Normal and Maximum Tire Tread Temps?

I once rented a tandem axel trailer to haul a 3000# + farm tractor. After driving many miles I checked the tires with my radiant temperature tester. One tire was 30* hotel than the other 3, and I found it was 30 lb. lower than the other 3.

Tire pressure is more important temperature for normal operation. Also it is important to remember that setting pressure in trailer application is very different than in Motorhome or other motorized vehicle operation.

For Motorhomes you need to know the actual loads on each end of each axle. Very few RVs are balanced side to side at 50/50. Some can be 1,000 off balance.
Once you know the heavier end use that weight to learn the MINIMUM inflation for the tires on that axle. To avoid the need to chase your tail every day as normal ambient temperature changes result in tire pressure changes it is suggested you use a +10% above the MINIMUM as your Cold Inflation set pressure. All tires on an axle should run the same cold inflation pressure.
With a good TPMS you will see your pressure go up and down a couple of psi but with the 10% cushion you don't have to worry about adding 1 or 2 psi every few days. As you monitor your pressure over the weeks of travel you will eventually see you have dropped about 5% so it is then time to top off the tire pressure to get back to your 10% number.

RE temperature
The earlier post about needing a needle probe to get meaningful tire temperatures is correct. Bearing and brake problems that generate heat will get the wheel hot before the tire. Rubber is a good insulator so doesn't transmit heat as well as metal objects. A metal valve stem will get warm from the wheel heat and this will probably trigger the TPMS high temperature warning which is normally set at about 158F in many TPMS.

Effy wrote:
What type of tires? I agree that temps seem a little on the high side, but I guess it really comes down to which tires you have.

I have only seen mine get near 120 but I am on a gasser with a lot less weight.

Agreed Iam on a 40ft DP and I never see tire temps at 135 and even hardly at 120 in warm southern ca winter weather 29580225 tires size
95 rear and 115 front

Not only will running the max pressure on the sidewall make the RV ride like a brick, it can also have a huge detrimental effect on handling. There's a reason the the text reads "maximum" rather than "correct" or "recommended", just as there is a reason that manufacturers publish inflation/weight tables.

I drove my Class C for 15 years as a white knuckle, E-ticket ride; it was not fun at highway speeds, and I had to have 2 hands on the wheel and be paying constant attention with constant corrections. Alignments, shocks, sway bars made very little improvement. I was running all 6 tires at 70lbs, which was actually 10 lbs below the max listed on the sidewall. Then, for "grins & giggles", I had the rig weighed, and based on the axle weights, I was overinflated. I dropped the rears to 60lbs, and dropped the fronts to 45lbs, both according to the charts, and the difference in handling was immediate and dramatic. The coach drove like a whole new rig, and I could actually relax, drive with one hand, AND even eat fast food while driving! My only regret is that I waited 15 years to do it, thinking like many here suggest, that the max pressure (or close) was the safest and the best way to go. Wrong.

My new (to me) class A, with new tires installed by the dealer, is running 90psi all the way around, although the sticker in the door recommends 90psi front / 80psi rear. It is slightly squirrely at freeway speeds. I am, without a doubt, going to weigh it and adjust tire pressures accordingly.

BTW, back to the OP's initial question; I too take quick temp gun readings on my tires at stops, as an added way to catch a problem before it gets worse. They generally run about 120-130 degrees (summer, desert driving), slightly hotter on the inner duals than the outer, and slightly hotter on the left side than the right.

You guys certainly don't have to do anything that you don't want to do.

If the tire pressures are all showing good but you have a dragging caliper, that tire could be smoking hot (or soon will be).

Taking the temps is just a safety measure to find a problem before it happens. I would certainly want to know of a potential problem before I'm dead stopped on the side of the road.

It's all up to you.

Safe travels,
MM.

dougrainer wrote:
From another Forum (2010). Doug

I forwarded this thread to my contact at Michelin. Here is the response:

A tire in operation will heat up until it reaches its equilibrium temperature where the heat being generated equals the heat being dissipated.

The temperature of the tire will increase with an increase in ambient temperature. There is nothing to worry about in the ranges stated, if the temperature gets above 250 degrees F then I would be concerned !

Very interesting post Doug! I run 22.5 Michelin XRV tires my manual says to run at 75 lbs. psi on the rear axle. I found that I was getting rear tire squirm at this PSI. I experimented from that point on changing tire pressures every time I went out on a RV trip. I settled on 100 lbs psi all around worked for me best. I've been running at this lbs. psi for over 12 years now with success and I'm currently on my second set of tires all around. 10-42, I found your post very interesting also I had no idea tire pressure increased to those amounts!

tatest wrote:
Tire tread temperatures will be somewhat above road surface temperatures, which might well be 140F or higher on asphalt in summer sunshine. Or they could be barely warm to the touch, running at highway speeds on road surfaces barely above freezing. Anything from 100F to 190F is "normal" for street tires with DOT temperature ratings (A to C).

Ideally, you want to be in a 110-140F range, but if you are running on hot surfaces in hot weather, temperatures will be higher. They can be lowered by slowing down, and managed by inflating for load so that temperature is uniform across the width of the tread.

Colder tires will have less than optimum traction (thus winter tires get quite different tread compounds).

Critical temperatures for tire failure can't be read at the tread surface. Point of failure for temperature is at the interface between the tread rubber and the belt, which has to be measured with a needle-type pyrometer. Nobody does this unless they are trying to optimize tire temperatures in competitive motorsports, a whole different issue from "are my tires running hot enough to fail?"

But surface measurements are still useful as a clue to what is going on deeper in the tire. Surface temperatures 240-260F and higher suggest temperatures high enough for tread separation, and temperatures get that high usually from mismanaging the balance of inflation, load, and running speed.

In the absence of structural defects and damage over the life of the tire, most tread separations are the result of pushing temperatures too high by running too fast for load/inflation balance and ambient conditions. Note that you seldom see tire "gators" on the highway in winter weather, nor do you often see them on highways where travel speeds are in the 40-60 mph range.

For measuring tire temperatures on a motorhome (or a car or truck you are driving, if you bother), what you are looking for is imbalance. If one tire is running a lot hotter than the others, that one has a problem. Most often, it is deflating. A deflating (or deflated) tire on a dual wheel will also somewhat warm up its partner, which is picking up extra load.

FWIW, since losing two (minivan) tires to tread bubbles on one summer trip in the late 1990s, limping on Sunday to a town with a tire dealer, and waiting for him to open on Monday, I've gotten into the habit of at least casually checking the tire temperatures of every vehicle I've been driving or riding in, at every stop, for temperatures being even and not exceptionally hot. This even though all my own vehicles now have DOT-mandated tire pressure monitoring, which usually has pressure variance standards looser than my own.

Most excellent information! Thanks!!!

Tire tread temperatures will be somewhat above road surface temperatures, which might well be 140F or higher on asphalt in summer sunshine. Or they could be barely warm to the touch, running at highway speeds on road surfaces barely above freezing. Anything from 100F to 190F is "normal" for street tires with DOT temperature ratings (A to C).

Ideally, you want to be in a 110-140F range, but if you are running on hot surfaces in hot weather, temperatures will be higher. They can be lowered by slowing down, and managed by inflating for load so that temperature is uniform across the width of the tread.

Colder tires will have less than optimum traction (thus winter tires get quite different tread compounds).

Critical temperatures for tire failure can't be read at the tread surface. Point of failure for temperature is at the interface between the tread rubber and the belt, which has to be measured with a needle-type pyrometer. Nobody does this unless they are trying to optimize tire temperatures in competitive motorsports, a whole different issue from "are my tires running hot enough to fail?"

But surface measurements are still useful as a clue to what is going on deeper in the tire. Surface temperatures 240-260F and higher suggest temperatures high enough for tread separation, and temperatures get that high usually from mismanaging the balance of inflation, load, and running speed.

In the absence of structural defects and damage over the life of the tire, most tread separations are the result of pushing temperatures too high by running too fast for load/inflation balance and ambient conditions. Note that you seldom see tire "gators" on the highway in winter weather, nor do you often see them on highways where travel speeds are in the 40-60 mph range.

For measuring tire temperatures on a motorhome (or a car or truck you are driving, if you bother), what you are looking for is imbalance. If one tire is running a lot hotter than the others, that one has a problem. Most often, it is deflating. A deflating (or deflated) tire on a dual wheel will also somewhat warm up its partner, which is picking up extra load.

FWIW, since losing two (minivan) tires to tread bubbles on one summer trip in the late 1990s, limping on Sunday to a town with a tire dealer, and waiting for him to open on Monday, I've gotten into the habit of at least casually checking the tire temperatures of every vehicle I've been driving or riding in, at every stop, for temperatures being even and not exceptionally hot. This even though all my own vehicles now have DOT-mandated tire pressure monitoring, which usually has pressure variance standards looser than my own.

Even the tire manufactures recommend to inflate the tires to the appropriate PSI for the load you are carry. Thats why they provide a chart for your determine you PSI or at least Michelin does.

Even my RV manufacture has a PSI listed under the Max PSI for the tire.

This provides a better ride quality. Monitoring temps can indicate a problem and blowing a tire on a 30,000lb Coach at 70mph is no fun.

For the OP my temps run in the 115 to 120 degree range on 22.5 inch tires.

downtheroad wrote:
Inflate to the max and get on down the road.......

You can do that, if you don't mind the hard ride.