Tyre Pressure?

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Dexdoggy
Posts: 35
Joined: Tue Nov 03, 2015 12:36 pm
Location: Sydney

Tyre Pressure?

Post by Dexdoggy » Thu Mar 02, 2017 12:08 pm

Hi! We have a Smith 2013 soft floor off-road camper trailer with some serious off-road tyres, but at present it only ventures "on-road" behind our Ford Falcon ;) (which tows it with the greatest of ease!).

As such, what would be the recommended tyre pressure when looking to maximise ease of towing and minimise wear & tear when we are just doing on-road journeys at this time?
Rick & Cherrie & Zoe Dog! Anywhere the trailer is set-up is our Happy Place!
Smith 2013 Off-Road soft-floor CT

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robcaz
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Location: Stockton NSW
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Re: Tyre Pressure?

Post by robcaz » Thu Mar 02, 2017 6:16 pm

Hi Rick & Cherrie,

I read about the 4lb rule in Overlander 4WD magazine during the early 80's & have been using it since. It seems to work well for both the vehicle & the trailer, but does not work for low profile tyres.

You need to run at highway speed for at least an hour to give your tyres a chance to build up enough heat. What you are aiming for is an increase of 4lb from your cold pressure reading.

If you are over the 4lb you have not put enough air in the tyres from cold. An under inflated tyre drags on the road generating heat.
 
If you are under the 4lb you have put too much air in when the tyre was cold. Over inflation when cold will not generate enough heat.
 
You can build up a chart for cold tyre pressures of varying loads for the vehicle & trailer.

I always add a couple of extra pound in the trailers tyres so they have a less rolling resistance. It does not effect the wear.
happy camping
Rob & Carol
Australian CamperTrailers Group co-owner


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User avatar
Dexdoggy
Posts: 35
Joined: Tue Nov 03, 2015 12:36 pm
Location: Sydney

Re: Tyre Pressure?

Post by Dexdoggy » Fri Mar 03, 2017 9:19 am

Thanks Rob, I will give that a go!
Rick & Cherrie & Zoe Dog! Anywhere the trailer is set-up is our Happy Place!
Smith 2013 Off-Road soft-floor CT

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