twiceblessed....nacole 433 Posted September 19, 2014 Report Share Posted September 19, 2014 We're getting ready to head out and just checked the air pressure on our tires; max psi is 50 and all of ours are 45 - 48. Do I need to add more air or are we okay? Only gone for a couple of days, so the camper has very little extra inside. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ceemike...Mike & Judy 50 Posted September 20, 2014 Report Share Posted September 20, 2014 You don't ever want to exceed the max PSI rating for the tire. Did you check your owner's manual for a recommended pressure? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
southernview -- Ray 25 Posted September 20, 2014 Report Share Posted September 20, 2014 Always keep your trailer tires inflated to the maximum cold pressure. As indicated, this is the pressure that the tire should be inflated to when they are cold. Best to check them and inflate them in the early morning before they have time to heat up. The fact thay you are not loading your trailer near it's maximum capacity should not entice you to run less pressure in your tires. Hope you have a fun trip. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ftwildernessguy 778 Posted September 20, 2014 Report Share Posted September 20, 2014 What Ray said. It is doubtful, however, that if you are reading 48 psi you will be able to bring it up exactly to 50. You will lose some air just disconnecting the air hose, and trying to hit that exact pressure will be an exercise in frustration. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ftwildernessguy 778 Posted September 20, 2014 Report Share Posted September 20, 2014 You can save yourself some worry by getting a tire pressure monitor for your trailer. You will be surprised at how much the pressure and temperature fluctuate as you drive. You can also set high and low values that will set of an alarm if you reach them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ftwildernessguy 778 Posted September 20, 2014 Report Share Posted September 20, 2014 If you don't want to spring for a monitor system yet, at least go to Wally World or Pep Boys and pick up an inexpensive IR thermometer. Then check your tire temps at every stop. Look for a tire that may be running significantly hotter than the others. That is a sure sign of upcoming tire failure. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tim5055 120 Posted September 20, 2014 Report Share Posted September 20, 2014 You can save yourself some worry by getting a tire pressure monitor for your trailer. You will be surprised at how much the pressure and temperature fluctuate as you drive. You can also set high and low values that will set of an alarm if you reach them.X2 When towing I always check pressure cold in the AM and do a walk around at all stops. On my first trip out the pressure monitor picked up a slow leak that I did not see during my usual walk around at fuel stops. Had a drywall screw in the tread. I was able to watch the pressure on the monitor and stop to add when necessary. Got it patched at the destination. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
twiceblessed....nacole 433 Posted September 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2014 Thanks Fiends. We were gone for the last two nights; I did not add more air, as I thought I remembered it being (more) important that there not be too much pressure when your tires are cool (I took the temps early in the morning) as the air expands when you're driving. If you don't want to spring for a monitor system yet, at least go to Wally World or Pep Boys and pick up an inexpensive IR thermometer. Then check your tire temps at every stop. Look for a tire that may be running significantly hotter than the others. That is a sure sign of upcoming tire failure. Thank you... we'll definitely do that! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
twiceblessed....nacole 433 Posted September 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 If you don't want to spring for a monitor system yet, at least go to Wally World or Pep Boys and pick up an inexpensive IR thermometer. Then check your tire temps at every stop. Look for a tire that may be running significantly hotter than the others. That is a sure sign of upcoming tire failure. Looking on Amazon...there are a lot of IR thermometers. Price range of $15-$50. Any suggestions? In this case, is spending more worth it? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ftwildernessguy 778 Posted September 22, 2014 Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 Probably not. I got mine at Pep Boys, it is smaller than a pen and works fine. The cost was around 12 bucks if I recall. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
twiceblessed....nacole 433 Posted September 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 Probably not. I got mine at Pep Boys, it is smaller than a pen and works fine. The cost was around 12 bucks if I recall. Thank you... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
WeCampDisney 3 Posted September 27, 2014 Report Share Posted September 27, 2014 Here is a tip I learned the hard way. When checking tire pressure, always make sure the valve stem did in fact shut off completely. I just put some spit on the end and look for bubbles. If I see bubbles it is leaking. Tiny bits of dirt or rubber debris inside the tire can become trapped in the valve stem seal preventing it from sealing completely. This did happen on one of my motorhome tires during a gas stop. I checked my tires and all was good. The problem was when I checked one of the tires the valve did fail to seal , just left as light leak. I did not do the bubble test back then so had no idea I had just created a slow leak. I noticed the tire looked very low a couple of hours later. The tire had dropped from 85 psi to 50 psi in 2 hours. While adding air I noticed what was happening. It did it again bad enough. I could hear the his of air. I popped the valve with the end of a car key afew times and checked with spit. Finally it did seal. I was lucky, the tire was hot but it did not fail. Must have caught it just in time. Never assume these little valve stems always seal when checking or adding air. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
caveat lector 181 Posted October 8, 2015 Report Share Posted October 8, 2015 You can save yourself some worry by getting a tire pressure monitor for your trailer. You will be surprised at how much the pressure and temperature fluctuate as you drive. You can also set high and low values that will set of an alarm if you reach them.I'm starting to look at these and had a question. Won't the monitors on the stems mess up the tire balance? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
keith_h 420 Posted October 8, 2015 Report Share Posted October 8, 2015 I'm starting to look at these and had a question. Won't the monitors on the stems mess up the tire balance? If your trailer tires are balanced yes they can. If like on many trailers where the tires are not balanced it might or might not make a difference. My recommendation is to have the tires balanced with the monitors installed to be on the safe side. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tim5055 120 Posted October 8, 2015 Report Share Posted October 8, 2015 I'm starting to look at these and had a question. Won't the monitors on the stems mess up the tire balance?I run them on both the trailer tires (unbalanced) and the truck,tires (balanced) and see no difference with or without them installed. They are the best camping accessory I have ever purchased. Three times now they have gone into alarm while towing and gave me sufficient time to find a safe place to stop and work on the tires. All three times I had picked up a nail causing a slow leak. Without the monitors I would not have noticed until the pressure got so low in that tire that I would have had a catastrophic failure. BradyBzLyn...Mo 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Retired and Happy (Ken) 101 Posted October 8, 2015 Report Share Posted October 8, 2015 Another thing to watch for when a tire is going down...maybe slowly. We ruined a tire after we bought our newer MH. Found the schrader valve (the valve inside the valve stem) was just loose enough for a slow leak. You can get a kit at any auto parts store that includes a "wrench" for tightening it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
caveat lector 181 Posted October 8, 2015 Report Share Posted October 8, 2015 Good advice folks. I originally read about them here. Hope to have some soon Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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