Why check temp on tires? Really necessary?

Haven't needed one in 43 years of driving. Just a toy. you want one, get one. You don't? Then don't

robsouth wrote:
Never used one. Never seen anyone use one. Only place I ever heard it mentioned is on these forums.

Same here.
All these gadgets that keep piling up and keep making RV'ing more complicated than it needs to be.

Sometimes I walk around when we stop..visually check the hitch and put my hand against each tire to feel the temp.
I mostly do this to impress the 'real' long haul truck drivers at the rest stop.

As I walk around at a stop or gas I just touch the tires and hubs to see if they are all an even temp. If one is hotter than the other 4 then something is up. I would rather fix it in a cg or home than the side if the road. I have replaced tires and magnets because of this and continued on my trips with a minor inconveince

I check tires and bearings but not every stop. Usually once per 500 miles. When I was pulling my fiver with auto behind I checked all tires and trailer bearings. Never had to worry about truck bearings.

I check our hubs, rotors? and tires on both the truck and trailer every time we stop. When I had my F350 I had a really high temp on my front driver side rotor, turned out my caliper was sticking and had to be replaced. Luckily we stopped close to home for fuel so we were able to drop the fiver take the truck home and repair it. Couple of hours later back on road and no further issues. Would have sucked if I had not found this out until hours into the trip. Good cheap insurance.

Halmfamily wrote:
I check our hubs, rotors? and tires on both the truck and trailer every time we stop. When I had my F350 I had a really high temp on my front driver side rotor, turned out my caliper was sticking and had to be replaced. Luckily we stopped close to home for fuel so we were able to drop the fiver take the truck home and repair it. Couple of hours later back on road and no further issues. Would have sucked if I had not found this out until hours into the trip. Good cheap insurance.

Found same problem on a rear wheel of TV just over weeks ago, 3days before our 11 day, 900 mile trip.

I agree, MUCH better to find and fix before getting far from home!

Just touch the hub and center wheel area with back of hand for excessive heat.

BTW, for anyone reading this...NEVER NEVER NEVER touch any of your brake components, such as rotor, when you have just driven a vehicle or you'll be smelling bacon for a while!

Bottom !ine? As others have said, you are looking to find any problems before they become an immediate pull the heck over and toast your trip disaster.

I have an IR gun and as a crew chief for many car teams I have checked more tire temps than anybody on this forum.

Do I check them while on vacation? Nope. Never once, and I have a gun. A real nice gun.

I don't check my truck hubs for heat so why do I need to check my trailer hubs? I make sure my bearing are good to go and I do just that........go. In 35 years of towing I have never had a bearing problem.

I'm on vacation to be on vacation not gun tires like I'm at the track.

I'm convinced my infrared thermometer saved me a blow out along the road. I did have to change a tire on a sweltering Florida day, but at least it was in a rest area and not along I-95.

A few years ago with the TT, we made a stop just into FL and one tire was hotter than the rest. Upon closer inspection, the tread was out of round. Instead of being flat across the tread, it was donut shaped. I'm not sure just a visual would have caught it. We may have limped into Disney, but with the summer heat, I decided to change it.

If your tires are running hot it HAS to be one of three reasons. Low air pressure or overloading tires or driving too bast. Eliminate those issues and there is no need to check temps because there is nothing else you can do other than drive only at night.

I've heard people say over and over "It just broke down with no warning!" Actually, most of these people were warned, they just didn't listen and respond when their vehicle was just beginning to break down. I don't have a lot of money these days, but I felt that $299 for a set of remote pressure/temperature monitors for my tires was excellent insurance against a catastrophic tire failure.