Tire pressure

[Patrice Forest]

At what PSI do you keep your dual axle trailer tire pressure?

[Nitrousbird]

Max PSI rated on the tire.

[MalibuNation]

Also I keep mine at the max.  I do check it in the middle of the hot summer and on occasion have to let some out then add a little in the fall before the winter storage.

[dlb]

Max for sure.

[Murphys]

50 psi. That is the maximum recommend pressure for the tires on our trailers. 

[dalt1]

53 minutes ago, Murphys said:

50 psi. That is the maximum recommend pressure for the tires on our trailers. 

Depends on what rating the tire has. Same size D rated tire on my 18LSV are 65 max. My 12 VLX C rating was 55.

As stated earlier, use max rated on sidewall of what's on your trailer.

[MadMan]

I reference this chart, mine are at 40 psi.

https://www.goodyearrvtires.com/pdfs/rv_inflation.pdf

 

[dalt1]

11 minutes ago, MadMan said:

I reference this chart, mine are at 40 psi.

https://www.goodyearrvtires.com/pdfs/rv_inflation.pdf

 

Most of the newer boats are pushing the max weight capacity of the tires on the trailers now. My 18 LSV 23 weighs 7,250 lbs on trailer ready to dump in the lake. Full fuel, coolers and gear. I will stay at max rating on sidewall.

[RyanB]

Heat kills tires.  Under inflated tires run hot.  As others have suggested, I also run at max PSI, which is 65 on my Goodyear Endurance.

[MadMan]

1 hour ago, dalt1 said:

Most of the newer boats are pushing the max weight capacity of the tires on the trailers now. My 18 LSV 23 weighs 7,250 lbs on trailer ready to dump in the lake. Full fuel, coolers and gear. I will stay at max rating on sidewall.

I agree, that's the reason Goodyear provides this information, so you can match your tire pressure to your load. Otherwise they would just say run them at max.

Edited October 26, 2019 by MadMan

[dalt1]

5 hours ago, MadMan said:

I reference this chart, mine are at 40 psi.

https://www.goodyearrvtires.com/pdfs/rv_inflation.pdf

 

What does your older 23 LSV weigh with Trailer and loaded for the water?

[carguy79ta]

I also keep all my tires on everything at max rated pressure ..cold. last winter I jacked up my boat trailer , put it on Jack stands and let all the air out of the tires...too anal??🤔

[MadMan]

1 hour ago, dalt1 said:

What does your older 23 LSV weigh with Trailer and loaded for the water?

Never had it weighed but maybe:

3500(boat) + 1000(trailer) + 1000 (fuel & stuff) ~ 5500lbs

5500 - 500(tongue  weight) ~ 5000 on the tires

Edited October 26, 2019 by MadMan

[justgary]

5 hours ago, carguy79ta said:

I also keep all my tires on everything at max rated pressure ..cold. last winter I jacked up my boat trailer , put it on Jack stands and let all the air out of the tires...too anal??🤔

I have to agree with the jack stands, but I'm not sure if letting the air out is better than just letting them stay inflated.

[Nitrousbird]

6 hours ago, MadMan said:

Never had it weighed but maybe:

3500(boat) + 1000(trailer) + 1000 (fuel & stuff) ~ 5500lbs

5500 - 500(tongue  weight) ~ 5000 on the tires

I wouldn't trust your weight estimates.  My smaller trailer is rated at 1200lbs.  Malibu under rates the boat weights.

Why not run max pressure?  What's it going to hurt?

[dalt1]

9 hours ago, Nitrousbird said:

I wouldn't trust your weight estimates.  My smaller trailer is rated at 1200lbs.  Malibu under rates the boat weights.

Why not run max pressure?  What's it going to hurt?

I agree and would bet his boat is heavier than his guess. My 12 VLX weighed over 6,000 lbs with trailer. it was only 21'6" long and he has 23'. He should run MAX pressure.

Edited October 27, 2019 by dalt1

[oldjeep]

On 10/26/2019 at 3:51 PM, MadMan said:

Never had it weighed but maybe:

3500(boat) + 1000(trailer) + 1000 (fuel & stuff) ~ 5500lbs

5500 - 500(tongue  weight) ~ 5000 on the tires

My vtx weighs 1000 lbs more than that.  65psi in my tires - max sidewall pressure. 

Edited November 1, 2019 by oldjeep

[MadMan]

4 hours ago, oldjeep said:

My vtx weighs 1000 lbs more than that.  65psi in my tires - max sidewall pressure. 

Even if mine weighed 1000 lbs more, I'd still be OK at 40 psi.

[oldjeep]

2 hours ago, MadMan said:

Even if mine weighed 1000 lbs more, I'd still be OK at 40 psi.

Whatever works for you.  I don't need to use my tires as suspension so trailer tires get inflated to max pressure so that they can support their max rated load.

[justgary]

6 hours ago, MadMan said:

Even if mine weighed 1000 lbs more, I'd still be OK at 40 psi.

If you only care about load limit, yes.  If you care about heat buildup and possible sidewall failure, no. 

Like @RyanB said, underinflation is the absolute worst thing you can do to a tire.  At highway speeds, every part of the tire sidewall has to compress and retract under the weight of the load several times per second, which causes friction.  The heat builds up, and when it gets too hot the rubber begins to undergo chemical changes (it starts baking).  In extreme cases, sidewall failure occurs when the sidewall is no longer pliable enough to take the movement.

While slight underinflation probably won't cause sidewall failure, what @oldjeep said is exactly correct.  You aren't likely to notice any towing difference from 40 to 65 PSI in your trailer tires, so why punish them?

And by the way, if you have those new-fangled torsion axles and you don't have your ball height set correctly, you don't have your load distributed equally on the axles or the two sets of tires.  They are not automatically equalizing like tandem leaf springs, so you have to take care to do it by setting the ball height on your tow vehicle.

[MadMan]

36 minutes ago, justgary said:

If you only care about load limit, yes.  If you care about heat buildup and possible sidewall failure, no. 

Like @RyanB said, underinflation is the absolute worst thing you can do to a tire.  At highway speeds, every part of the tire sidewall has to compress and retract under the weight of the load several times per second, which causes friction.  The heat builds up, and when it gets too hot the rubber begins to undergo chemical changes (it starts baking).  In extreme cases, sidewall failure occurs when the sidewall is no longer pliable enough to take the movement.

While slight underinflation probably won't cause sidewall failure, what @oldjeep said is exactly correct.  You aren't likely to notice any towing difference from 40 to 65 PSI in your trailer tires, so why punish them?

And by the way, if you have those new-fangled torsion axles and you don't have your ball height set correctly, you don't have your load distributed equally on the axles or the two sets of tires.  They are not automatically equalizing like tandem leaf springs, so you have to take care to do it by setting the ball height on your tow vehicle.

Personally, I don't feel I have more insight on inflation pressure than the engineers who designed the tires. 

On ‎10‎/‎26‎/‎2019 at 9:07 AM, MadMan said:

I reference this chart, mine are at 40 psi.

https://www.goodyearrvtires.com/pdfs/rv_inflation.pdf

 

 

[justgary]

10 minutes ago, MadMan said:

Personally, I don't feel I have more insight on inflation pressure than the engineers who designed the tires. 

 

My insight came from a PhD Mechanical Engineer who worked at Michelin.  I really didn't question his explanation.  I went outside and checked my tire pressure. 

[MadMan]

7 minutes ago, justgary said:

My insight came from a PhD Mechanical Engineer who worked at Michelin.  I really didn't question his explanation.  I went outside and checked my tire pressure. 

Do what you think is best and I'll do the same.

[vanamp]

5 minutes ago, MadMan said:

Do what you think is best and I'll do the same.

Will you? Or will you reference the chart?

[MadMan]

1 minute ago, vanamp said:

Will you? Or will you reference the chart?

I guess I wasn't clear, we will both do what we each think is best.  I will follow Goodyear's published recommendation.