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Correct tire pressure on trailer

44K views 10 replies 8 participants last post by  Notch 
#1 ·
How do you guys who trailer their boats know what tire pressure your trailer should be? My trailer tires state that max pressure is 65#, but how much pressure is the correct trailering tire pressure? As an example; My truck tires state that max pressure is 50#. The manufacture of the vehicle recommends max to be 32#. I run them around 35#. What should I do with my trailer tires?



Notch
 
#2 ·
Notch, 35# is way too low psi on your truck tire. If your tires state that it should be 50 psi max than 10-15% below that should be the minimum psi ran, Unless on sand or something... Trailer tires should be ran at manufacturers psi stamped on tire sidewall. NO LOWER.
 
#4 ·
IS YOUR TRAILER BOUNCE OFF THE ROAD

I LIKE TO RUN 40-50 PSI ON TRAILER TIRES
ON THE TRUCK TIRES THE TIRE MANUFACTOR KNOWS BEST
FORD HAD THIS PROBLEM A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO
FORD,CHEVY, DODGE. TOYOTA.NISSAN, ECT. HAS SUGGESTED A TIRE PRESSURE BUT THEY MAKE TRUCKS NOT TIRES
 
#8 ·
Agree with most. Have your trailer tires at maximum pressure recommended on the tire. Unless your load is substantially less than what it says on the tire. For example, if the tire says 2360 pounds at 50 PSI, but you're only towing 1000 pounds in total, you don't need full pressure.

I hope that doesn't confuse things. Just fill it to the max. Remember that when it warms up, "cold" tire pressure is about 25% higher than it is in the cold of winter. Best bet is to check the tire pressure on the day you plan to tow before you get any heat in the tires.
 
#9 ·
you are right on, DaveO.
i spent many years in the tire biz.
however, i would recommend you run what the tire says, period.

heat kills tires and low pressure increases heat dramatically. the only thing you will gain by lowering the air pressure in your tires is a little bit of a smoother ride, that's it.

i wouldn't risk it.

some people like to lower the pressure in their cars and trucks to get a softer ride. this increases tire wear and reduces the tires performance capabilities, sometime to unsave levels. the side walls loose their stability and greatly increase roll on the rim which will change the handling of the vehicle and increase the likelihood of roll-over. an underinflated tire also looses contact with the road surface in the center of the tread, reducing your contact pattern by as much as 15%. this means less traction and less stopping power!

make sure you fill your tires and check them when COLD only. if your inflate a hot tire to its max pressure and then run it again the pressure will be way too high!
 
#10 ·
[Q]fixit originally wrote:
Notch, 35# is way too low psi on your truck tire. If your tires state that it should be 50 psi max than 10-15% below that should be the minimum psi ran, Unless on sand or something... Trailer tires should be ran at manufacturers psi stamped on tire sidewall. NO LOWER.
[/Q]I'm with ya' on this one 100%!!Vehicle manufacturers[Engineers] do NOT always know best.They design and test in Controlled conditions,Not real world conditions.

Also the Tire pressures they reccomend are ALOT for ride comfort,NOT for the best Tire wear.Take the Ford Explorers a while back for instance.Ford blamed the Firestone Tires for blowing out and causing the roll-overs in which alot of people died.Firestone blamed Ford for reccomending TOO LOW of Tire pressure in the Tires,causing overheating and Blow-outs.Firestone was RIGHT!Those same tires on other SUV's with higher Tire pressures did NOT have any problems!Take it for what its worth,BUT in ALL my Vehicles,Trailers included,I run the Maximum that is stated on the Tire.[Mike]
 
#11 ·
Hey, thanks alot guys! I'm going to crank up the air compressor this weekend and inflate all the vehicles and trailer tires to max cold. makes alot of sense. My truck tires should have mor tread life to them, but after four years of underinflation (truck manufacturer recommendation) they are about shot.


Notch
 
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