Hot Tires

[TomW]

Originally Posted by gotair2

... pressures should not be juged on a cold tire either check it after about an hour and adjust ...

I do not believe that is correct. Tire pressure, as set to the pressure indicated on the sidewall, should be gauged before the tire has heated up.

I would welcome other opinions.

Tom

[gotair]

just old school lern'n from back in the day when I was taught inflat a cold tire to 45 and couple hours later that tire measures 60 or even 65 with elevation ... remember you can sure tell I ain't never been took no where ner taut noth'in shucks... sorrry

[gotair]

just a reminder opinions are like noses... everyone has one right? ...I guess you could go by what I said rather than your interpritation of what I said ... "cold" don't trust a "cold" temp.. man I wasn't trying to get the guy killed or something ... it's 42 degrees at 4:15 am and it's 85 degrees at 9:15am and 400 miles later that tire is going to be at a different pressure how about that... is it safe or reasonable to assume that statement is true ? this is my opinion...inflat them to what you feel is safe and reasonable according to your tire ; rim ; and weight .... then check again every 3 or 4 hours and adjust as necessary.... but that's just my thing but you should do what makes you feel safe ..I sincerly hope you have many fun and safe trips this season...
Dan....

[Pick]

I believe that most tire pressures stamped on tires that I have observed say "(Insert your tires pressure here) PSI Max Cold" or something to that effect.

[basecamp]

Check any tire manufacturers recommendation and they will say to adjust the tire pressure when the tires are cold(before use). Tires are rated to carry their max weight at the sidewall max pressure when cold. Yes the tire pressure increases as the tires heat up, this is expected, and yes tires will heat up a lot more if they are under inflated and carrying a heavy load. You may be asking for trouble if you back off the tire preassure to the sidewall rating when the tire is hot. Check the manufacturers web site...

[john hd]

i hate to throw a box of nails into this disscussion about tires, BUT, the only tire pressure you should use is the one the manufacurer of the vehicle reccomends.

for your tow vehicle it is stamped on the sticker on the drivers door.

for your trailer it is listed in the owners manual.

Example: my chevy silverado uses 55 psi front, 80 psi rear cold. my excella manual calls for 50 psi cold.

remember, the inflation marked on the tires is the MAXIMUM, not the "recommended" pressure.

if i inflated my tires on the excella to the maximum i don't think i could keep the dishes in the cupboards!

john

[dmac]

All the literature that I have read over the years says to check/set tire pressures when cold... before driving more than a couple miles. Per the 2003 Airstream Safari/Bambi owners manual:

"Check the pressure in your tires, including your spare, at least monthly when the tires are cool (after the vehicle has stopped three hours and then driven less than one mile.) Do not reduce pressure when tires are hot. Use a tire gauge to check pressure and maintain it at the recommended level."

and

"To get the maximum performance from your tires check the air pressure often, but only when the tires are cool. Never bleed out air immediately after driving."

I agree that you should use the pressure recommended by the vehicle manufacturer. In the case of my Airstream the trailer manual says to inflate to 65 psi, and the sidewall of the tires says max pressure 65 psi - the same.

[Leipper]

"One way to make sure you have the proper pressure is to check them before you start on a ride on a day without any extreme weather. Then check the pressure twenty miles or so down the road. If the pressure in the tire has gone up more than ten percent or so, you didn't get enough air into them in the first place (heat makes the pressure rise more than it should). So add air if the pressure after twenty miles or so goes up more than ten percent. If you have an infra-red non contact thermometer (Radio Shack or some tool places for under $50) you can check tire temperature as another indicator of proper pressure. The tire temperature shouldn't get more than thirty degrees or so above ambient air temperature."
http://sierranevadaairstreams.org/ow...ing/tires.html

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by TomW

I do not believe that is correct. Tire pressure, as set to the pressure indicated on the sidewall, should be gauged before the tire has heated up.

I would welcome other opinions.

Tom

Tire pressure should be checked and adjusted when the tires are COLD. A tire is considered cold when it has sat overnight and has been driven less than a mile since it has sat overnight. Checking/ adjusting pressures when tires are warm or hot will result in an underinflated condition, cause more heat to be generated in the sidewall from flexing, and will cause more "roll" (sway) in the trailer or tow vehicle.
Also, if a tire is marked with a maximum inflation pressure of 65 psi, and the wheel is marked with a maximum inflation of 45 psi, do not inflate the tire over 45 psi cold.
The tires on my van have a max inflation of 44 psi, but the wheels say 35, I run 35 psi in my tires. I don't want the wheel coming apart.

[basecamp]

Tire manufacturer knows best. I now have D rated tires on my 96 Excella, they came with C rated back then and yes I believe the side of my trailer says 50lbs. I run between 60 and 65 cold on the D rated Marathons, my dishes are still intact, at least the paper ones.

[Cracker]

IMHO, if I inflated the rear duals on my truck to the 80 psi indicated on the door sticker I might just as well fill them with concrete. Weigh first, and inflate accordingly - but per Goodyear's recommendations for my particular tires, I don't run with less than 45 psi in the tires under any load. Accordingly, I inflate the duals to 55 psi and it makes a world of difference in the ride. At that pressure, and when running unloaded, the rear axle capacity still has a safety factor in excess of 100%. I inflate the duals to 60 psi for my fully loaded condition - and I generally keep the front tires at 65 psi (vs GM's 70 psi) all the time. If you're towing a maximum pin weight 5th-wheel, GM's 80 psi is probably about right for the duals. My tread wear, at 31,000 miles is just about perfect for the duals. I wish I could say the same for the front tires on the truck, however they're experiencing a tread wear pattern that I understand is problematic with aggressive tread designs. The individual knobs of the tread, somewhat uniformly across the tire, have this "sloped" face, with the slope going down towards the front of the truck when looking at the top of the tire. The left and right tire both display the same wear. I have plenty of tread left, but I'm debating on whether to switch the front tires from side to side before my next long trip? I've rotated all 7 tires twice - so far - but, at this point, I'll no longer rotate the entire set. Even though the truck is 4wd, my next set of tires will be more along the line of a less aggressive tread.

[gotair]

"LEGAL DISCLAIMER" Any statements made previously re: tire maintenance should be
considered conversation. Not endorsed by any tire manufactures or trailer manufactures. You should always refer to your owners manuel.
GEE WHIZ!! We sure got off the topic of hot tires!

[Cracker]

gotair2:

I went back and inserted a "IMHO" in front of my preceding entry to comply with your 'LEGAL DISCLAIMER" comment (HaHa!) but if the day comes when we can be taken to task for discussing our hobbies with other enthusiasts, and telling about how we have resolved issues we've faced, it'll be a sad day indeed! I would never apply informaton I've gained through Forum topics, without first making a decision that to do so makes good sense to me personally. That said, if the information I relied upon proves to be in error, I have no one to blame but myself. I certainly hope we haven't abandoned all personal responsibility for what we do!

On the other hand, if a particular entity's (i.e. - Goodyear, Airstream, etc.) l representative provides information to me, while specifically acknowleging that he represents that entity, I might be inclined to raise pure bloody h--- if the use of that information results in any loss or suffering on my part! That's generally why so many manufacturers or companies refuse to answer questions we might propose to them - and why lawyers make so much money defending them when they do!

Your comment brought up an interesting side topic that should probably be pursued in another thread. I apologize for my departure from the current thread topic.

[john hd]

yeah what he said.....

my point on this is, instead of just inflating tires to carry maximum load why not follow the vehicle manufacturers reccomended specs?

after all, they have all those engineers that figure these things out for us who are not.

unless of course, you work for ford and like underinflated firestones to make the ride nice and cushy for soccer moms!

back to the original point of the thread, warm tires on the front axle. trailer too low in the nose? the obvious conclusion is that one axle is carrying the majority of the trailers weight.

john