Tire Pressure - An interesting observation

[Cate&Rob]

It has been almost exactly 12 months since I last checked the tire pressures on our RV. Say what !! (The trailer has not moved from its Canadian Covid parking spot in our driveway, since last September) Most of that storage time was with all weight off the tires . . . I don't know if this makes a difference.

All six tires (I carry two spares) . . . five Maxxis and one Westlake were within one psi of 70 psi. They were all at 80 psi a year ago when I parked the trailer. For 12 month, two on the sunny side, two on the shady side and two underneath . . . all retained exactly the same pressure. FWIW . . ."natural pressure loss" appears to be less than 1 psi per month regardless of storage temperature.

Engineers . . . always have to analyze everything . . .

Rob

[Country Campers]

Shame shame shame for not using your RV for 1 year, I banish you to Florida for the winter .

That is interesting findings for sure. We keep ours in the garage all year when not in use and I have noticed that after a month or so the pressures will need adjusted, but I could not tell you that each tire required the same, I do not have as much engineering experience as you (haha).

Brian

[Guest]

The Goodyear Endurance tires we have on our Imagine have stayed in an acceptable range all season without filling. They claim to have a special liner that holds air over a longer duration that seems to be true.

For long term storage that Rob has endured, it would be best to have them off the ground to avoid flat spotting. Otherwise, tires are supposed to be stored over winter at max air pressure.

Someday we will do the snowbird trip but need to stay close to my parents at this time.

Jim

[Cate&Rob]

Country Campers
I accept the banishment . . . could you talk to some guy named Biden about opening the border?

Rob

[Scott'n'Wendy]

My analysis is you are not checking out all the great Canadian places to see.......
America is a great place...but we Canuks have loads to see and do as well....

[Cate&Rob]

Scott'n'Wendy

A fair comment. Our RV purpose and experience has (so far) been winter “Snowbird”. Our next summer plans will (hopefully) take us to both Canadian coasts. Until this year, our summers have been consumed with boating in the 1000 Islands.

Rob

[TheNescios]

Adding to this - I've been a bit intrigued by how sun on one side will affect tire temp & pressure vs the other side in shade, how speed effects tire temps which translates into pressure.
Purchased the TireMinder i10 that I'm using for not only the trailer but also the truck as it's more informative than the truck system and with the display that rotates between them & alarms for pressure/temp - and provides peace of mind that things are working the way they should be. (fingers crossed!)

[Guest]

Adding to this - I've been a bit intrigued by how sun on one side will affect tire temp & pressure vs the other side in shade, how speed effects tire temps which translates into pressure.
Purchased the TireMinder i10 that I'm using for not only the trailer but also the truck as it's more informative than the truck system and with the display that rotates between them & alarms for pressure/temp - and provides peace of mind that things are working the way they should be. (fingers crossed!)

Chris,

The first case, pressure is raised or lowered based on the ideal gas law. The second from friction.

Jim

[Jims94vmx]

Scott'n'Wendy

A fair comment. Our RV purpose and experience has (so far) been winter “Snowbird”. Our next summer plans will (hopefully) take us to both Canadian coasts. Until this year, our summers have been consumed with boating in the 1000 Islands.

Rob

Funny you mention 1000 islands, we went to Association Island last week. Looking to workamp next year.

[TheNescios]

Jim,
I won't pretend to understand all the physical forces that affect the tires - but it's been interesting the difference even a 5 mph change can make in tire pressure/temps and where the sun is.
Starting to wonder how many tire failures could be avoided if others had this same information?
Everything I'm learning as I travel more with my own 5th wheel is reinforcing what I read when I first joined about how important the small details can be - it's good that others who have "been there, done that" are here sharing their real world experiences!
Chris

[Guest]

Jim,
I won't pretend to understand all the physical forces that affect the tires - but it's been interesting the difference even a 5 mph change can make in tire pressure/temps and where the sun is.
Starting to wonder how many tire failures could be avoided if others had this same information?
Everything I'm learning as I travel more with my own 5th wheel is reinforcing what I read when I first joined about how important the small details can be - it's good that others who have "been there, done that" are here sharing their real world experiences!
Chris

Chris,

Tires are a critical component in towing a trailer where a TPMS system is also critical to measure what physics dictates. A top of the list accessory. Rob is correct in engineers analyzing everything. .

Jim

[colan]

For everyone’s safety tires are a critical component. A tIre failure especially at highway speeds is hazardous to everyone nearby.

For the owner’s enjoyment and finances tires are also critical. The damage to the RV can easily be from a few hundred dollars and up. Earlier this year I repaired a Solitude that had had a blowout on each side. The owner had elected after the first failure to only replace one tire. Total repair bill was $2,300 plus the cost of a set of tires.

Having said all of that you may think I am advocating close and constant monitoring of tire condition, pressure, and temperature. I’m not. If you HAVE to verses want to constantly check and monitor tires, pressures, and temperatures you may want to consider different tires. Tires that need constant monitoring are either too close or over design limits, or poorly constructed (materials, methods…). I understand the thought of checking tire pressure before a trip and if pressure is within a few pounds of the desired calling it good will sound sacrilegious. On the other hand think about the tires on your tow vehicle or daily driver. If we had to treat our tow vehicle or car tires the way some of us treat trailer tires a quick trip to the store would be far from quick. But someone will say car and truck tires are different than trailer tires, the stresses are different. No argument there. The issue is if a tire is prone to failure then it isn’t the correct tire for the application.

Buy a tire that is well made, has ample capacity, check tire pressures, have a TPMS and don’t obsess.


EDIT: BTW - my experience has been similar to Rob’s, while the trailer never sits for more than three months tire pressure drop over time is minimal and fairly even across all six tires.

[Canyonlight]

For everyone’s safety tires are a critical component. A tIre failure especially at highway speeds is hazardous to everyone nearby.

For the owner’s enjoyment and finances tires are also critical. The damage to the RV can easily be from a few hundred dollars and up. Earlier this year I repaired a Solitude that had had a blowout on each side. The owner had elected after the first failure to only replace one tire. Total repair bill was $2,300 plus the cost of a set of tires.

Having said all of that you may think I am advocating close and constant monitoring of tire condition, pressure, and temperature. I’m not. If you HAVE to verses want to constantly check and monitor tires, pressures, and temperatures you may want to consider different tires. Tires that need constant monitoring are either too close or over design limits, or poorly constructed (materials, methods…). I understand the thought of checking tire pressure before a trip and if pressure is within a few pounds of the desired calling it good will sound sacrilegious. On the other hand think about the tires on your tow vehicle or daily driver. If we had to treat our tow vehicle or car tires the way some of us treat trailer tires a quick trip to the store would be far from quick. But someone will say car and truck tires are different than trailer tires, the stresses are different. No argument there. The issue is if a tire is prone to failure then it isn’t the correct tire for the application.

Buy a tire that is well made, has ample capacity, check tire pressures, have a TPMS and don’t obsess.

Colan - very well said. Many ideas have been shared among we long time GDRV forums folks and others over the years. This is a great summary !

I also "drive" out of my mirrors looking at them frequently particularly when cornering to observe the tires, RV, and surroundings. Tire damage or an air loss substantial enough to damage the tires short or long term and/or result in tire failure can often be visible.

Dan

[Guest]

For everyone’s safety tires are a critical component. A tIre failure especially at highway speeds is hazardous to everyone nearby.

For the owner’s enjoyment and finances tires are also critical. The damage to the RV can easily be from a few hundred dollars and up. Earlier this year I repaired a Solitude that had had a blowout on each side. The owner had elected after the first failure to only replace one tire. Total repair bill was $2,300 plus the cost of a set of tires.

Having said all of that you may think I am advocating close and constant monitoring of tire condition, pressure, and temperature. I’m not. If you HAVE to verses want to constantly check and monitor tires, pressures, and temperatures you may want to consider different tires. Tires that need constant monitoring are either too close or over design limits, or poorly constructed (materials, methods…). I understand the thought of checking tire pressure before a trip and if pressure is within a few pounds of the desired calling it good will sound sacrilegious. On the other hand think about the tires on your tow vehicle or daily driver. If we had to treat our tow vehicle or car tires the way some of us treat trailer tires a quick trip to the store would be far from quick. But someone will say car and truck tires are different than trailer tires, the stresses are different. No argument there. The issue is if a tire is prone to failure then it isn’t the correct tire for the application.

Buy a tire that is well made, has ample capacity, check tire pressures, have a TPMS and don’t obsess.


EDIT: BTW - my experience has been similar to Rob’s, while the trailer never sits for more than three months tire pressure drop over time is minimal and fairly even across all six tires.

Nice summary Colan,

Agree to not monitor or worry too much. I let my TPMS do that.

Jim

[Cate&Rob]

As this discussion expands . . . I might as well add one more "unusual" tire monitoring device that I have added . . .

I do run a TPMS (which has found a couple of slow leaks over the years) but there are well documented trailer tire failures where the tread leaves a fully inflated carcass and beats up the bodywork with no sign of failure from the TPMS because the carcass is holding full pressure. Then . . . there are also broken springs to think about.

Watching the tires in the mirrors and while turning (as Dan suggests) is good practice, but it occurred to me that I had a Garmin trailer back-up camera that I was never using. With its fisheye lens, it was useless for seeing following traffic and a back-up camera is not where I am looking when backing the trailer. So . . . I mounted this camera under the trailer. Now I can monitor tires and suspension from the drivers seat with the push of a button.

Rob