Tire pressures while travelling

Peteandsharon · Sep 21, 2012

He Guys, My bighorn has load range E tires which, of course, have a maximum weight bearing capacity at 80 PSI. For those of you that monitor your tire pressure regularly, do you tow at that maximum pressure? In other words, should I be travelling with all four tires at 80 PSI. I keep the tires in the truck close to 80 PSI while towing and I usually do the same with the trailer tires. Am I doing right?Thanks,Pete

GOTTOYS · Sep 21, 2012

I max out my trailer tires at 80 PSI cold. My front truck tires are set at 60PSI per the mfg. recommendation for heavy or light loads, they use the same pressure. I set the rear of my truck at just under the max of 80 PSI. Works great and has a nice ride...Don

Birchwood · Sep 22, 2012

I tow the Landmark with 110 psi ( G rated) and the dually with 60 psi in front and 80 psi in the 4 rear tires.
Some people say the max tire pressure on trailer should be used only if your trailer is close to its max GVWR.
Also if tires are max inflated and not required the trailer suspension takes more abuse.
Many different ideas on this topic.

donr827 · Sep 22, 2012

Unless you know how much weight is on each tire of the trailer I would go with 80 psi in all trailer tires.
Don

Ray LeTourneau · Sep 22, 2012

I agree with Don! Especially if you are still running Chinese made tires and remember to check frequently for bubbles inside and outside on the sidewalls. I also check the tire temps with my hand at every fuel or potty stop to make sure none of them are hotter than the others.

scottyb · Sep 22, 2012

Since I am running at or near capacity, I run mine at 80 psi cold. I have the 507 TPMS, which shows the tire temps and pressure. It is amazing to see what the pressure does as the temperature goes up. On Labor day, in 104 degrees, the tire temps were up to 110 - 112, and the pressure as high as 90 psi.

jnbhobe · Sep 22, 2012

Peteandsharon said:
He Guys, My bighorn has load range E tires which, of course, have a maximum weight bearing capacity at 80 PSI. For those of you that monitor your tire pressure regularly, do you tow at that maximum pressure? In other words, should I be travelling with all four tires at 80 PSI. I keep the tires in the truck close to 80 PSI while towing and I usually do the same with the trailer tires. Am I doing right?Thanks,Pete

Run the tires where you are now just don;t be adjusting them all the time. If you set them at 70* today and its 50* tomorrow just leave them alone they change a lot by the tempeture.

noobee · Sep 22, 2012

jnbhobe said:
Run the tires where you are now just don;t be adjusting them all the time. If you set them at 70* today and its 50* tomorrow just leave them alone they change a lot by the tempeture.

I think that this is bad advice.
As others have said: set them at 80psi cold. They will increase in temperature as you drive but do not change the setting. If the tires get too hot, stop for awhile until they cool down.

sjs731 · Sep 22, 2012

+1 for GOTTOYS response.

Steve
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Peteandsharon · Sep 22, 2012

Thanks guys for the good responses. I have always run my rear truck tires at 80 psi while towing. The fronts are at about 70. I have always maxed out the trailer tires at 80 also but just started thinking about this yesterday. Wondering if that is what others were doing. Good to know that most of us do a similar thing. By the way, no Chinese tires here anymore. Brand new Maxxis on the trailer and brand new Michelin M/S 2's on the truck.

jnbhobe · Sep 22, 2012

noobee said:
I think that this is bad advice.
As others have said: set them at 80psi cold. They will increase in temperature as you drive but do not change the setting. If the tires get too hot, stop for awhile until they cool down.

I'm talking about Tempetures * here not PSI. He's running 80 psi now and thats fine. If your tires get so hot you have to stop you have a real problem, TST's low# for heat is 157* so that gives you an idea of when a tire starts to get hot.

TravelTiger · Sep 22, 2012

Since we have 507 TST, hottest I've seen is 119*.

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Gaffer · Sep 22, 2012

Not sure but I heard that the cold pressure is correct when the ambiant temp is 70 degrees. If you put in 80# when it is 50 degrees outside, you will be over-inflatted when the day warms up to 70 or greater.

TedS · Sep 22, 2012

If you are at 80psi at 50F, you will be at 84 at 70F. That's not overpressure. Pressure changes about 2psi per 10F.

TeJay · Sep 27, 2012

You've gotten the best advice and you have been doing the correct thing. The pressure rating on the side of the tire is for that tire when it is bearing it's maximum weight. Since most of us don't really know exactly how much weight we are asking each tire to bear from trip to trip and since we are probably at or close to the maximum it's best to travel with the tires at their maximum pressure. It won't hurt the tire to do that but if you travel with the tire significantly under the maximum it will hurt the tire. Under inflation will increase the rolling friction and heat. As mentioned and determined by Michelin tire Company 157 degrees is the temperature most TPMS are set to turn on the high temp alarm. That's the approximate temperature when tire damage due to heat begins to occur.
HAPPY & SAFE TRAVELING !!!!!
TeJay

PUG · Sep 27, 2012

You should run the max pressure as stated on the tire sidewall inflated when cold (prior to driving) ps get a TPMS system.

ILH · Sep 27, 2012

A tire expert pointed out to me that constant and repeated checking of air pressure actually reduces the amount of air in the tires - and as long as you are confident that the starting pressure was correct, use a laser thermometer to check the tire's temperature. Any tire that has an elevated temp should be checked - otherwise if all tires are the same, you're fine. Check the pressures again before the return journey.

This technique is also good to spot bearings that are failing - or brakes that are binding (and thus overheating).

lwmcguir · Sep 27, 2012

ILH said:
A tire expert pointed out to me that constant and repeated checking of air pressure actually reduces the amount of air in the tires - and as long as you are confident that the starting pressure was correct, use a laser thermometer to check the tire's temperature. Any tire that has an elevated temp should be checked - otherwise if all tires are the same, you're fine. Check the pressures again before the return journey.

This technique is also good to spot bearings that are failing - or brakes that are binding (and thus overheating).

You are right on. We run many trailers/trucks and it would be a night mare trying to check tires all the time. Looks low or runs warm then it gets checked.

Tire pressures while travelling

Peteandsharon

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GOTTOYS

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Birchwood

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donr827

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Ray LeTourneau

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