More Fuel Saving Technology and Upcoming Events

A lot of you will recall that I talked a few posts back about how different tires can affect fuel economy. Well, as it happens, a representative from Goodyear came into our shop last week to tell us about a line of tires and retreads with what they call “Fuel Max Technology”. They’re designed for commercial truck fleets as of right now, and as such are available in drive, steer, and trail configurations. However, some of these Goodyear tires will also fit some motor home applications.

Basically, Fuel Max Technology consists of two compounds that run cooler than traditional compounds, which Goodyear says reduces the amount of energy generated within the tread for lower rolling resistance. SAE test results on Goodyear’s website (www.goodyear.com/truck/technology/sae.html) show that the Goodyear Unisteel G395, G305 LHS G305 LHD and G316 LHT with the Fuel Max Technology decreased fuel consumption by 8% compared to standard production tires. Now, this is under almost perfect conditions, but Goodyear maintains that in the real world, you can still expect up to 4% fuel savings. Remember that these tests were performed on trucks; whether or not RV owners will get the same benefits is unknown at this point, but it does look promising. As long as the tire rides, handles and steers well, we’re interested. The Goodyear rep is supposed to get back to us next week with some more specifics about motorhome applications. I’ll keep you posted.

Now I’d like to shift gears for a few minutes to talk about some upcoming events. On Sept. 13, we will be holding a community spirit event at Henderson’s Line-Up in conjunction with the Redwood Lion’s Club to support the 3,000 Oregon National Guard troops that will be deployed to either Afghanistan or Iraq next April. Revtek Suspension, another Oregon company (revtek.com) has donated a truck lift kit (with an installed value of $2000) to be raffled off and Pacbrake (pacbrake.com) is donating some of its air bag kits and is also offering $100 off the purchase of a new PRXB exhaust brake. If you’ve already got a Pacbrake exhaust brake, the company will offer you $50 toward an upgrade to the PRXB. We will also be offering free Road Performance Assessments (with donation), one per hour. Make sure you book these ASAP, as they are bound to fill up fast.

Summer is fading fast, but there are still some rallies on the calendar that we’ll be attending, so if you have any questions or would like to sit in on a seminar, please come by. We’ll be at the Trek Rally in Salem, OR. on Sept. 18-21, then the Monaco Come Home Rally Sept. 22-25 at the Salem Fairgrounds. As this event ends, another will be ramping up: The Winnebago/Itasca Rally on Sept. 25-27 at the Polk County Fairgrounds in Rickreall, OR.

If you can make it by to any one of these events, we’d love to see you there. I hope you enjoy what’s left of your Labor Day weekend!