Trailer Tire Facts

sailorand

Past British Columbia Chapter Leader
Tim Very interesting stuff. Does anyone know what temerature would be dangerous for the tire. Also tread temperature. I have the use of an infered temerature gauge for a couple of weeks for our next trip.
I will take the temps at rest all stops to see what they are.
While at the rv ralley I will ask Goodyear amd Michellen about temperatures.
Rand
 

WesternNC

Member
I have one as well. We will be heading out to the Outer Banks on the 28th of this month. About a 7 1/2 hour trip for us. I will check the temp of the tires each time we stop as well. We usally stop about every 150 to 200 miles. I will let you know what kind of readings I get.
 

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
I agree, interesting article. There were a couple of areas in question tho. One being temperature. How hot can a tire be before it's too hot? The other is inflation pressure. I know the experts say inflate to max pressure indicated on the sidewall cold. I have Loadstars on my 3400 and molded right into the tire next to inflation pressure is a statement saying to inflate to the trailer manufacturers specifications? Who do we believe, the tire manufacturer or the expert tire sales person??? I've been running mine at Heartlands recommendation. I check tire temps every time I stop and yes they are warm but not Hot. Depending on the road surface and weather it's blacktop or concrete, the temperature varies a bit. Until these China bombs wear out or blow up, whichever comes first, I'll use Heartlands pressure recommendation. When I replace them, I'll move up to Goodyear's or Michelin's and get "G" rated tires. That's my story and I'm stickin to it. Time for a beer.
 

davebennington

Senior Member
checking tire heat

I check the tire heat with an infrared temp reader every rest stop about every 2 to 3 hours. So far the reading on the truck tire are from 113 to 125, and the trailer tires are 105 to 128 all dependant upon the air temp. So far no problems

Dave
 

DougLynne

retired Alberta Chapter Leaders
I agree with Ray, I was just in to get my spare replaced and asked about tire pressure. The technician said to inflate to Heartlands specification not what it says on the tire. My originals all say 90 on the tire and the new spare says 80. As well, tire llife is between 5K and 12K, that sounds hocky as my initial run to the rally and back home was 5K, sounds like I should change them already (chinese bombs aside). I assume that means the average RV'er doing shorter trips over more years. Lot's of good info though.../Doug
 

sidney dreyfus

Well-known member
proper tire pressure

So what's the right tire pressure? Heartlands recommendation on the side of the rv or the max recommended tire pressure on the side of the tire? There's a big difference between the two. 80 lbs on trailer and 110lbs on tire.
 

Pulltab

Well-known member
sidney dreyfus said:
So what's the right tire pressure? Heartlands recommendation on the side of the rv or the max recommended tire pressure on the side of the tire? There's a big difference between the two. 80 lbs on trailer and 110lbs on tire.

Obviously knowing the corner weights of your rv is the best thing, barring that using the max pressure on the TIRE would be my recommendation. Whats to say the right tire is on the rv you have? Trust the tire manufacturer on this one I say.
 

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
sidney dreyfus said:
So what's the right tire pressure? Heartlands recommendation on the side of the rv or the max recommended tire pressure on the side of the tire? There's a big difference between the two. 80 lbs on trailer and 110lbs on tire.
Sidney. I'm guessing here but if you have a 3670 which I believe has a gvwr of 16K then your "G" rated tires should be in the area of 110 psi. If your Manufacturers label says 80psi, i think your label may be incorrect. I had read a thread a while back on the forum where a 3600 series trailer had the same problem of an incorrect label. Check with your dealer and or the factory. There are mixed feelings regarding the correct air pressure. Some experts say to use the max reccommended pressure from the tire and some say to use the manufacturers label. I don't know who is right. I use the mfr label. Just my choice.:confused:
 

sidney dreyfus

Well-known member
tire pressure

your right Ray. The tire say's for a dual tire situation use 110 pounds. Heartland as you know recommends 80 pounds cold. For no scientific reason I'm going to use 100 pounds for the time being.
 

fishn2dmax

Well-known member
It never ceases to amaze me that every time we take our vehicles into the dealer for normal oil changes and the like. They open the drivers door , look at the "recommended" OEM tire air pressures and proceed to set all my tires to the Manufactuers recommended tire pressure. So you say, what is wrong with that....? Simply they have created a safety hazard by not reading the actual NON-OEM tires recommended air pressues. I find myself leaving the dealership at 35 psi, when my tires clearly state 50 PSI minimum. If you read the warranty on any tire, you MUST operate the tire within the Manufacter specifications!

Heartland doesn't supply the same exact brand and tire on all their coaches that come off the line. In fact, walking around my local dealer, I noted 4 different makes of tires on the same exact models. Heartland simply makes a generic tire PSI recommendation based on the tire load range requirements of each coach (based on weight) and not the individual tire manufactures recommendations.

The Key to proper tire inflation is to know the weights on the tires. Once you know the operating weight, then read the actual tire recommendations and tire weight ratings. If your loaded coach is close to or near the combined weight rating of all the tires, then you will need to be inflated at or near the max PSI rating of the tire, regardless of what Heartland recommendations indicate.
 

ct0218

Well-known member
According to Goodyear, a load range G tire will support 3750 lbs per tire at 110 PSI, but only 3042 lbs at 80 PSI. That is the same as a LR E tire at 80 PSI max pressure. So, it depends on your load. These charts are the 3 original posts in the Landmark section, in tires, back at the beginning.
 

snuffy

Well-known member
As Clark pointed out, inflation rates are related to the loads they are carrying. I usually always inflate my tires to near maximum pressures listed on the tire. I've never seen a minimum psi listed before.
 
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