As a recently retired vehicle dynamics chassis and tire test engineer, I spent years testing and intentionally having tires instantly fail, with outriggers on the vehicles of course. Slightly accelerating is one of the best safety tips when the failure occurs , but unless trained the vast majority of people won't unfortunately. As some have commented, the tire sidewall psi number is the air pressure needed to support the maximum weight for that tire, most cases it's not the recommended pressure to run, nor is it the maximum pressure that the tire can handle. Visual inspection is one of the best ways to catch a issue before it becomes a problem. That piece of road debris you may have hit a month ago can become a real problem today. A TPMS is just a one more tool in the tool box, but should not be your only tool. Yes RV tires tend to age out before they wear out, there is chemistry and science behind that statement.
quote. The tire sidewall psi number is the air pressure needed to support the maximum weight for that tire /quote Can’t stress that enough. Please repeat it over and over again. To many people fill to max pressure even with light loads.
I have an Arctic Fox 811 truck camper in the bed of my F350. The max load capacity of my tires is at 80psi. The truck door sticker says the fronts should be 60psi and rears 80psi. When I have the camper in the truck and set the rears at 80psi cold pressure, after approx. 45 minutes driving at 60-65 mph the pressure goes up to 90psi +. Should I run them this way or set the cold pressure at 70-75psi so when the tires warm up they are still in the 80-85psi range? Thanks in advance for any help.
@@mikes79 Not knowing what your slide in truck camper weighs or the cargo/payload weighs, i.e. passenger, gear, supplies, etc. I would set the cold pressers at 80 psi, its normal to see a rise 10 psi gain once the tire temp stabilizes, the rule is for every 10 *f of tire temperature gain a 1 to 2 psi gain is expected.
@@mikes79 The max cold PSI rating is the baseline and is what the tire is designed to handle cold. The tires were designed to handle higher pressures when hot. You can also try asking your tire manufacturer what they suggest for max hot pressure to be safe. I thought a 6 to 10 pound increase was normal.
Just because you can tow at 70 MPH, should you? I say don't, I don't tow much over 60 MPH. JUST REMEMBER SPEED KILLS. Be safe and take care. Arrive Alive.
Check the age of the tires Just because they look new doesn't mean that they are in good condition. It's not good to let a tire set for a long time without rolling they will flat spot and that could cause a broken belt. Keep up the great topics coming The more information we have the better we are.
Glad I put a TPMS on our trailer. This last trip made me keep the speed down. It was 100 degrees out and watching the tire temps rise kept me at 65mph. The tires we have are rated for 87mph. I'll stay at 65 or 70mph.
Good Year Endurance tires on a 30' 25W Artic Fox with a load rating well above the minimum needed for my trailer. Tire temps were anywhere from 80's when it rained to 108/111 when air temp got above 90 to 100 degrees. This was driving from Florida to western NC. Some tires ran a few degrees above the other tires at times. I noticed after I parked for few minutes. The tire temps shot up a few degrees but went down after a few minutes of driving.@@dakotacannady6260
Good info Tod. As a professional truck driver I have a few other tips. You’re so correct that initially you need to slightly accelerate on a blowout, especially if it’s a steer tire on a motor home. It’s not as critical for a trailer tire nor a rear axle tire, especially if in a dual wheel configuration. Second, regarding tire pressure. Blowouts most often happen from too much heat. Well what causes excess heat? Too low of pressure in relation to the weight you’re carrying. This lease to excessive sidewall flex and the tire gets too hot and can fail. From experience both towing RVs and semi trailers, slightly over the recommended pressure is way safer than slightly under. For my RV, the recommended cold pressure is 65psi. I inflate to 70. The wheels are good to 80psi. Lastly, know how old your tires are. Rubber deteriorates over time. Every tire sold has a 4 digit date code on them. The first two numbers are the week, the second two are the year. So if the code is 2420, those tires were manufactured in the 24th week of 2020. For China bombs, I wouldn’t want tires older than 3 years at a max. Goodyears, 4 years max.
Yes, I believe this is true for steer tire blow outs only. Correct? I would love to know the maintenance history (tire dates) of the RV they were traveling in, but unfortunately we will never know. RIP Molander Family.
@@3sons66 largely yes but the worse thing you can do with a blowout of any single tire on a wheel end is panic brake. A dual tire configuration will help as even with one failure, you’ll still have another to keep the wheel from contacting the pavement and you’ll have some traction. But in a single this isn’t the case. Panicking can easily result in sway b
Thanks! Had a blowout on a trailer tire, tandem axle, and didn’t even know it until some pulled up along side us and let us know. Got a tpms system after that trip!
Real good argument to keep both hands on the stealing wheel instead of one hand driving sitting on a folded leg under you that I see all the time. Oh! A firm grip when this happens is great too.
You missed the most important point of all: tire age. Once your tires hit 7 years old they need to be replaced regardless of condition. Thanks for the great information.
Great subject, keep them coming. Discussing with a buddy over dinner, pre trip, pressure, tred, visual, feel with gloved hands, bearings, lugs. Also checking the spare and your replacement kit i.e. 4 way, blocks and/or jacks, cheater if needed, air compressor (I carry a dewalt and a small 12 volt) During trip, repeat steps, when you stop and before you leave. Caught a slashed tire on a stop before we hit the road once. Post trip repeat, cover if you desire. Some other items we carry, spare shrader valves, patch and plug kit, cordless impacts, orange cones with reflective tape, blinking red lights.
The next thing to talk about is what to have on hand when you have a blow out and need to change the tire. Safety vests, day light triangles, Night flares or lights and a look out. Of course you will need all the correct tools to change the tires
My 2 cents: 1. Keep tires and area around tires clean and free from any: sticks, rocks, mud, sharp objects, metallic objects that arent part of the rv itself, or any other debris, etc. 2. Keep all rim covers secured properly. This includes having all securing nuts and pieces of covers. If the cover is missing a piece, remove it and stow in a safe place until such time the missing piece can be replaced. 3. Clean and gel the tires atleast twice a year. Dont go crazy with it, just one or two applications is all thats needed. Tire gel helps to keep the rubber elastic and "moist" preventing the tires from dry rotting.
I always take a break every 100 miles and stretch out and check my tire temperatures. If they are all running the same temp then I’m good to go for the next 100 miles. If I do find a hot tire I then check the pressure and if that is good I take the temperature of the brake calipers and the wheel bearings. Chances are it might be a failing wheel bearing or a stuck caliper.
Our hearts go out to the families. Thanks for covering this info. As RV Transporters of the "Drive Away" Division I have heard many say that they are new tires, they have less chance of an issue. My thought is, I am going to double-check these tires because I don't know if they are from the bottom of the pile and were not rotated in the last four shipments, or if the line assembly was in a hurry that Friday afternoon during the mounting process. I do use a TPMS that gives warning on heat and air, but I have seen a bubble on the side wall form and no warning of heat in the tire. We have a lot of fun doing this job, but to scare you, what other task kills as many people from someone else's error? Driving is not for everyone. Maybe your Tech Tip Tuesday needs ***Safety Tip Saturday!*** Your bloopers reel left out; you spelled "ware" incorrectly "wear" (to wear down from friction or use). Peace Love & Jelly Beans People, Be Safe and drink plenty of blinker fluid!
So hold on a second. I'm NOT supposed to do 115 mph on the highway with my lil 25 footer? Jokes aside, I see SO MANY out there that are obviously new, towing with vehicles that are likely at or over their tow capacity, driving like they are unhitched. Love the channel man!
Good talking points! I agree a TPMS is helpful and almost a necessity in terms of being able to monitor tire pressure BUT IMO it's only a part of what needs to happen each time we make a stop. Also agree on the constant visual inspection. Sidewalls bubbling, tread separating from the tire, bulges in the tread are all things to look for. I also make a habit of checking the temp of the tires and hubs each stop. If you don't have an infared thermometer you can use your hand. If any of these areas are so hot you can't hold your hand in place for a few seconds there's likely an issue that needs to be addressed before driving again.
Panic is what kills most people, not the event. As for preventive, not just tire condition but QUALITY you have to look at. How many trailers are still running China Bombs. It's only until recently that RV manufacturers have started going back to quality tires. As soon as I bought my trailer, switched the China Bombs to GoodYears. And also check the age of your tires.
China Bombs is 90% myth. The truth is that many Chinese RV tires are designed for heavy loads, not high speeds. But people like my best friend still drive 80 mph. He's now had a blowout with top notch American tires, so he drives slower.
30+ years driving semi trucks. Thank you for the correct actions. As to the purchasing tires? I always went up i size rating for weight. On a Class A that has a 12,000 steer axle? If it says an "H" I would purchase an "I" weight tire have a little room . BTW just before I quit I blew the right steer on a 2 lane road at 55. no problem since I was taught to play a "game" ALL THE TIME... What IF a tire blew? I lost 2 rights and 1 left in 30 years. Do what he said. I left when the TM did not ask If I was okay, , but DID YOU DO A PRETRIP??? answer... 1 for the tractoe and 1 for the trailer that was at the plant, BTw all the trailer tires were low! every year buy a new air gauge.
Thank you for this tip; very helpful and it makes perfect sense, but wondering if this same advice apply for trucks pulling travel trailers with a brake controller. What effect would applying the trailer brakes with the brake controller have? Seems like applying the tow vehicle brakes would apply most of the braking to the axle with the blown tire and risk locking them up. Don't know if this is good or bad advice for the specific scenario of a tow vehicle with a trailer.
Thank you Todd. My first and foremost concern in 35 years of RV’ing is my tire reliability. I’ve had two rear tire blowouts. Very scary and hard to safely stop. I can only imagine a front blowout. I inspect my tires each trip. While on a trip I crawl under and check my tires every day before I drive. Plus, I go to my local truck tire shop before a trip and ask to inspect my tires. The time spent is worth it. Excellent subject. Thank you.
Thank you for all the tips you provide! The RV community really appreciates it. I do have a question: Should you follow the max PSI listed on the tire or the PSI the RV manufacturer lists on the stickers located by the driver seat. I ask because the tire lists 100 PSI, but the RV manufacturer's sticker states 82 PSI. Believe it or not, the RV manufacturer wouldn't clarify, and every time I take it to Goodyear, they want to inflate to 100 PSI. Thank you in advance!
I see a lot mentioning tire temperature. Is there a maximum temperature one should be concerned with? We drive a class A motorhome. We run at 60 mph. In summer months those temperatures really rise.
so on the tire you will see max pressure cold on the tire. Cold means after a few hours (at least) of no driving. The max pressure also assumes under maximum rated weight. Yes too much pressure will cause crown wear on the tires (wearing down the middle of the tire) but if you stay at or under the max pressure cold you will be fine. To determine how far under, now read the pressure suggested on the RV tire dataplate that is provided on drivers side of the RV. Typically on a Class A its near the captain seat inside the rv on the sidewall next to the seat. THis will provide maximum weight capacity of the RV and there will be a section on pressure needed for the tires.
Todd, the pressure on the sidewall of the tire is the cold inflation pressure at MAXIMUM LOAD. This is most likely not the pressure you should be running in your tires. In most cases you should be running something less than the cold inflation at maximum load as you are probably not running you tires at maximum load. You need to get the inflation table for your tires, then weigh your rig and inflate your tires the load you are carrying. There are folks that make up all kinds of excuses why you should run something higher than this pressure due to uneven loading side to side etc. I've seen folks say anywhere from 10-15 lbs over recommended. At 80 psi that my rear tires run, 10 psi is 12.5% over recommended which gives a bad ride and poor traction. I don't think this is wise. There are plenty of articles about this on the Internet so knock yourself out, but please pay attention to who is writing them.
Surprised that there was no mention of checking the age of your tires. I've heard many times that tires on motorhomes typically "age out" before they "wear out."
What happens if your tire gives your different psi than your RV/vehicle. I assume go with the tire, but curious why these are different. Love this videos and appreciate you taking the serious tone.
Where is the proper place to place a Jack under a fifth wheel in order to change a tire? I’ve read by the frame and I’ve read on the axle tube close to the leaf spring perch. Curious to your thoughts. Ty in advance
The leaf sping cannot handle the weight of the rv. Very light towables might be ok but 5ers its a huge risk. Use the frame to jack up. Use stands to support the jack. Or use the leveling gear.
I have an Arctic Fox 811 truck camper in the bed of my F350. The max load capacity of my tires is at 80psi. The truck door sticker says the fronts should be 60psi and rears 80psi. When I have the camper in the truck and set the rears at 80psi cold pressure, after approx. 45 minutes driving at 60-65 mph the pressure goes up to 90psi +. Should I run them this way or set the cold pressure at 70-75psi so when the tires warm up they are still in the 80-85psi range? Thanks in advance for any help.
My question is psi. Ok it’s 60degs outside and pressure is good, I set out on my travels and the outside temp is now 90degs or more so what point should I worry about tire psi? I know the pressure will be way higher if I were to check the pressure if it was a constant 90degs but at morning temps cooler than midday temp. This is what worries me a lot.
So cold means without any driving for hours. It is too late to check pressure after you gage driven for a while. The air heats up and adds pressure. You can’t precisely calculate it so there isn’t a good answer. The takeaway, check pressure before you travel. Focus on that.
Very very doubtful. Slime is for leaks. Blowouts are superfast structural failures of a tire. Slime is not going to slow or stop a tire from tearing apart due to age, heat (from speed) or damage.
I' not here to see the "Bloopers", I'm here to learn, you have great video's, lot's of tips and safety concerns, Everybody makes mistakes, editing out the "Bloops" doesn't hurt the content, it helps keep the focus of the discussion. Just wanted to say that, Keep up the good work, keep on cruisin' ',,,,,,
