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What trailer tire pressure?

Wbinder

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This subject drives me nuts but I’ll ask on here specifically for my setup. Tandem axle trailer with a runner bottom on it. 5 ply tread radial trailer tires with Max cold temp of 65 psi. I don’t want to run the max obviously but I don’t want to run to low and cause the tire to over heat and have a blow out as it’s a 6 and a half hour tow to the river for us. I also hate seeing the boat bounce all over the place and I’m starting to find a new stress crack after every trip from towing. Sooooo what’s the suggested pressure. As far as my truck it’s a stock f150 and I’ve got the trailer perfectly level whole towing


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Bpracing1127

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This subject drives me nuts but I’ll ask on here specifically for my setup. Tandem axle trailer with a runner bottom on it. 5 ply tread radial trailer tires with Max cold temp of 65 psi. I don’t want to run the max obviously but I don’t want to run to low and cause the tire to over heat and have a blow out as it’s a 6 and a half hour tow to the river for us. I also hate seeing the boat bounce all over the place and I’m starting to find a new stress crack after every trip from towing. Sooooo what’s the suggested pressure. As far as my truck it’s a stock f150 and I’ve got the trailer perfectly level whole towing


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I run mine 5 Psi below max
 

pronstar

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I always ran my trailers at max sidewall. psi. But my trailers were always very heavy.

It also depends on the tires you’re running.

And remember, a tire’s load and speed ratings are at max sidewall psi. Lower the psi, and you reduce the rating

A car or LT tire has a ton of excess capacity, and high speed ratings. Much safer to fiddle with psi.

And ST tire, I’d run at max psi because there’s not a lot of excess capacity for tires designed to go 65mph.


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DaveH

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for me it boils down to the weather and how far I am going.

towing across the desert in 110' and a long tow....you would be SHOCKED how much your tires build pressure. any time I stop I put my hand on the tire.....looking to see if it is anything more then "mildly" warm...….they should not be HOT.

I have had blow outs from lightly loaded trailer tires in extreme heat. cold weather I simply set the tire with a few PSI of the max rating.
 

waterhorse

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I go with the pressure marked on the tire. Also, is the boat strapped down to the trailer? Boats can easily bounce up off the trailer and slam back down on the bunks during the rebound. This could be causing some of the stress cracks.
edit: I have started carrying a laser temp gun so I can easily see if a particular tire or bearing hub is hotter than the others. FYI
 

185EZ

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Max psi for trailer tires and check your date code
trailer tires don't have a long life
and when they die it isn't pretty
 

Flying_Lavey

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Trailer tires always go to max PSI. Due to their construction and carrying loads, reducing pressure really doesn't help but it can hurt. When I was working at a tire shop, ALL trailer tires went to max PSI. No matter the application or load at that moment.

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TexasJet

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5psi below max when cold. If you inflate to the max when cold you will be running over max when hot. Could be as much a 5 psi over. I'm on my 5th trip out here from Texas pulling a boat and that is what I do. So far, no failures.
 

Wizard29

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5psi below max when cold. If you inflate to the max when cold you will be running over max when hot. Could be as much a 5 psi over. I'm on my 5th trip out here from Texas pulling a boat and that is what I do. So far, no failures.

The max pressure shown on the sidewall is the cold pressure. That number accounts for the fact the tire will heat up and build pressure while running.
 

Racey

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I can't believe how many people run below max rating, The max pressure rating has a safety factor built in, that's why it's called "COLD PSI",

The lower you run the pressure the hotter the tire gets, the more load on everything, just like riding a bicycle. They aren't gonna blow from being over-inflated if you fill to the max rated pressure.
 

Bpracing1127

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I can't believe how many people run below max rating, The max pressure rating has a safety factor built in, that's why it's called "COLD PSI",

The lower you run the pressure the hotter the tire gets, the more load on everything, just like riding a bicycle. They aren't gonna blow from being over-inflated if you fill to the max rated pressure.
Yes this, I only run 5 psi below due to I’m not sure how accurate my 19$ gauge is lol, but yes they should be filled all the way up (cold) even with a empty trailer.
 

LHC Kirby

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Trailer tires always go to max PSI. Due to their construction and carrying loads, reducing pressure really doesn't help but it can hurt. When I was working at a tire shop, ALL trailer tires went to max PSI. No matter the application or load at that moment.

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I run 5 psi below as well - seem common in this post..... I understand your post, but in the heat of summer driving across the desert.... (I don't) I think it's a good idea..... otherwise pressure could get too high.

FYI - I really like the idea of the chalk test, I'll try that on my vehicles and trailer tires :)
 

MohavValley

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If you want to get detailed, your tires will have a psi vs load chart that tell you how much to inflate them to for your load.

Here is some good info on RV tires
http://www.yournexttire.com/trailer-load-inflation-chart/

Also running tires at Max psi can cause them to separate more often and faster. It's best to adjust tire pressure based on specif tire and load being carried. I had some 35 nittos that I bubbled the caps on 5 of them running the max psi. Dropped the psi when not necessary to carry the load and no problems. On the flip side I run 265/75/16 LT load E (10 ply) on 07 Toyota 4 runner and run them at 40-45 psi and they work awesome last forever and ride good.
 

77charger

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Mine are car tires got my 207 boat is light enough for them but max pressure is 44 pounds so I run them there. Just went to river last weekend and noticed 2 of the tires are 7 years old tge other 2 were bought 2 years later so 5 years on those. Oh last set lasted 7 years.

My toyhauler i run at 65 psi no issues there.
 

Sharp Shooter

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Some air compressor tire inflators don't show accurate pressure.

tire inflator.jpg


I use a stand alone guage for air.

Autometer tire.jpg
 

River Runnin

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With a man boat, you must take it to the MAX! :D ...Just like the straps! ;)
 

pronstar

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If only tire companies tested at temperature extremes like the Arctic winter or summertime in Death Valley.

Oh, wait...


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Flying_Lavey

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If you want to get detailed, your tires will have a psi vs load chart that tell you how much to inflate them to for your load.

Here is some good info on RV tires
http://www.yournexttire.com/trailer-load-inflation-chart/

Also running tires at Max psi can cause them to separate more often and faster. It's best to adjust tire pressure based on specif tire and load being carried. I had some 35 nittos that I bubbled the caps on 5 of them running the max psi. Dropped the psi when not necessary to carry the load and no problems. On the flip side I run 265/75/16 LT load E (10 ply) on 07 Toyota 4 runner and run them at 40-45 psi and they work awesome last forever and ride good.
That's the case with car and truck tires. Not as much as with Trailer tires. Loads can fluctuate greatly along with suspension that is barely engineered at all leads to a VERY different application for the tires. Hence why it is recommended to run trailer tires right at the max PSI rating.

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warlock250

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Old timer once told me go 10 psi over recommended a d you will be fine. So I always do Max psi and I tow at speed limits on trailer tires. Trailer tires are not DOT regulated a d they are run at a 65 mph 2 hour test run. Passenger car tires are run at 80 mph for 8 hours I think. So I always put Lt truck tires on my trailer if possible.

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warpt71

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This subject drives me nuts but I’ll ask on here specifically for my setup. Tandem axle trailer with a runner bottom on it. 5 ply tread radial trailer tires with Max cold temp of 65 psi. I don’t want to run the max obviously but I don’t want to run to low and cause the tire to over heat and have a blow out as it’s a 6 and a half hour tow to the river for us. I also hate seeing the boat bounce all over the place and I’m starting to find a new stress crack after every trip from towing. Sooooo what’s the suggested pressure. As far as my truck it’s a stock f150 and I’ve got the trailer perfectly level whole towing


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I think I ran my trailer tires on my flat at like 30lbs. Now that may have been a stupid decision on my part but I didnt have a blow out ever. Ill check the tires when I get to the river this weekend and see what they are rated for, I know they are 14 " "Towmaster"'s and they have gpt to be over 10 years old lol
 

ToMorrow44

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This subject drives me nuts but I’ll ask on here specifically for my setup. Tandem axle trailer with a runner bottom on it. 5 ply tread radial trailer tires with Max cold temp of 65 psi. I don’t want to run the max obviously but I don’t want to run to low and cause the tire to over heat and have a blow out as it’s a 6 and a half hour tow to the river for us. I also hate seeing the boat bounce all over the place and I’m starting to find a new stress crack after every trip from towing. Sooooo what’s the suggested pressure. As far as my truck it’s a stock f150 and I’ve got the trailer perfectly level whole towing


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How heavy is the boat and what is the weight rating for each tire? I run passenger car tires so I run them at Max for the weight rating. If you’re not pushing the weight on each tire, you can get away with 5psi below max, but that’s about as low as I would go.
 

ToMorrow44

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Also running tires at Max psi can cause them to separate more often and faster. It's best to adjust tire pressure based on specif tire and load being carried. I had some 35 nittos that I bubbled the caps on 5 of them running the max psi. Dropped the psi when not necessary to carry the load and no problems. On the flip side I run 265/75/16 LT load E (10 ply) on 07 Toyota 4 runner and run them at 40-45 psi and they work awesome last forever and ride good.
A buddy ran 2 sets of E-load Nittos on his Tundra towing a 28’ boat. Both sets started to separate under 30k miles. Its not from running near max psi, that’s a BS cop out answer for Nitto not warrantying them. I think Nitto had some quality control issues as I’ve read of lots of other people having similar issues. My F250 is only used for towing so the rears are always inflated near max, I’ve never had a tire separate (not Nittos).
 

milkmoney

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Old timer once told me go 10 psi over recommended a d you will be fine. So I always do Max psi and I tow at speed limits on trailer tires. Trailer tires are not DOT regulated a d they are run at a 65 mph 2 hour test run. Passenger car tires are run at 80 mph for 8 hours I think. So I always put Lt truck tires on my trailer if possible.

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I thought you were an idiot

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Waterjunky

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Dealing with trailer tires right now. I run fully at the sidewall number. As stated before, they are designed to be ran at that number, not lower. The are designed to heat up some and thereby "overinflate" as they warm up. This is all normal. At the same time, I am fully aware of just how junky most trailer tires are. One of the ways I am dealing with this is on my tandem axle junk trailer I ordered tires for this morning, I jumped up a rating over what I needed. Total package weight would be probably 4500 lbs at the max. I ended up spending just a couple of dollars more and jumped clear up to D rated meaning I could technically carry the entire load on the hitch and two tires. This should run them cooler and have less stress meaning I should have fewer issues. Being just a junk trailer and not used on major trips and such I am hoping this gamble works and the cheap tires I bought hold up. The boat and when I buy a 5er to replace the cabover will get premium along with staying well below the max weight rating. Intended use makes a difference, I don't want issues on long trips and vacations. local is easier to deal with and more likely to get spotted at frequent stops.
 
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