Is it possible to loose 20lbs of air pressure in my RV tires after driving 18 hours? - RV-Dreams Community Forum

Tiltedgiraffes · RV-Dreams Community Member

Is it possible to loose 20lbs of air pressure in my RV tires after driving 18 hours?

dewwood · RV-Dreams Family Member

To answer your question, no it is not normal to lose 20 lbs of air pressure in your tires especially while travelling. Did you check the pressure before you left? They may not have had 80 lbs. in them to start. I have had that happen, have some work done and they air the tires to the wrong inflation pressure. If a D rated tire was standard, then they might have only inflated them to 65 lbs.

Tiltedgiraffes · RV-Dreams Community Member

Appreciate the response dewwood.

To answer your questions No, I didn't check the pressure before I left. Definitely learned my lesson on that one. Will be checking them from now on.

I believe a D rated tire is standard for this 5er but we put on E rated tires for stability and safety.

I agree with you, the Tire Kingdom in Florida must not have had them filled to the appropriate PSI to begin with.

Question: If my class E 5er tires have a max PSI of 80lbs, they should be kept at 80lbs as much as possible especially while traveling correct?

I ask because I have received conflicting info with regards to tire pressure on a 5er. Some say max it out others say don't max it all the way out.

Appreciate your thoughts..

TRAILERKING · RV-Dreams Family Member

It should always be part of your "pre-trip" to check air pressure before you leave.....Standard practice. Unless you have air pressure monitoring system. Especially with duals because you could have a very low tire and not know it. That running down the highway ends up being a blowout. I always check mine before leaving. You never know......You can pick up a nail on the way to a campground, sit for a couple days, then go to leave and have a low or flat tire.

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

tire pressure should be taken in the am before moving the coach.

tire pressure normally will slightly increase as the tires warm up , if you have lost 20lbs during travel your outside road temp would have to be either below freezing or you have a leak....

as far as inflation go to your mfg spec decal and it will give you min pressures....you can go online to the tire mfg. and there will be a chart for inflation according to weight.....(make sure you weigh your coach for safety!)

Tiltedgiraffes · RV-Dreams Community Member

Appreciate the advice TRAILERKING. It will certainly be a part of our checklist before we move on from anyplace.

Thanks

Tiltedgiraffes · RV-Dreams Community Member

Thanks for the advice Lucky Mike. Checking the tire pressure before moving out is now a part of our checklist.

Also, thanks for the advice with regards to checking the min/max tire inflation according to weight on the mfg website. This was something I certainly didn't think about doing nor did I know it was even a possibility.

Again new at this so probably a rookie question, my apologies in advance Lucky Mike; how and or where could I get my 5er weighed? Do I need to get in one of those long lines i see all the tractor trailers in on the interstate waiting for a spot at a weigh station? Or is there another place that you would recommend?

Thanks

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

most truck stops have CAT scales........there will also be a website that lists all CAT scales.......or check with Howard and find out where the portable RV weigh teams are ,they are normally around the large rallys

Tiltedgiraffes · RV-Dreams Community Member

Appreciate the tip.

Thanks

WestWardHo · RV-Dreams Family Member

As you've learned, tire pressures are very important. We've had issues in the past with stem leaks on our truck, not rv, tires. We've had all the stems replaced.

At the RV Driving school I attended, the instructor recommended we have a ball peen hammer (or one of those clubs truckers use or Bill uses to keep Linda in line😂) to thump the tires before starting and at every stop every two hours. His point is if using a gage every time you loose air.

While you're at it, learn to torque your wheels as well.

We recommend the individual wheel weighing that Howard and Linda offer for weight balance and proper inflation recommendations. You can see where this is offered at www.rv-dreams.com/rv-weighing.html.

Best to you and don't hesitate to ask these important questions on this forum. We were all newbies once.

Sherry

Bill and Linda · RV-Dreams Family Member

I guess I'll take a chance here:

No, you tires should not loose 20lbs of air - period. One cause could be the valve stems and values themselves. Many companies, to save money - its almost always about money - put inexpensive plastic steams in the tires. They leak many times. I would recommend replacing all with quality steel stems and valves. Also, tire pressure should be checked cold. That is before travel. Don't check tire pressure at the end of the travel day. Do it in the morning before you leave if your checking it.

Most "E" tires need full tire pressure as they have little capacity to start with. Without weighing each tire individually it is impossible to know the proper inflation to use which should be obtained from the tire manufacture's chart.

In my experience with "E" tires, I would put 80 psi in them IF I had no good knowledge of the weight on the tires. CAT scales are better than nothing, but you have no way of knowing which tire has the most weight on it and the tire with the most weight determines the tire pressure for all tires. I.e. whatever the weight on the heaviest tire is, use that weight on the manufactures chart to determine the tire pressure for all tires. (Many recommend going up one notch on the chart from whatever the weigh determines psi wise. E.g. if the chart says XXX lbs = 75psi, go up to the next psi number for appropriate head room.

In our travels we find lots (no exaggeration) of "E" tires blown out. Always hard to say this, but if at all possible consider upgrading to "G" tires at least if they will fit.\

Yet again YMMV

Bill

HabDaddy · RV-Dreams Family Member

We all learn from our mistakes and now you know to always check the air pressure before you leave. Personally I have a TPMS on my tires. I do not own an RV but have a travel trailer. You can purchase after market TPMS monitors that are simple to install. If you know how to put on a dust cap, you can install the TPMS. Others actually mount inside the rim (you cannot do that yourself). I always make sure the tires are at the correct PSI before starting out. The TPMS can also alert you BEFORE a disaster. When a tire gets too low in pressure or gets too hot. These are signs of a problem and without a monitor, most likely you would have to wait for a blowout before you knew a problem exists. Spend the $200-$300 (I forget the exact cost) and give yourself piece of mind. Also with a TPMS, you do not have to manually check each tire in the morning. Just turn it on and see what the pressures are. If one or more is low, go fill it up.

Howard · Host

Although it is best to run tires at the PSI per the tire manufacturer tire chart based on the loads the tires are carrying, on RV trailer tires, we recommend running maximum sidewall air pressure. That would be 80 psi for you. The exception to running max sidewall pressure on trailer tires would be if you had way more tire than you needed for the load, but that is extremely rare on trailers with original equipment.

As a side note regarding having a club or something to thump the tires, that will tell you absolutely nothing helpful. You can get a good thump out of a seriously underinflated tire all day long. Use a tire gauge or a Tire Pressure Monitoring System and check air pressures frequently.

Welcome to the Forum and to the wonderful RVing life. smile

TRAILERKING · RV-Dreams Family Member

Agree 110% with Howard. People will weigh and run at lower pressures and that will give a more cushy ride. However you have risk of damaging a tire if run too much under inflated with respect to the load on the tire. I never go by "thumping" the tires, I like to put a gauge to them and know the exact pressures. I would like to get a good monitor system, just not sure which one yet.

I actually run 120psi in my fronts and 110psi in the duals.

-- Edited by TRAILERKING on Friday 16th of May 2014 12:17:23 PM

Bill and Linda · RV-Dreams Family Member

Howard wrote:
As a side note regarding having a club or something to thump the tires, that will tell you absolutely nothing helpful. You can get a good thump out of a seriously underinflated tire all day long.

Actually, I know that. But you were supposed to have one (I don't know why) for the Class A exam and Linda thought we should keep it close where she could reach it if I took a wrong turn. Many different ways that can be read.

Bill

TRAILERKING · RV-Dreams Family Member

Bill and Linda wrote:
Howard wrote:
As a side note regarding having a club or something to thump the tires, that will tell you absolutely nothing helpful. You can get a good thump out of a seriously underinflated tire all day long.

Actually, I know that. But you were supposed to have one (I don't know why) for the Class A exam and Linda thought we should keep it close where she could reach it if I took a wrong turn. Many different ways that can be read.
Bill

Yes....over here too, when you take the Class 1A driving test, you are supposed to thump the tires(duals) to see if one isn't low.

Bill and Linda · RV-Dreams Family Member

TRAILERKING wrote:
Bill and Linda wrote:
Howard wrote:
As a side note regarding having a club or something to thump the tires, that will tell you absolutely nothing helpful. You can get a good thump out of a seriously underinflated tire all day long.

Actually, I know that. But you were supposed to have one (I don't know why) for the Class A exam and Linda thought we should keep it close where she could reach it if I took a wrong turn. Many different ways that can be read.
Bill
Yes....over here too, when you take the Class 1A driving test, you are supposed to thump the tires(duals) to see if one isn't low.

Yep, and I'll bet everyone thought I was just making that up.

WestWardHo · RV-Dreams Family Member

I stand corrected Howard, but can tell you that in my experience I picked up a slightly lower tire pressure on our inside dually one morning by thumping. One learns the sound.

Ok, you're the expert and I'll keep thumping but I recommend others follow Howard's advice. He has lots more experience& knowledge than I do.

Sherry

Bill and Linda · RV-Dreams Family Member

WestWardHo wrote:
I stand corrected Howard, but can tell you that in my experience I picked up a slightly lower tire pressure on our inside dually one morning by thumping. One learns the sound.

Ok, you're the expert and I'll keep thumping but I recommend others follow Howard's advice. He has lots more experience& knowledge than I do.

Sherry

Keep thumping, Sherry. It's more than most do and actually if the tire is flat you will know it on duals. Been there. But you can't tell if it's just low. Just flat.

MarkS · RV-Dreams Family Member

I'm trying something new. I check the pressure in my tires daily with a gauge. When I stop, I use a laser thermometer to take their temp. What prompted this change was a blown drive tire a couple of weeks ago. The problem was that the two duals were mismatched. One was taller than the other. The tall one took the majority of the load, flexing the sidewalls, generating heat, eventually blowing the tire. Had I been watching its temp, I would have seen it coming.

A rule of thumb is, if you blow a sidewall out of a tire, it was under inflated and failed due to heat caused by sidewall flex. Proper inflation reduces sidewall flex mitigating the likelihood of failure.

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

OK. I can't resist commenting on the "thumping" of tires. Like some others here, I used to drive 18-wheelers and the tire thumping was a quick way of seeing if one had a low tire. That is best determined after a lot of thumping as one can "learn the tone" of a properly inflated tire. When one is lower in pressure, the tone is a lot different. Also, since one is normally supposed to check the pressure with cold tires, that is hard to do when one is only stopping for 10 or 15 minutes but still needs to check the tires.

So, thump away and feel a little better for it.

Terry

MarkS · RV-Dreams Family Member

Terry, I read on the internet that tire thumping dates back to the earliest development of music. The term "flat" in music was coined to coincide with the tone emitted by a low tire. The tone of a low tire being slightly lower than the tone emitted by a properly inflated tire hence the term "flat". An overinflated tire would emit a tone slightly higher and result in the thumping tool bouncing back and hitting the person doing the thumping causing a sharp pain hence the musical term "sharp".

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

WestWardHo · RV-Dreams Family Member

MarkS,

I'm beginning to worry about you! 😄

Terry, I agree.

Sherry

Tiltedgiraffes · RV-Dreams Community Member

Safety is very important to us, thanks to all of you for your comments, guidance and advice on this question. We never thought we would have received such a great response from so many people.

We are already looking into the 2014 RV-Dreams Fall Educational Rally in Indiana. We both feel like that would be a fantastic educational experience for us before we go full time in early 2015.

We have so much to learn about the equipment & this lifestyle. With responses like this from so many kind people we won’t hesitate to ask more questions as we get going in this new lifestyle.

Hope to meet you all on the road soon smile

Thanks and God bless

Bill and Linda · RV-Dreams Family Member

Tiltedgiraffes wrote:

Safety is very important to us, thanks to all of you for your comments, guidance and advice on this question. We never thought we would have received such a great response from so many people.
We are already looking into the 2014 RV-Dreams Fall Educational Rally in Indiana. We both feel like that would be a fantastic educational experience for us before we go full time in early 2015.
We have so much to learn about the equipment & this lifestyle. With responses like this from so many kind people we won’t hesitate to ask more questions as we get going in this new lifestyle.
Hope to meet you all on the road soon
Thanks and God bless

We strongly recommend you attend the Rally in Goshen this fall. We can't over emphasize how much you will learn about the lifestyle but in addition you'll learn about tires and RV's. These are not like cars or even trucks when it comes to tires and infrastructure. You can also get your rig weighed properly and that is critical to safety. The cost vs. the education received is way more to the education side for the money. You will also make friends that will most likely last you throughout your travels.

Linda and Howard do a fantastic job of not only education but entertainment. You will not regret attending I can assure you.

Bill and Linda

Howard · Host

RE: Is it possible to lose 20lbs of air pressure in my RV tires after driving 18 hours?