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RV-Dreams.com Home -> RV-Dreams Community Forum -> RV Maintenance and Technical Tips -> Tire Pressure
Post Info TOPIC: Tire Pressure
vabucsfans


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Tire Pressure
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This is probably going to sound like a silly question, but we figured it's better to ask the experts now rather than be sorry we didn't ask at all :)

We just replaced all 4 tires on our 26' trailer as the ones that came on the trailer when we purchased it had way too much dry rot.   The service tech that replaced our tires said he put 35 lbs of air in each of the tires, and that that was the recommended amount for cold tires.   We put the tires on the trailer, and they appear low to us.   We understand that once the trailer is on the road, the pressure will build up a bit from the heat of the road.   The trailer has dual axles and the tires on the back axles appear a bit lower than those on the front axles.  We have stuff stored in our back "garage" area ... should we move some of that up to the front storage areas in an attempt to transfer some of the weight?   We're wondering if we shouldn't put in another few pounds of air.    Thanks for any and all suggestions.



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Cowdog353


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Hello,
With my limited knowledge , I would say to not exceed the cold temp rating on the tire. Yes, it's very important to balance the weight front to back as we'll as side to side. If in doubt be safe and weigh it out by the axle. Also, something to look at is your trailer running near level when "hooked up" to your tow vehicle. Make sure your load leveler bars are attached correctly. There are lots of folks here that are more knowledgable on this subject, but this may get you started. Be safe and enjoy your travels.
Jim

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Terry and Jo


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To add to Cowdog's comment, you might consider finding someone that can weigh your rig wheel-by-wheel.  That way, you will know the actual weight on each axle for front to rear "balance" and the actual weights for each side to achieve a good balance.

Terry



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MarkS


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The heat builds in under-inflated tires because the sidewalls flex creating heat. This will lead to blow outs in the sidewall.

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FastEagle


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vabucsfans wrote:

This is probably going to sound like a silly question, but we figured it's better to ask the experts now rather than be sorry we didn't ask at all :)

We just replaced all 4 tires on our 26' trailer as the ones that came on the trailer when we purchased it had way too much dry rot.   The service tech that replaced our tires said he put 35 lbs of air in each of the tires, and that that was the recommended amount for cold tires.   We put the tires on the trailer, and they appear low to us.   We understand that once the trailer is on the road, the pressure will build up a bit from the heat of the road.   The trailer has dual axles and the tires on the back axles appear a bit lower than those on the front axles.  We have stuff stored in our back "garage" area ... should we move some of that up to the front storage areas in an attempt to transfer some of the weight?   We're wondering if we shouldn't put in another few pounds of air.    Thanks for any and all suggestions.

 

 

Somewhere on the left forward external portion of your trailer there is supposed to be a federal certification label. On that label you will find the size of your Original Equipment (OE) tires and the vehicle manufacturers recommended (correct) tire pressures for them.

Another place to look is in the vehicle’s owner’s manual.

Logic dictates your trailer came from the factory with special trailer (ST) tires because there are just about zero tires of other designs available for fitment on your trailer’s axles. ST tires require full sidewall pressure.

Your tire tech has quoted you the correct pressure for a standard P-Metric (Passenger) tire. If you find that to be true you probably don’t have enough load capacity to safely support the trailer.

Doing a little homework is in order. See if you can find the certification label or tire placard. The size and design of your replacement tires is needed to determine why the tire tech quoted such a low air pressure.

For RV trailers, tires are fitted to the trailer’s certified GAWR.

As soon as you solve your tire problem you should take your fully loaded trailer to some scales and get it weighed. Here is a useful reference to copy and take to the scales with you.

 

http://www.trucktires.com/bridgestone/us_eng/press/zip/WeighForm.pdf

FastEagle


-- Edited by FastEagle on Monday 1st of July 2013 06:10:42 PM

Edit by moderator: Deleted excessive line breaks.  Terry



-- Edited by Terry and Jo on Monday 1st of July 2013 09:23:30 PM

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Howard


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For your trailer tires, let's make it easy.  Run the Maximum Pressure on the sidewall of the tires.  The Federal weight label will give you a recommended pressure, but it could be off depending on your load.  Unless you have way more tire (i.e. way more load capacity) than you need, which I highly doubt, run the maximum inflation pressure on the sidewall, but don't go over that.  Yes, the tires will heat up as will the pressure as you go down the road, but the tires are engineered to compensate for that.



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