Tire Inflation Questions

downtheroad, Personally I don't see a big hassle to spend an extra $10 and 5 minutes of time after fueling up at a truck stop while on a trip and therefore loaded for travel to get a CAT scale weight, how else would you know if you are overloaded and exceeding your GVWR?

Exactly what is the tire size? What does the door sticker say?

Air shocks? I think you would do better with air bags or helper springs or a new spring pack if the suspension seems to be sagging.

Ideally what Isaac-1 posted above is correct....but way too much hassle and realistically not possible on a day to day basis....

thus...again, keep it simple and air them to the max and get on down the road.

You should inflate your tire to the recomended pressure for your loaded weight, this is best done with 4 corner weighing, though if that is not available many people use axle weights from CAT scales at truck stops (the charge to get a CAT scale weight is about $10), also many agricultural fertilizer, landscaping, etc. places will let you weigh for free, or nearly free if for non-commercial use.

Here is the Michelin inflation chart
http://www.rvtirepressure.com/assets/images/extrapages/michelin_rv_load_inflation.pdf
http://www.rvtirepressure.com/assets/images/extrapages/michelin_rv_load_inflation.pdf

p.s. I disagree with the above advice, often the maximum sidewall pressure will result in a tire wearing abnormally as it is much higher not only than the actual pressure needed for the load, but also often well above the GAWR (Gross Axle Weight Rating) for the RV. For example my coach has a 6,000 pound GAWR for the front axle, and loaded down my coach is close to the GAWR therefore based on the chart I linked above I keep them at 80 psi which is 5 psi (safety margin)over the minimum for a 6,000 pound load for my size tires. If I were to run max pressure of 95 psi, this would give me nearly 7,300 pounds of carrying capacity, which is well over my 6,000 pound axle rating, but it would also cause a harsh ride, and the middle of the tires would wear out faster than the edges.

GizmosMom wrote:

So our question is: If we go lower will we do any damage to our tires?

Yes, there are 280 tire discussion pages....it's always been an 'interesting' discussion here on the Forum...

If you lower the air pressure, you are also lowering the capacity of your tires to carry the weight of your rig (payload). The lower you air them the more they will heat up. Heat is the tire killer. Too low and yes you can certainly damage your tires...

Some weigh their rigs trip read and loaded and air their tires accordingly. I keep it simple and air mine to the maximum as stamped on the sidewall....thus I get the maximum carrying capacity for my tires...

confused now????

Get your rig weighed, and go by the tire cos recommendation. 80 sounds about right for a C.