Grants Pass RV and Auto Repair

How would you like to add 50 – 60 Horsepower or more to your rear wheels while INCREASING your MILEAGE by 1 – 3 MPG? Sound unlikely? Well listen closely… The air you breathe is a gas and when injected properly into your engine acts as a fuel. It needs to be mixed with standard fuel but when done with some of the new technology now available, it can make a big difference on fuel economy. Your engine needs good airflow and when that is increased, it delivers a measurable boost of horsepower to your rear wheels. Who hasn’t wanted that while trying to cross the continental divide? One of the ways you can get significant increase in performance and mileage is through something called, “UltraPower Performance Tuning”. On your 5.4L through 6.8L V10 Ford engines (including PowerStroke) this innovative engine tuning can increase mileage by 0.5 to 1.5 MPG, while adding up to 45 Horsepower and 50 ft. lbs. torque increase by itself! That’s huge! On 4.3L thr ... read more

Maintaining your balance while cruising down the road is not something to take for granted. This duck makes it look easy, but when it comes to your RV, you’re going to want to take some precautionary action. Let me explain… A set of tires for your RV can be a sizeable investment so making sure they don’t wear down prematurely can be a balancing act involving the weight and shape of the wheel paired with the weight and shape of the tire. Given that the tires and wheels were manufactured at two different times in two different places and possibly in two different countries, it is not reasonable to assume they will be in perfect balance from the get go. The odds of this combination having perfect and precise weight distribution about its radial and lateral centers is virtually impossible. The amount of uneven weight distribution it takes to cause a vibration you can feel is less than ½ an ounce. Wheel balance is typically checked on a wheel-balancing machine ... read more

In Friday’s blog, we talked about 5 of the top 10 reasons your RV could be vibrating. Today, we will talk about five more possible reasons. Remember, that vibrations are a signal to tell you something is wrong. Ignore them at your peril. In this video entitled, “Vibration: See the Unseen”, you will see what a vibration really looks like when a drumstick hits a cymbal. The message here is that while vibrations can be heard and felt, what is happening in the unseen realm is more dramatic. Take a look… 6. Alignment: Excess camber can also cause it. You should take your coach to a qualified alignment shop as soon as possible, because something may be coming loose. Interestingly, people often think that their coach is out of alignment because it’s shaking, but that’s usually a tire/wheel problem. 7. A bad U-joint: The U-joints all have to be lined up so they are in phase. Part of the “phasing” procedure includes making sure that the center lines of the transm ... read more

That vibration you feel when driving down the road can be more than a little annoying. It can be downright dangerous. That’s because it means something is out of whack, out of proper alignment, not in sync with the original intended design. Just for fun, this short video called “Vibration: See the Unseen” films a puppy at 1000 frames per second shaking “vibrating” the water off its body. When vibration occurs, something in your vehicle is experiencing excessive wear, that was not intended by the manufacturer. Left unattended, it can mean failure of a vital part at a crucial time with unspeakable consequences. Think about it… you may be driving an RV weighing 7 – 15 tons, at a speed of 55 – 75 miles per hour and something is out of synch badly enough that you can feel it in your comfortable captains chair, while sipping your coffee and talking with your companion. The most common causes for vibrations in your coach are: Out of balance tires: Gen ... read more

With the incredibly cold weather many of our customers experience, it seemed like a good time to warn those of you heading to warmer temperatures to be mindful of the simple things that can be devastating as you make your way south. In this video you’re going to see what happens when a toilet pedal malfunctioned. As I watched this video by the good folks at rvtravel.com, I realized this could have just as easily happened if your pipes froze up. We want you to enjoy safer, happier driving in your RV so be sure to check this out and save yourself a super sized headache

Robert had been suggesting a quad-shock installation for quite a long time, and I was admittedly reluctant. My coach has always been a “rough rider”, and adding shock absorbers seemed to be a sure way to transmit more road bumps up through the suspension to my long-suffering box of rattles. However, the lure of better handling overcame my reservations, and I decided to go for the mod. My risk was small… Except for the expense of the installation, any “damage” could easily be un-done by simply removing the extra shock absorbers. Although straightforward, the installation requires some sophisticated mechanical skills. Among other things, special brackets need to be fitted, formed, and welded; tapered washers must be installed and rotated to correct positions; all bolts need to be fitted, spaced, seated, and properly torqued. In short, although I’m really good mechanically, I’m very glad I let the experts do this one. Clearances checked, welds insp ... read more

If you want to head south for the winter to enjoy the freedom and flexibility of the RV lifestyle, now might be a great time to invest in a used motorhome. There are a lot of folks who took their turn using theirs in the summer and now they want to avoid storage and maintenance costs over the long winter season. Taking advantage of this opportunity can be a good deal for you. Typically an RV has been depreciated about 50% in the first 36 months. After that, depreciation slows down considerably. Want some good advice on RV ownership? Here are a few suggestions you might find useful. 1. Determine your needs Make a list of the features you will need to comfortably spend weeks on end in a relatively confined space. Is the bed big enough? How about the shower? What do you need in a kitchen? How about additional beds? Storage? TV? Satellite dish? Once you’ve gone through the list of creature comforts, you need to think about drivability. How big ... read more

28 November Thanksgiving Yesterday ended successfully, with all vehicles finished and running like champs. Although late-ish in the evening, everybody went home happy for the holiday weekend. Today, Robert and Barbara Henderson (of Lineup fame) have graciously invited us for a Thanksgiving get- together, and we’re looking forward to a pleasant afternoon. The weather forecast for this coming week is stormy across the entire western seaboard, from Seattle to San Diego. We’re not excited about getting caught out in snow country and sub-freezing nights, so our plans are to head back to the coast, tomorrow (Friday). It will still be stormy, but warmer. And watching heavy weather along a coastline is a marvelous experience in itself (with proper precautions of course). After we’ve taken enough pounding, we’ll head east-bound toward the Sacramento area and touch base with friends/family there. The quad shocks we ha ... read more

23 November 2013 A Good Start The evening is fading to black. We are ensconced in Howie, seven paces from the edge of a 50-foot cliff high above a sandy beach. Off-shore rocky outcroppings give picture-postcard grandeur to an already- grand scenario. The gentle, but insistent, surf forms the backdrop for our night’s reverie – - we are only 250 miles from home, yet a universe away from only two days ago. d Yesterday, we trudged out of the Bay Area, up the monotony of SR880, across the zip-line of the San Rafael Bridge, and into the beatific beauty of the Mendocino coast. Although it’s only a half-dozen travel hours from our front door, it might as well be another planet. Last night, we stayed at Caspar RV Park, a pleasant but snug little place just across the street from a sandy beach. Our $40 fee got us power, water, commercial-laden cable TV, laundry, and restrooms – - none of which we had any need for. But we also got a guaranteed parking site in a strange locale ... read more

In this article, guest blogger Greg Illes masterfully shares his keen observations of the incredibly deft way a pelican navigates the bumps and ripples of wind currents, turning them into a smooth, precision ride for the pelican. At Henderson’s Line-Up, we like to think of our SuperSteer line of products (bell cranks, sway bars, motion control units, Koni shocks and Safe-T-Plus steering control units, etc) as helping RV owners achieve “glide like” ride quality as their coach skillfully navigates rough or narrow roads, windy or harsh conditions. Enjoy the read and enjoy your ride… RV travels take us to a diversity of places, sights, and sounds. There are so many special scenes to be found when RVing around the world. For me, Pelicans are one of the most unique. It’s mid-November, and the Brown Pelicans are everywhere along the California coast. This is just a small representation of course; these large birds populate virtually the entire range of North America and South America coast ... read more