Tow Vehicle Maintenance

That time of year for the annual inspection of our Toyota Sienna LE Van.  This year, we have decided it is time to invest in a good tire for our van.  The ones we have on currently came with the vehicle and since we bought it we have added an additional 27,000 miles, rotating them regularly every other oil change and monitoring the pressures on the first weekend of each month.    The tread wear has been pretty consistent, but getting down low to the bar on all of them.  So, these tires really don't owe us anything, and now that we are towing I don't want to continue to push the tread wear down to the bar (we are just about there anyway).

So, after some recommendations and reading reviews, we decided to go with the Continental ProContact EcoPlus 215/65R16 98T.   A great all season tire that has been getting good reviews from many online sources with a better load rating than we currently had in the existing tire.  For some informative reading on the tire numbers and what they mean, you can click HERE for the Wiki Page on Tire Codes.  Here are some specs on the new tires:

Specifications:
Load Index:	98 1653 lbs.
Overall Diameter (in.):	27
Performance Grade:	Standard Passenger
Speed Rating:	T 118 mph
Temperature Grade:	B
Tire Size:	215-65-16
Traction Grade:	A
Tread Depth in inches:	10/32
Treadlife:	80,000 Miles
Treadwear Grade:	600

After picking up the van from the shop, it was quickly evident that these tires were providing a much better ride than the older tires we had.  Very smooth and quiet ride.

Back at home I checked all other vital fluids looked good and brake pads have plenty of life left in them.  I looked around the rear end at my air line hoses and bags and didn't see any signs of wear and my airbags have been holding the pressure without any leaking, so all seems good there.  For our last trip, I checked the coupler, hitch ball, and wiring pretty well and added some dielectric grease to the 7 pin plug connectors.

Our next trip is Memorial Weekend and we have some projects for the campsite underway which I'll post about this weekend when we have them completed.  SUMMER is nearly HERE!