knowles]

......Controlling urge to wade right in to the ST versus LT debate......

Whew!

Francesca

[gmw photos]

Originally Posted by Francesca Knowles

......Controlling urge to wade right in to the ST versus LT debate......

Whew!

Francesca

ha ! ha ! ....no debate needed. One kind is good, the other kind, not so good !

edit, come on over, I'm out in the shop changing the oil and antifreeze in the motorcycle, and I just dropped the safety wire pliers in the drain pan of oil. We can debate tires while I clean up my mess....

[Francesca Knowles]

Excuse us a minute, Thom.........



Now....what were we talking about?

Francesca

[accrete]

i think i just heard the teacher from Saturday Night Live chime in;

"CLASS"



Thanks for putting a smile on my face you two. I'm just back from a long day at the office that started waaaaay to early today!

George, yuppers on the re-torque...i already have the general idea of where i'm pulling over on the way out of town for this adventure (with wrench in the van ready to torque).

[accrete]

A quick update on new tires...
In one word?

AMAZING!

We put about 300 miles on the stock bias ply tires..
And now about 100 miles on the new LT 185R14 8 ply tires... What a difference. Very smooth and great following behind van. The wheel wells appear free of rub for now. I will keep a close eye out.

[gmw photos]

Originally Posted by accrete

A quick update on new tires...
In one word?

AMAZING!

We put about 300 miles on the stock bias ply tires..
And now about 100 miles on the new LT 185R14 8 ply tires... What a difference. Very smooth and great following behind van. The wheel wells appear free of rub for now. I will keep a close eye out.

Good to hear that you are happy with the new tires Thom. I'm not at all surprised. A radial is a superior design in almost all respects. Lower rolling resistance and a better ride are a given. Cooler running and longer lasting too...what's not to like about all that ?

[Tim Wood]

Thom, Glad the new tires are working out for you, and ya the wheels look nice.