servicing RV tires with nitrogen

WRIGHT ll

retired Oklahoma Chapter Leaders
The other day I was down to the Dodge Dealer and was eyeballing a new apparatus there. It is a "machine" for servicing vehicle tires with nitrogen. I talked to the service people and they gave me a brochure to read and told me it would cost about $50 to service all four tires. It appears that the advantage of nitrogen over air pressure is that the nitrogen doesn't escape through the side walls of tires like air does.:cool: Has any body done this to their RV tires? So, other than having a tire failure one wouldn't need to monitor the pressure in their tires, or so it would seem. MY SIL tells me that the Costco in KC, KA only services new tire sales with nitrogen at no cost. I would consider it but I have no idea how I could get my rig into the lot to get access to the machine.:confused: :rolleyes: OP
 

DennisZ

Well-known member
All the tires you buy from Costco are filled with nitrogen. You can tell them by the green valve stem caps they use. Nitrogen molecules are larger than normal air molecules, so they are less apt to leak thru the same size opening. The other advantage of nitrogen is that is more temperature stable, meaning less pressure drop when it is cold, and less pressure gain when they heat.

Aircraft tires have been using nitrogen in them as long as I can remember (well over 35 years) without any adverse side effects, only good stuff.

Dennis
 

nhunter

Well-known member
I have it in my truck tires. You still need to check your tires as it can leak out through valve stems and bead.
 

Big G

Big G
The main advantage to the Nitrogen is it's dry, down in the ppm range (parts per million). Air always as some moisture which cause problems with the inner tire being damp, as well as when it gets hot it condenses. Airplanes use it because at the higher altitudes the moisture will freeze.
 

grizzlygiant

Well-known member
I have used a 78% mixture of nitrogen in my tires for 60 years and can attest to it's good performance. I cannot see any reason for changing.
 

Johnm

I wanna go camping - NOW
So, what happens when you need to add some "air" pressure while you're on the road, or at home before you go on that trip tomorrow morning? Do you add just plain air with your home air compresser, or do you drive, "under inflated", to the nearest tire store that has nitrogen?

I don't remember the mpg gain when using nitrogen vs air (because of proper tire inflation), but if I remember correctly, the numbers were quite small. It seems like a lot of hassle for the little gain that you get when all you need to do is just check your air psi durning your travels.

I hope I don't upset anyone with my view point.

Have a great Christmas!

PS: I just saw Gary's response ... I LOVE IT! I've been breathing that same mixtue for over 40 years now and it hasn't failed me either!
 

jpmorgan37

Well-known member
One of the biggest advantages to using Nitrogen is, as Big G stated, because it's dry. The moisture in the air has a lot higher expansion rate than the air, which is the reason that tire pressure increases so much. We used dry Nitrogen (< 10 ppm H2O) in our tires when we were racing and had much less pressure increase than with air. So when I see my tire pressure go up from 110 to 127 on a warm day, I feel reasonably sure the increase would be somewhat less with dry Nitrogen. That's my "for what it's worth".

John
 

crazybanshee

Well-known member
I run nitrogen in my trailer tires and I see the same pressure increases as with plain air at highway speeds. I use the pressure pro system which seems very accurate. Doug
 

cdbMidland

Past Michigan Chapter Leader
grizzlygiant said:
I have used a 78% mixture of nitrogen in my tires for 60 years and can attest to it's good performance. I cannot see any reason for changing.

I agree with grizzlygiant. Air is 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, about 1% argon and small amounts of argon, carbon dioxide and neon. Reference...
http://mistupid.com/chemistry/aircomp.htm

seems like a lot of trouble to run with 100% (or so) nitrogen.
 

fivernine

Active Member
Air/nitrogen/co2 tire charge

The only time moisture in the air will cause a serious problem is if it is introduced in large quantity as a liquid. The one time I had this happen was when a dealer didn't properly drain out condensation from the air compressor tank and shot about a cup of water into each tire. It causes a cycle of increasing vibration followed by smoothing out, then increasing again in about ten second repetitions. You can hook tire weights on until you run out of lead but never achieve balance.

The partial pressure of water vapor in a tire from normal atmospheric air will introduce almost unnoticable change in pressure with temperature under normal operating conditions unless it gets so cold that it condenses to a liquid or freezes in the tire. Normal running will quickly return this to the gaseous state in a few minutes unless temperatures are extremely low.

I use CO2 in my tires from a portable system that I built using 20 oz refillable CO2 bottles used for paint ball guns. I keep two bottles on hand in a small kit and refill each about twice a year at $5 per fill. CO2 is dry, but the real reason for using it is that it is convenient. CO2 typically stands at around 900 psi in liquid form at room temperature in the pressurized bottle and quickly raises the tire pressure in a tire charged to 80 psi--just zips it right up in a few seconds--fast compared to an electric pump. And no wires. There are some off-the-shelf units available such as these:
http://www.powertank.com/products/sfID1/18
but not cheap.

But to really stop the slow permeation through the wall of the tire of air/nitrogen/CO2 or whatever you charge with, the key is a tire lined internally with an inner film of butyl rubber as is used in Michelin tires (so I am told). My Michelins lose air so slowly that I seldom have to add charge pressure except when the air temperature is very cold and the pressure has fallen as a result. Then I have to dump some charge off in summer heat and replace it when it gets cold again. But that's about it with Michelins. I've had other tires so permeable that they would need air every time I took out the camper.
 

jmgratz

Original Owners Club Member
When I put the Goodyear 614s on my Landmark the owner of Dupree Tire in Lufkin Texas told me this about Nitrogen vs air. He races cars also. He said the tire dealers push Nitrogen because it makes them money. The equipment for Nitrogen ran him $10,000 and he cannot afford to give it away. He did say it was more stable but for my purposes it didnot matter one way or another. He also said if you need to add pressure you can top Nitrogen off with air, it just reduces the purity of the Nitrogen. Bottom line after talking to him is I use air. I carry a portable compressor with me and make the adjustments as necessary. Besides, it forces me to regularly check the tires for cracks, cuts etc. He did recommend an infra-red temperature guage, to check tire temps. I got one on sale at Radio Shack for $25.00. Every break I take I check tire and bearing temperatures. If one gets out of the normal, it is time to take a closer look. Hope this helps.
 

shovelguy

Well-known member
Good idea with the infra-red temp gauge, I've used one for years on street paving projects, but never even thought about using it on rv tires. But thats why I read the forum. So what are normal tire and bearing temps?

Dean
 

StevieWonder

Well-known member
Nitrogen's sole value is it is much more volume stable relative to temperature. In a word, the pressures won't change nearly as much with either increases or decreases in temperature.

I used nitrogen in my professional sportscar racing career as did all the other teams. In that environment, a change of 1psi can have substantial effects on handling. As the tires work harder, the pressures elevate when filled with air. The pressures also elevate with air, but at a much greater rate.

Soooooo, in the real world does it make that much difference and, secondly, is it worth the money?

My experience says no. Racecar tires heat up because they are made of very soft rubber compounds, are working HARD and are built with a very short lifecycle in mind. Trailer tires are very different. Most of the heat buildup associated with trailer tire failure is a function of underinflation. Even if you have N2 in your trailer tires, you are still vulnerable to failure if you run your tires underinflated.

Bottom line ... save money by buying a good tire gauge, checking your pressures regularly and purchasing at least an inexpensive 12V air compressor so you can air 'em up BEFORE you leave the camping site.
 
Top