Air pressure in each tire

thanks to all for your advice. I will be checking on everything you have mentioned and have decided not to be super anal about the air pressure. Wish us luck on our first trip to Minnesota!

to avoid the time consuming task of checking tire pressures - install and use a good Tire Pressure AND TEMPERATURE motoring system ! It'll save you lots of time and give you peace of mind as well as provide you alerts to pressure drops or dangerous temperature increase !

TST makes a great system and possibly the #1 system used recommended by forum members.

Tires are ALWAYS checked when they're "cold" (not driven on) and necessary adjustments are made then. After that you can forget about tire pressure until the next time they're "cold" (undriven on) when you can check them again. It's really nowhere NEAR as critical as you seem to think. If you really try you can absolutely drive youself crazy, getting out to check tire pressure every time you turn a corner because the sun is hitting the tires at a different angle causing pressure increases or decreases and this is just not necessary. Other things that will cause air pressure to change is a significant change in altitude such as climbing into the mountains or dropping down to the planes. Weather conditions is another reason for daily changes in air pressure. Low pressure in the atmosphere will increase the pressure in your tires and visa versa. Rule is check them cold each day and make any necessary adjustments however MOST people will make that once a week or so when traveling and otherwise they just leave pressure alone.
Good luck and enjoy your new motorhome / Skip

Welcome to the forums and congrats on the new coach. Lots of good free info on here.
While we may be overly concerned about tire pressures and weighing I would not recommend going to the max (usually 120) and forgetting it.
Checking the DOT date code on the side of the tire (sometime only one side) is very important. The last four numbers will tell you the week and year the tires were made. If you have something like 3204 at the end of the DOT number... you need new tires as they are 10 years old. Most on here replace their tires before they are seven years old.
You may have some pressures listed besides the driver's seat and I would use them for now. With a good tire gauge I'd start by seeing what pressures you have. If all four on the rear are almost the same at probably 95-100 that is good enough until you get it loaded up to weigh. If the fronts are around 110 that should be enough. If the pressures are all over the place and much lower than the above and the tires are only five years old I'd put new on. For the money I'd suggest Hankook tires.
There is a lot of info hidden in the search box at the top of the page.

Everyone has said what you need to do. Get the tire manufacture weight chart and inflate to their specs. The ride on our s improved dramatically when we did this, as they were way over inflated from the dealer (or factory). Our fronts are 95 and rears are 85. All were over 115 psi when we bought it. As others said always check cold before any driving.

Der Carrie;
You are new to class A. Before you go anywhere first we need to determine how old the tires are on the rig.
If original they are 10 years old. This is very near the end of their useful life NO MATTER HOW MUCH TREAD is left on the tire. It is a matter of chemical breakdown in the tires causing failure of the tire.

Now as to tire pressure inflating your tires to maximum RATED pressure will not cause bad things to happen to your Motor home. It might increase tread wear somewhat, it might give you a rougher ride but no major problems should happen to your rig. SO you can either become obsessed by your tire weight or you can set it and forget it. THE CHOICE IS YOURS. Both ways work for people. I am a set it and forget it person my tires (new) are at the maximum pressure for the tire.

Many highway department scales leave the digital read out on when they are closed.
Many will weigh your motorhome all four corners if you ask them at a time they are not busy

dave

Good morning Carrie....Dakdave gave you some pretty good advice. I would also air up all tires to 100 # to start off. Kudos to you for recognizing the importance of proper inflation. Having your tires properly inflated will result in a better, safer ride, better fuel mileage and better tire mileage. In addition:

1. Check tire date codes. See link below. The date code most likely will be on the INSIDE of the tires. Check all the tires and write down the date codes for each one, noting their position on the coach.

2. Get your coach weighed full loaded for travel. Full fuel tank, 1/2 fresh water and all the 'goodies' you'll take with you when you travel.

3. There are many places to weigh your coach. I fuel at Flying J truck stops so I'll present them as an example. Drive in using the truck lanes. Fuel up and when you pay, tell them you want to weigh. Drive around to their CAT scale and pull up onto the scale. First time you'll probably need a spotter to get you on the scale correctly. The scales come in three segments. Place your steer axle on the first segment and your drive axle on the second. You won't use the third as you don't have a tag axle or trailer. Make sure your coach is in neutral. I chock the wheels, but most scales are perfectly level. Once positioned, you'll need to press the "Call" button which is on a post outside the driver's window. This calls the attendant and they will tell you when the weigh is finished. Pull off the scale and go inside to get your weigh slip. Cost is $10. Hint: If you tell them beforehand this is your first weigh in, they'll be more patient and helpful with you.

4. With weight ticket in hand, you'll see how your weight is distributed in your coach. Refer to the tire pressure guide linked below and fill your tires to the correct PSI. Remember to maintain the same pressure across each axle. That means both front axle tires should be the same pressure and ALL four rear tires should be the same pressure.

Four corner weighing is the optimal way to accurately weigh your coach but it's more expensive and harder to find someone to do it. Weighing as above will give you a pretty good idea and keep you safe.

Finally, after doing all this, get yourself a tire pressure monitoring system, TPMS. This device, IMHO, will serve you well. What it does is monitors your tire pressure constantly giving you a real time picture of the tire pressures. I have the Truck System Technologies system and really like it. Besides the tire pressure, it also gives you the temperature. This provides you with more information about your tires. A high temperature could mean a stuck brake caliper or other issue with your tires. Good luck and drive safely.....Dennis

How to find and read a tire date code

Tire inflation tables - scroll to your tire size

Hi Carrie,

Good luck with your new home.
I would air tires to 100 lbs to start.
With coach fully loaded weigh front axle then rear axle,then lf wheel then rr wheels.

front axle weight less lf equals rf wheel weight.
rear axle weight less rr equals lr wheel weight.
Your tire brand company will have a chart suggesting a pressure.

I personally weigh mine about once a year and I keep my tires at 100 lbs minimum year around .

Have you checked the date code on your tires and had them inspected for cracking ?

There is a lot of info about this if you do a search on this site.

The tire police will be here shortly to give you all kinds of advice.
Again good luck and enjoy your new coach. The above info is just the way I do mine right or wrong.
Dave

ON the side of the tires it will give the minimum tire pressure needed in the tire to carry the maximum allowable design weight. Inflate your tires to this pressure until you can get the coach weighed. Once you have the front and rear axle weights, then you can use the manufacturer's tire chart to adjust your COLD tire pressure to the weight of your coach.
Make sure that you weigh the coach with it loaded according to the way you will travel most of the time with a full fuel tank and all passengers. Maybe a half full fresh water tank also.