Michelins commercial tire web says their tires have max protection and max tire performance at max psi pressures. Why derate a tires performance by using low pressures especially a trailer tire. Another point of the follie of using "minimum" pressure charts for trailers is those lower pressures do not take in consideration that a trailer tire slides sideways at times. That point was told to me many years ago by a Goodyear truck tire dealer.
Jim
'03 2500 Dodge/Cummins HO 3.73 6 speed manual Jacobs
'97 Park Avanue 28' with two slides
Tire pressure rating on tire is if you are using tire at maximum rated load. Running pressure to high will cause tire to wear in center, and running to low will cause tire to wear at sides. Same information applies to tow vehicle.
My previous 5th wheel had tires rated for 55 PSI. OWNERS manual recomended 35 PSI. I used that pressure and had the trailer for 5 years and when I sold it the original tires were on it, and in perfect condition.
The biggest cause of blown tires is under inflation, road hazards, poor quality tires(not always made in China). I strongly suggest you inflate your tires to the maximum PSI, check them each time you get ready to pull out on the road. You run G rated tires made for a heavy load, nothing less. When your tires are about 5 years old, no matter how they look, it is time for new ones. One blown tire can cause a tremendous amount of damage to your rig. Been there a few times. Your dealer doesn't sound credible to me. Good luck and happy trails.
Wow, did I get educated. I guess the service rep. from Goodyear and Michelin were completely wrong. I have G rated tires on sig. 5er, though I'm not anywhere near GVW on my 5er, I was told by GOODYEAR to run tire at max psi of 110. Of course, I believe, per a Michelin rep, and again, the Goodyear rep,you need to consider how you drive and WHERE you drive. Both manufacturers stated that, for the type of driving I do, almost all of it in the mountains and also, quite often on curvey roads. I also make a U-Turn in a cul-de-sac everytime I return from a camping trip. I was told, again, by service reps for Michelin and Goodyear, for the type of driving I do, to run tires at max psi. You will see absolutely no wear in the middle, on the outside or inside of my tires. They look brand new and thread depth is still right at what it was when I first took possession of the 5er. I have tables for all the different weights and "recommended psi's" for the Michelins and the Goodyears, BUT, from what I understand from service reps of these two tire manufacturers, a lot has to do with the terrain you drive in.(flat land or hilly as opposed to mountainous and curvy roads), so the chart of recommended psi for certain weight loads,depending on where and how you drive, are not a reality for everyone.
Jim & Kathy
07.5 Chevrolet K3500DRW/CC/LB/LMM/D/A LTZ, Prodigy,Reese 20K hitch.
06 HR Presidential Suite 37RLQ
06 Coachmen Clipper Classic 1270ST
99 Jayco Quest 10
07 Mitsubishi Outlander XLS 4X4
Boxers,Sheba,13..Buddy..1.5 yr.
USAF 71-75 Nam Vet
I have Goodyear G614 tires. I run 80 psi when they're on the camper. Because the Goodyear tire load charts indicate 75 psi for 2905# per tire. My camper tires carry 2900# per tire so I allow 5 psi extra.
In summer I take the G614's off of the camper and put them on my gooseneck utility trailer so they get a little "exercise" and aren't just sitting all summer. Then I bump up the psi to 110# because I'm never sure how much I may overload my trailer.
I'm getting good service out of the tires doing this. Last spring on our way home from Florida I kept up with traffic flow on I75 which was generally 80-85 mph. The camper rode very smooth, not so much as splashing the water out of the dog's dish. But It does have air ride suspension. If I didn't have air ride I certainly wouldn't over inflate the tires.
JIMNLIN wrote: Michelins commercial tire web says their tires have max protection and max tire performance at max psi pressures. Why derate a tires performance by using low pressures especially a trailer tire. Another point of the follie of using "minimum" pressure charts for trailers is those lower pressures do not take in consideration that a trailer tire slides sideways at times. That point was told to me many years ago by a Goodyear truck tire dealer.
Jim
No one will argue max air for max performance,but is it necessary to blow a 3000 lb tire up to max pressure when the load is 1500lbs??? I am just asking here. There has to be some truth to bad tire wear on certain inflation pressures. Thats why there are tire charts. I run my trailer tires at max, because I am like most folks scared to death by the reports of tire failures on these chinese tires. If the truth was known they were probably overloaded and under inflated,and thats the two things you will not hear. How many thousands of these tires are out there without a failure??
I run a tire E rated at 3640 lbs @ 80 psi on my TV. My back axle weight is 3220 lbs. One of my tires at 80 psi will handle the load when empty, not towing. I run them at 45-50 empty. 70-80 when towing the 5ver.This is the way I have always done it. I have no idea if I would get bad tire wear if I am inflated to the max pressure when empty, but I do know its a pretty rough ride with 80 psi and a empty 1 ton truck.
NC Hauler wrote: Wow, did I get educated. I guess the service rep. from Goodyear and Michelin were completely wrong.
Hmmm, the tire pressure chart I linked to above is from Goodyear. You might want to ask your Goodyear rep to explain the difference between his opinion and the "official" recommendations from the Manufacturer.
Keith J, Retired from GM Engineering
2005 GMC Sierra 2500HD SLE 2WD/CC/SB/DA.
1999 Sunnybrook 27RKFS Fiver
Bilsteins, Line-X, Westin steps, Prodigy, Retrax, 16K Superglide, 5th-Airborne pin-box, Multi-vex mirrors.
I did ask the Goodyear rep about the chart. When he asked me where I did most of my towing and I told him in the mountains of WV,NC,TN,SC & VA and how, after every return trip home, I turned sig. 5er around in a cul-de-sac, skewing the drivers side tires, he told me to run them at max psi due to flexing of the sidewalls which also occurs to some extent when driving in some of the, at times, very curvy and steep mountains.
When I purchased a set of Michelin Ribs for the last 5er I had, (Coachmen Somerset 370RLS), I contacted a Michelin rep by phone after receiving info from Michelin over the internet from their charts. After telling the rep where I towed the Coachmen, he ALSO recommended to run the RIBS at the max. 80psi, he stated they would wear better for the type of towing that I did...there are always exceptions to the rules. I've been doing this for a very long time and have never had a blowout or irregular tire wear due to inflating tires to their max...not over inflating them, just inflating them to their max psi.
Do I do this on my truck, in one word....no, I use what the vehicle manufacturer and the tire manufacturer have agreed together on, to what the best air pressure is for these tires to allow the truck to perform at it's best in braking, handling, towing and fuel economy.
ON EDIT: Understand that what works for one, may not work for the other. If I would have had blow-outs, or had to replace tires due to wearing them out, or irregular wear, then I would probably have been doing something different with tire inflation, BUT, the way I have done, and am doing my tires on pop-up's TT's & 5er's over the last 33 years, has worked for me on longivity of tires. It is what it is and may not work for all, but for me it has...
Offline
