Altitude, temperature and tire pressure questions
We just returned from several weeks in the Colorado Rockies. We were at 8,500 ft. elevation and our home is at 3,366 ft. The air temperature when we left early in the morning was upper 40's and before we got home we saw 101 degrees. I know, not very smart to go home, but that another story.
Our trailer has 'H' rated tires with a reccommended inflation of 125 psi. I know it says 'cold' pressure, but I am always asking myself 'Does that mean 40 degree cold, or 80 degree cold'. I personally like to leave a little margin for increased pressure created by the tire heating up. When we started out the tires were reading 110 to 112 psi and I left them that way because it was in the upper 40's. Just before we got home and needing to take a break, with the temperature at 101 and an elevation of 4,030 ft. I pulled over and did a quick check of tire pressure and tire temperature with a laser thermometer. The trailer tires were all reading about 130 psi and the trailer tire temperature was between 160 and 148 degrees. I am thinking if I had started out with the reccommended 125 psi, then they would be 145 psi in the heat. That kind of pressure is out of my comfort zone, and the pressure increase would have been greater than that if we were going the other way up to the high alltitude. Just wondering what you guys think about tire pressure (and temperature) increases that we all get on a hot day. Your Thoughts?
Our trailer has 'H' rated tires with a reccommended inflation of 125 psi. I know it says 'cold' pressure, but I am always asking myself 'Does that mean 40 degree cold, or 80 degree cold'. I personally like to leave a little margin for increased pressure created by the tire heating up. When we started out the tires were reading 110 to 112 psi and I left them that way because it was in the upper 40's. Just before we got home and needing to take a break, with the temperature at 101 and an elevation of 4,030 ft. I pulled over and did a quick check of tire pressure and tire temperature with a laser thermometer. The trailer tires were all reading about 130 psi and the trailer tire temperature was between 160 and 148 degrees. I am thinking if I had started out with the reccommended 125 psi, then they would be 145 psi in the heat. That kind of pressure is out of my comfort zone, and the pressure increase would have been greater than that if we were going the other way up to the high alltitude. Just wondering what you guys think about tire pressure (and temperature) increases that we all get on a hot day. Your Thoughts?
