Load Range E tire pressure: how do you keep them up?

I'm a retired long haul trucker.(12 years owner) I'm in the habit to check tire pressure when ever I move the trailer. Always check them when the sun is not shinning on them for a period of time. normally have to add a few pounds each time. No my tires do not have leaks. tires will loose a couple pounds over a few weeks. Pressure will also change with temps, altitude, and driving speeds. A soft tire will come apart internally over time due to flex of the plys. suggest a few of you need to talk to your tire dealer about adding air. When you pay $600. for one tire you learn to take care and check air pressure.

Those of you that say you don't have to add air, are you using nitrogen??? and if so don't add compressed air to those tires, you will have problems...

To the OP , if you drive a little further off of the interstate almost any automotive repair shop in any town will have a big enough air compressor to fill up you tires should they get low.

I fill my tires once a year and the hold up all year long.

We always have our HF el cheapo compressor( the one with the battery clips ) and TPMS. While traveling, I check the pressure before leaving in the morning and visual/touch check every stop.
The Maxxis have never lost pressure except for large temp drop and extreme altitude change in the last 3 years. I would really dislike being without either of the above.

If you're losing notable amounts of pressure from pressure checks, even frequent ones, then you're doing it wrong.

Even better - get a TPMS so you aren't losing all that air checking them...

Your tire pressure will change 1-2 lbs for every 10 degrees of temp change. Check them when it is 40 degrees in the morning and then check them after the sun shines on them and it get up to 80 degrees in the afternoon just to prove it to yourself. This is why they have you check pressures when the tires are cold. If you inflate them when they are at their coldest state for the day they will never be under-inflated.

I often wonder if the person that we pay to mount our tires ever looks at rim cleanliness or condition . Seems to me that a gob of something at rim seal might cause slow leaks .

Whangler wrote:

Now, these new LRE's run at 80psi. I reckon truck stop compressors will do the job but like gas stations, they're not always easily accessible. Do any of y'all use 12v tankless compressors when you're afield? If so, I'd like a recommendation for a good one. IF, that is you think it necessary.

Thanks,
Mars

If you are in Or., chances are you will see enough elevation and/or temperature changes often enough that you should be routinely checking psi. Some, like me, check pressure before heading off on each leg of a trip. Anything can happen and you don't want a blowout or slow leak. If you don't have one, a TPMS is a good idea.

We have a Viair 12 volt compressor that has their highest cfm in a portable (2.3 cfm). Viair compressors are very well made but are not inexpensive. A portable 120 volt compressor is an option depending on where you camp. Won't be any good if stuck out on a lonely road somewhere or before the end of quiet hours in a CG. If looking at other 12 volt compressors, look at their cfm, psi and duty cycle ratings closely. The Q Industries MV-50 gets good reviews and looks like a facsimile of Viair. I bought a Viair inflator gauge but ended up returning it because it is cheaply made and has poor performance - it also leaked like a sieve from the rear of it. There are much better inflators out there or use a tire chuck and hand-held digital gauge. An automatic 12 volt compressor is better IMO because you don't have to switch it off when moving from tire to tire. I installed a marine watertight plug & connector so I don't have to take the top off the battery box.

Whangler wrote:
Thanks everybody. My last maxxis's didn't lose much, just down 1-2psi from 50 every 6 months or so. That said, my cheapo harbor freight 3 gallon compressor doesn't exactly make short work of topping them off. I can't imagine how it would labor to get from 77-80psi :-0
Rather than getting a dc compressor, maybe I'll just get a stronger one for home and keep my fingers crossed I don't need to air up afield.

It would still make sense to carry a DC powered air compressor for when you're not at home. They may not be 5 CFM 120v air compressors that can top off tires in literally seconds, but they get the job done, weigh next to nothing, and take up very little space. You don't want to get into a situation where the tires have lost air, but you need to tow the trailer for several, maybe even dozens, of miles to find a filling station.

DC compressors will take minutes to fill up a tire from 0 to 80 PSI, but rarely would you ever do so. If your tire went down to 0 PSI then it would be a better idea to have it removed and inspected rather than trying to refill it. Most of the time you would be topping off the tires, somewhere around 1-10 PSI.

I have the compressor below and 65 PSI tires on the trailer. It doesn't take long to add 10 PSI to the tires, maybe a little over a minute. Performing the same action in your case (@70 PSI) wouldn't add much time.

When you're looking at DC air compressors look for ones that have battery clips instead of the 12v socket connector. The units with battery clips are usually more powerful and since you can power it from virtually any battery, you have more options to power it. Also pay attention to the CFM rating of the pump, the higher the better. Forget about anything that's less than 1 CFM.

Harbor Freight 150 PSI Compressor

2012Coleman wrote:

Mandalay Parr wrote:
I fill my once a year. A few pounds over so they last for a year.
Never have to add inbetween.
Weigh your trailer then go by the tire chart for the correct amount.
80 may be too high.???

I'm finding this hard to believe. I air up my Maxxis 8008 tires using my air compressor. I check them every 3-4 weeks, and they are always 5-10 lbs low.

Do you run a TPMS? If so, the sensors may be flexing enough (while driving) to cause the stems to leak. Especially if you don't have metal stems.

Otherwise, something is wrong, as that is WAY to much loss in 3-4 weeks.

I typically hit mine at the beginning of the season and it lasts the rest of the season until colder weather hits.