Tire pressure before going south

[J_E]

I am curious what others do about air pressure in your fifth-wheel tires. If you set it at proper PSI in the north at 30 degrees and then end up in FL at 90 degrees, what effect will that have on the tire pressure?

[BarneyS]

NHIrish wrote:
Jadatis...it may be my security settings, but did the images come through?

No the images are not coming through. There is something wrong with the code. I went to the site linked via a moderator edit and got the message that the image could not be shown because of an error in the URL code.

Upload your pictures to this site and then just copy the resulting URL directly into your post without any modification.
Barney (moderator)

[NHIrish]

Jadatis...it may be my security settings, but did the images come through?

[jadatis]

Because people like lists, I made 2 .
it gives advice pressures from 5 to 155psi at 65 degr Fahrenheit.
And then from below freesing temp to to warm for driving about 60m/h.
Idea is that you measure the cold pressure of tires and determine the ambiënt temp at that moment.
Then look in one of the lists to see what this would be at 65 degr F.
This should be the adviced pressure by the tire maker or determined by calculation.
Then when driving about 60m/h the temp inside the tire rises aproximately 110-65= 45 degr F above anbiënt temp at that moment.
If so your pressure is not to low so tires wont get to hot so they damage.

When ambiënt temp is higher then 65 , the cold measured pressure ( when tenp inside tire= outside tire) you need higher pressure as given in the list for that ambiënt temp to give the tire a warm inside tire temp of about 45 degr F higher then that ambiënt temp.
The pressure your TMPS gives must be when driving at about 60m/h the pressure belonging to the temp warm.

Here the 2 lists



And for the lower pressures



EDIT
And again from the storing site nex poster Barney S gave.
Having problems myself too, one time I see the pictures, and an other time I dont, must be somenthing with the savety settings of the Onedrive of hotmail adress I store my pictures .

[NHIrish]

Sam Spade wrote:

NHIrish wrote:

I'd think that's fine too as long as you know your weights...but it sure isn't the normal scenario with travel trailers or fifth wheels.

I think this thread was about pull-behind cargo trailers, originally.

Nope...feel better now. (This thread was about fifth wheels.)

[NHIrish]

J&E wrote:
I am curious what others do about air pressure in your fifth-wheel tires. If you set it at proper PSI in the north at 30 degrees and then end up in FL at 90 degrees, what effect will that have on the tire pressure?

Sam spade...Nope.

[MNRon]

Back to what I believe the intent of the thread was.

I left MN in the morning a couple days ago at about 10deg out. Tires were aired to 60 steer, 80 drive, and 95 trailer. Pulled south to TX and thought about adjusting pressures down a little as morning temps have risen 30+ dregs, but I was lazy and waited until we've been in camp here a while today. With temps around 70 my tires were all 10-12psi high. Lowered them to ~2psi high and will check in morning where I expect I'll be happy with them for the duration of the "winter", if you can call it that here in TX.

[mileshuff]

General rule of thumb is 2% PSI change per 10F ambient temp change.

My tires are 80PSI cold. If I drive from Flagstaff, AZ where it is currently 30F to Phoenix where it is 55F the 25F difference will result in tires being about 4PSI higher once stabilized at the new temp.

[NC_Hauler]

J&E wrote:
I am curious what others do about air pressure in your fifth-wheel tires. If you set it at proper PSI in the north at 30 degrees and then end up in FL at 90 degrees, what effect will that have on the tire pressure?

OP stated putting air in fifth wheel tires. 5th. wheel? Wouldn't matter though, tire psi check recommendations would follow same guidelines, check air pressure in tires in the morning, "cold air" pressure check.

[Sam_Spade]

NHIrish wrote:

I'd think that's fine too as long as you know your weights...but it sure isn't the normal scenario with travel trailers or fifth wheels.

I think this thread was about pull-behind cargo trailers, originally.

[laknox]

Traveling in hot weather, as we usually do (even at 4-5 AM in AZ, it can be well > 90F in the summer), I'd rather have my tires at max pressure for more heat dissipation. Yes, I =may= lose a wee bit of contact patch...but I may =not=, as the tires will be hotter and more flexible, so will tend to have a better footprint. Now, traveling light, or in cooler weather, I have no problem dropping from 80 to 70 psi. I'm placarded for D's at 65 psi anyway, so that extra 5 psi is just more safety margin, IMO. I check temps on my tires and hubs all way 'round at every stop, but not pressures, unless I notice anything unusual. Next FW will have a TPMS, though. 🙂 I check pressure every day I travel.

Lyle

[NHIrish]

Sam Spade wrote:

NHIrish wrote:

Explain to me, if you can, why I would want less than max capacity in my trailer tires cause I don't get it.

IF....my trailer is only used for one specific purpose and that purpose puts it nowhere NEAR the max. load.....then the tires will wear better AND the load will be jostled slightly less if you drop the pressure down from the max. a bit. I think the max on mine says 45 and I run them at 35-40 and they still LOOK like they are riding pretty high on the tread.

I'd think that's fine too as long as you know your weights...but it sure isn't the normal scenario with travel trailers or fifth wheels. This is just a guess on my part, but I think the road forces on these 13' tall fifth wheels are likely more than manufacturers allow for
...and the allowances in determining what load rating tire goes on a trailer by the manufacturer probably compounds the issue.

[joelc]

We are full timers and came from PA. As you may know tire pressure does change with altitude. I doubt that you would be making the trip in one day. You should check your tire pressure before you start out every morning and at rest stops give it the kick test. When the RV sits for extended periods of time, the tires could change too Always check the pressure 1st thing in the A.M. before you drive. We came from volunteering in MA this last Summer and are now in Destin, FL. We have been here for about 3 months and both truck and RV did need air the other day.

[Sam_Spade]

NHIrish wrote:

Explain to me, if you can, why I would want less than max capacity in my trailer tires cause I don't get it.

IF....my trailer is only used for one specific purpose and that purpose puts it nowhere NEAR the max. load.....then the tires will wear better AND the load will be jostled slightly less if you drop the pressure down from the max. a bit. I think the max on mine says 45 and I run them at 35-40 and they still LOOK like they are riding pretty high on the tread.

[NHIrish]

Always popcorn time with tire questions.

Inflate to max psi for trailer tires and check regularly...or daily...or weigh all wheels and axles individually and follow the appropriate formula...which will have you pretty close to the max tire pressure on the side of the tire...oy you will determine that you may not have enough tire if you have manufacturer tires (not always, but often).

Since almost nobody takes the time to go through the weighing process to determine the heaviest load on a tire, just fill them. I don't know anyone that has worn out the tread on a trailer tire. Any extra tread wear will be negligible and full tires add a greater safety margin.

WHY would you not want the tire to have maximum load capacity as specified on the sidewall when all you read about here is tire issues on trailers. It is a trailer, not occupied by people, therefore ride comfort or handling characteristics are not relevant. It is top heavy and subject to crazy road forces. Add to that the fact that most manufacturers do not give you adequate surplus capacity when they spec the tire and you get a recipe for failure.


Explain to me, if you can, why I would want less than max capacity in my trailer tires cause I don't get it.

https://www.etrailer.com/faq-trailer-tire-frequently-asked-questions.aspx

Sorry...this posted again?