W ARNING
Portable fuel burning equipment, including wood
or charcoal burning grills and stoves, shall not be
used inside the vehicle. Doing so may cause a fire,
explosion,
carbon
monoxide
poisoning,
or
asphyxiation.
If you decide it is safe to fight a fire with an extin-
guisher:
•
Remove the tamper tape which covers the dis-
charge push button (do not shake).
•
Hold it upright and stand six to ten feet from
the fire with a clear path to an exit.
•
Press the button down completely, aiming at
the base of the fire, and spray with quick side
to side sweeping motion.
NOTE:
Use the ‘PASS’ method. Familiarize yourself and all RV
occupants with this procedure:
•
P
ull the pin (some extinguishers may have a car-
tridge you need to push).
•
A
im the nozzle at the base of the fire.
•
S
queeze the handle to release the extinguishing
agent.
•
S
pray the base of the fire. (If you aim at the flames,
you won’t extinguish the fire.)
DANGER
Avoid inhaling the dry chemicals from the fire
extinguisher. Although non-toxic, they could cause
temporary irritation. When the fire is out, clean the
area as soon as possible. The dry chemicals may
cause surface damage if left too long.
Do not use water to extinguish a fire. Water can
spread some types of fire, and electrocution is
possible.
Underwriter Laboratories classifies fires into three types:
•
Class A: Fires in wood, paper, fabric, rubber and
certain plastics.
•
Class B: Flammable liquids such as grease, cook-
ing oils, gasoline or kerosene.
•
Class C: Electrical fires started from live electrical
wires, shorted motors/switches.
NOTE:
The fire extinguisher provided with the recreational
vehicle is a chemical type suitable for extinguishing small
fires of the class B or C type. Extinguishers are designed
to put out a fire in its initial stage, not if it is blazing out of
control. If a fire cannot be approached within 10 feet
without the risk of causing personal harm, immediately
evacuate the RV and call 911.
Tire Safety
Use the following information to make tire safety a regu-
lar part of your vehicle maintenance routine.
CAUTION
Safety First-Basic Tire Maintenance
Properly maintained tires improve steering, stop-
ping, traction, and load-carrying capability of your
vehicle. Under-inflated tires and overloaded
vehicles are major causes of tire failure. Therefore,
to avoid flat tires and other types of tire failures,
you should maintain proper tire pressure, observe
tire and vehicle load limits, avoid road hazards and
regularly inspect your tires.
Understanding Tire Pressure and Load
Limits
Finding Your Vehicle’s Recommended Tire Pressure
and Load Limits
The tire information and vehicle certification label con-
tains information on tires and load limits. These labels
indicate the vehicle manufacturers’ information including:
•
Recommended tire size
•
Recommended tire inflation pressure
•
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR – the maxi-
mum occupant and cargo weight a vehicle is
designed to carry.)
•
Front and rear gross axle weight ratings (GAWR-the
maximum weight the axle systems are designed to
carry.)
When taking the trailer out of storage, inspect the tires
thoroughly and be sure there are no cracks in the
grooves and no wires showing. Cracks in the sidewall
could indicate interior damage or separations in the tire.
Understanding Tire Pressure and Load Limits
Tire inflation pressure is the level of the air in the tire that
provides it with load-carrying capacity and affects the
overall performance of the vehicle. The tire inflation pres-
sure is a number that indicates the amount of air pres-
sure, measured in pounds per square inch (psi), a tire
requires to be properly inflated. (This number is also
expressed in kilopascals (kPa) which is a metric measur-
ing system used internationally).
Vehicle manufacturers determine this number based on
the vehicle’s design load limit, which is the greatest
amount of weight a vehicle can safely carry, and the
vehicle’s tire size. The proper tire pressure for your
vehicle is referred to as the ‘recommended cold inflation
pressure’. Tire pressure should always be measured
when the tire is cold to get an accurate measurement. A
cold tire is one that hasn’t been driven on for at least
IDENTIFICATION AND SAFETY
15
