camper tire pressures

[sgrizzle]

I have a Keystone Laredo (29 BHS, w/slide)

tires say 65 max PSI...do I put the max in or a few less? When I bought it, I noticed it had 50 psi in them. I currently have 58 psi in them.

We are getting ready to head to Yellowstone next week and I want to be sure I have the right PSI in them.

Thanks!

[dclaarjr]

Nvr2loud wrote:


Same with locking lug nuts, if I wanted your rims I would just smash your window to get the key... then you would be missing all your rims and have a smashed window LOL.

Why do it the hard way. Ant tool truck such as Snap On or Mac gas a kit to remove them without the key. Costs %29 and you dont have to worry about someone hearing you break the window or waste time finding it.

Now, I have never done this. I do have the kit. I used to run a shop and you wouldnt believe how many people lose the key.

[subcamper]

Doug33 wrote:
Regarding the nitrogen question, I regard this as a gimmick. Especially since "air" is 81% nitrogen to begin with.

A local place told a friend that aircraft used nitrogen in their tires, and if it wasn't better than regular air they wouldn't do it. What the guy didn't say was that nitrogen is used in aircraft tires because it doesn't support combustion if the tire starts on fire (aircraft land at high speeds, around 150+mph). So if you fear your car or trailer tires starting on fire, then its for you!

Steve

[Nvr2loud]

JIMNLIN wrote:
Older 14" Marathons (others brands also) came in a load range B at 35 psi which was basically a P tire.
With a 6k gross weight divided by 4 tires = 1500 lbs per tire requirement. Subtract 500-600 lbs hitch weight leaves 1375 lbs on the axles. A ST205/75-14 C at 50 psi and 1760 lbs of capacity would be a good choice for a tire when replacement time comes.

Thanks!

I think that the tire replacement will be very soon. I'll store the trailer over the winter with the existing tires and replace at the start of next season.

[Nvr2loud]

Doug33 wrote:
Regarding the nitrogen question, I regard this as a gimmick. Especially since "air" is 81% nitrogen to begin with.

I agree!!!

There is however a slight argument to be made about moisture inside the rim from just compressed air, but it really isn't worth the cost of bottled nitrogen to reduce the moisture.

When I see green valve stem covers, I just laugh and think 'suckers'

Same with locking lug nuts, if I wanted your rims I would just smash your window to get the key... then you would be missing all your rims and have a smashed window LOL.

[Doug33]

Regarding the nitrogen question, I regard this as a gimmick. Especially since "air" is 81% nitrogen to begin with.

[DiskDoctr]

JIMNLIN wrote:
Older 14" Marathons (others brands also) came in a load range B at 35 psi which was basically a P tire.
With a 6k gross weight divided by 4 tires = 1500 lbs per tire requirement. Subtract 500-600 lbs hitch weight leaves 1375 lbs on the axles. A ST205/75-14 C at 50 psi and 1760 lbs of capacity would be a good choice for a tire when replacement time comes.

Good info, Jimlin. Definitely a good time to upgrade tires to C or even D rated tires.

Keep in mind, you will likely have all rubber tire stems, which when new are still only good for 50-60 psi. They are only a couple of bucks over at etrailer.com. You will have the smaller diameter hole, the larger diameter are for some truck rims 😉

Here are the ones I put on last summer.

Americana Valve Stems



No more slow leaks and good up to 100 psi!

[JIMNLIN]

Older 14" Marathons (others brands also) came in a load range B at 35 psi which was basically a P tire.
With a 6k gross weight divided by 4 tires = 1500 lbs per tire requirement. Subtract 500-600 lbs hitch weight leaves 1375 lbs on the axles. A ST205/75-14 C at 50 psi and 1760 lbs of capacity would be a good choice for a tire when replacement time comes.

[Nvr2loud]

subcamper wrote:

Nvr2loud wrote:

W.E.BGood wrote:

Nvr2loud wrote:
My tires have a max rating of 35 psi

Does that seem low?

They are Goodyear marathon trailer tires and I was surprised to find such a low pressure rating

What kind of TT do you have and what is the trailer's recommended inflation (per tag or manual)?

The rating plate in the side of the trailer is sun faded but the trailer is an r-vision trail cruiser 30QBSS

According to a used-RV web site your trailer has a gross weight rating of about 6K lbs. It also lists the tires as 205/75R14. Goodyear Marathons in this size are load range C and the max inflation pressure is 50psi. Are you sure about the 35psi max? The tire rack doesn't even list a Goodyear Marathon in any size with max inflation pressure less than 50psi.

Steve

I'm sure, I walked around the rig and checked all four tires and the spare. All of them say maximum inflation pressure 35 PSI, all of them are Goodyear Marathon 14" tires, and all of them have two warnings on each side wall stating "Do not mount on 13.5 rims"

I'm going to check the date code tonight, I suspect that perhaps the tires are very old and I should just replace them anyway. My old TT had car tires, so switching to the newer TT with 35 PSI max seemed normal to me. My only concern was reading this post, I was shocked at all the posts listing 50, 60, and 65 PSI ratings... that is what made me suspicious of my tires.

You are bang-on about the GVWR of the trailer, that sticker is still inside on a cupboard door panel. I had to make sure of that one before purchase LOL.

[W_E_BGood]

Doug33 wrote:

I have an tire inflator compressor, and it is supposed to supply up to 100 PSI, but it takes quite a while to get a tire to go from 45 PSI to 50 PSI. I can't imagine trying to get them up to 65 PSI!

HERE is a good place to start...the Viair 70P works well for me getting to 65.

[subcamper]

Nvr2loud wrote:

W.E.BGood wrote:

Nvr2loud wrote:
My tires have a max rating of 35 psi

Does that seem low?

They are Goodyear marathon trailer tires and I was surprised to find such a low pressure rating

What kind of TT do you have and what is the trailer's recommended inflation (per tag or manual)?

The rating plate in the side of the trailer is sun faded but the trailer is an r-vision trail cruiser 30QBSS

According to a used-RV web site your trailer has a gross weight rating of about 6K lbs. It also lists the tires as 205/75R14. Goodyear Marathons in this size are load range C and the max inflation pressure is 50psi. Are you sure about the 35psi max? The tire rack doesn't even list a Goodyear Marathon in any size with max inflation pressure less than 50psi.

Steve

[jus2shy]

DiskDoctr wrote:

Doug33 wrote:
I was following the cold tire pressure rating of 50 PSI on the sticker located on the side of the trailer. I guess I should check the tire itself.

I have an tire inflator compressor, and it is supposed to supply up to 100 PSI, but it takes quite a while to get a tire to go from 45 PSI to 50 PSI. I can't imagine trying to get them up to 65 PSI!

With my last TT, I kept the tires at 50 PSI cold for almost 8 years with no problems.

Tankless compressors do take a while to get up to pressure and/or volume. Try one, even a small one, with a tank.

The problem with using the sticker on the trailer, is the trailer has no idea what tires are on the trailer or their specs and performance parameters.

Just keep in mind that just like there are folks out there who have leaking propane line that haven't blown up (yet), not having a problem running with too low pressure without any problems (yet) doesn't mean it is correct or safe. It's more a testament to the forgiveness of the tires themselves.

The exception being if you are highly overrated on your tires.

Or you can step up to a strong tankless compressor. Just went out and bought a VIAIR 400P-RV with automatic shut-off. Aired up my 275/65R20 tires from 15psi to 50psi in a little over 1 minute (This is a 34.1" tire). It could only air up a TT tire much faster. These higher end compressors are pricier though. If you don't want one with automatic shut off there's a very high-flow one built by Smittybilt. Part Number: s/b2781. That one has higher flow than my 2.5 cfm compressor so it should air up almost twice as fast as my VIAIR. Unfortunately it doesn't have an auto-shut off, so you have to walk back and forth to turn off that style of compressor.

[DiskDoctr]

Doug33 wrote:
I was following the cold tire pressure rating of 50 PSI on the sticker located on the side of the trailer. I guess I should check the tire itself.

I have an tire inflator compressor, and it is supposed to supply up to 100 PSI, but it takes quite a while to get a tire to go from 45 PSI to 50 PSI. I can't imagine trying to get them up to 65 PSI!

With my last TT, I kept the tires at 50 PSI cold for almost 8 years with no problems.

Tankless compressors do take a while to get up to pressure and/or volume. Try one, even a small one, with a tank.

The problem with using the sticker on the trailer, is the trailer has no idea what tires are on the trailer or their specs and performance parameters.

Just keep in mind that just like there are folks out there who have leaking propane line that haven't blown up (yet), not having a problem running with too low pressure without any problems (yet) doesn't mean it is correct or safe. It's more a testament to the forgiveness of the tires themselves.

The exception being if you are highly overrated on your tires.

[RinconVTR]

Dick_B wrote:
We get a tire pressure question virtually every week and it's the same question only with a different tire pressure.
You could search this Forum for previous posts OR load it up to the cold pressure rating and drive on; which is what I do.

Ditto here.

Over 23 years towing personally, and many, many more as a young passenger.

[kend40]

Can I be a pain and add a question to this thread???
I am new to towing a TT this year, and felt it to be a good idea to start off right away with a pressure monitoring system. I bought and installed the tire tracker system and am quite impressed with it.
When I accepted the TT from the dealer I asked about tire pressure and was told to "leave the pressure where it was" by the guy that has now been fired!!!! Where it was turned out to be around 70PSI. Then on inspecting the tires I find that they say MAX 50PSI. Needless to say, i reduced the pressures to the max.
I was also informed that these tires were filled with Nitrogen not air.
So in the last few trips, I have had to remove air before departing because the pressures seem to creep up closer to the 54PSI level (Cold)......
I am not familiar with Nitrogen in tires.....could this be why my pressures seem to migrate upward? even though the outdoor weather temperatures have not??