Tire Pressure

[Jewel]

PLEASE HELP.

My Toyota is a '90 Odyssey with a 6000GVWR. My question is what is the proper inflation pressure. I just got (4) new Nexen 185R LT 14/D 8ply, ,the tire dealer said the duallies should have 65PSI the MAX, and the front tires 29PSI. I question this, but he insisted this is the correct Pressures. The tag on the door shows 50PSI all around. Can anyone provide the correct info? I don't have an owners manual. I would appreciate any help.

Jewel

[Maineah]

I think I would go with the coach makers pressure. More air less rolling resistance, I really think 29 in the front is way too little. I have put 10,000 miles on my new tires and they show no ware running 50 rear 45 front gives a pretty good ride and enough pressure for the weight.

[Gulfstream Greg]

My tires have a 65 lb cold max rating. Recently I had one get a nail in a side wall and had to have it replaced under the road hazard warranty. So I asked again what I should be running the pressures at. I say again because I found that I always get a different answer. Originally when I bought them (America's Tire Reno) I was told 45 lbs in all 6. Then (when I got the nail) I went to a Big O shop to get it fixed but all they could do is swap it with the spare, they said 50 in the rear and 45 in the front. Then I eventually got back to America's Tire San Jose to have the tire replaced and was told 60 in the rear and 45 in the front.

It would seem to me that there would be a weight to pressure relationship but where do we find that chart. But would it be different for every tire manufacturer? I have had 3 shops give me 3 different answers. I am running what the last shop suggested, 60 in the rear and 45 in the front all cold.

[Derek up North]

If you look here:-

http://www.michelinrvtires.com/michelinrv/tires-retreads/load-inflation-tables.jsp

you'll see that Michelin gives different pressures based on the load per axle. Unfortunately they don't list information for our 185R14 tires, but you get the idea. I'd guess that all tire manufacturers have similar information, so I'm guessing that if you contacted your tire manufacturer they could/should send you the information. Of course you'll have to get your rig weighed!

[Maineah]

Well if you go with the max 65 psi that's a weight rating of 7060 pounds for the rear alone + another 3730 for the fronts that's 10,790 max load that maybe OK but it probably will ride pretty hard. My guess DOT had a lot to do with the coach makers recommendations of tire pressure.

[Jewel]

I think I would go with the coach makers pressure. More air less rolling resistance, I really think 29 in the front is way too little. I have put 10,000 miles on my new tires and they show no ware running 50 rear 45 front gives a pretty good ride and enough pressure for the weight.

Thanks for the info. I used to run 50 all around until the tire dealer insisted the new PSI.

Jewel

[Jewel]

Hi Derek Up North

Thank you for the suggestion about the weight tables. I contacted Nexen and the Tech recommended 60# in Rear, 40# in front. He is sending the load & inflation tables to me.

It is confusing to know what is the correct PSI. This July I will attend a Good Sam Rally, and they usually have a tire safety class, which I will attend.

Jewel

[Jewel]

My tires have a 65 lb cold max rating. Recently I had one get a nail in a side wall and had to have it replaced under the road hazard warranty. So I asked again what I should be running the pressures at. I say again because I found that I always get a different answer. Originally when I bought them (America's Tire Reno) I was told 45 lbs in all 6. Then (when I got the nail) I went to a Big O shop to get it fixed but all they could do is swap it with the spare, they said 50 in the rear and 45 in the front. Then I eventually got back to America's Tire San Jose to have the tire replaced and was told 60 in the rear and 45 in the front.

It would seem to me that there would be a weight to pressure relationship but where do we find that chart. But would it be different for every tire manufacturer? I have had 3 shops give me 3 different answers. I am running what the last shop suggested, 60 in the rear and 45 in the front all cold.

[Jewel]

Hello Greg

Thank you for your help. I think I'll get the Toyo weighed, and maybe that will help to determine the proper PSI. I am going to go with 60 PSI in Rear, 40 PSI front.

Jewel

[ILIA]

I've alway rode 60 all around in the scorching Florida summers with no hesitation. Traveled coast to coast many times chasing the surf and she road like a dream.

[heyheymymy]

Sorry to resurrect a somewhat old thread, but I'm about to head out on a six month trip in my Toy, and so I've been giving everything a thorough once over. The manufacturer's information I found in my Toy after purchasing it this summer says that my tires should be inflated to 26 PSI. Given my experience with other vehicles I've owned, 26 just seems absolutely ridiculous to me. I went out and read the pressure of all of the tires this morning and all six of them are sitting around 35 PSI. I've only driven the Toy a bit around the city since buying it, so I can't say much about the ride. But 26 seems so low.

An example: the passenger side rear outer tire looks low to me, and it's sitting at 33 PSI, so the idea of taking it down to 26 just rubs me the wrong way.

Should I contact the tire manufacturer and see what they recommend? I wouldn't have a clue where to get my rig weighed around here, but I could look into it.

[Derek up North]

Assuming you've got Load Range 'C' or 'D' installed, I'd start by setting them all to 50psig. If you don't, I wouldn't drive it anywhere other than to the tire store.

I think you'll find that the 26psig recommendation is for a 1/2 ton pickup, not a 6000-7000lb motorhome!

[heyheymymy]

Thanks Derek. I've got 195R14s on the back, load range C. So I guess I should be okay to go ahead and pump up the suckers?

[heyheymymy]

Also, they say they're rated for max 50 PSI cold, so should I keep them a little under that to be safe?

[Derek up North]

45-50psig should do you fine. The standard size is 185R14, so yours are nominally a little wider. Since I assume that they've been installed for a while, I guess there's no rubbing/interference between the rear tire sidewalls.

What make/model tire are they?

[heyheymymy]

Great to know. Thanks, Derek. I'll go get them to the correct PSI tomorrow.

There's about an inch of space between the sidewalls, so they should be good to go. I assume they've been on for a while.

They're Uniroyal Laredos.

[Derek up North]

Have you checked their age?

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=11&

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=138&

[Diesel_Aggie]

If you want the ultimate in safety then you should use the load inflation chart for your specific tire crossed with the actual weight of your rig. Most truck stops have public scales as do many businesses. Try the yellow pages under "Public Scales". You should at a minimum weigh each axle separately and it's even better if you can weigh each of the 4 positions (6 if you have the oddball tag axle). As an example let's say your particular RV has an Onan 2800 generator and the full fresh water tank both on the left towards the rear. That is going to make the left rear duals have quite a bit more than the right rear. If you took the average you could end up under inflated on the left rear. If your weight varies and you don't want to weigh every time, go with the inflation for your heaviest weight. The worst thing you will have with over inflation is a rougher ride and more wear in the center of the tread. Under inflation causes a much higher build up of heat and eventual tire failure....usually a blow out. It's not just the safety issue here, but the damage a rear blowout causes to the RV. It can do thousands in damage and many RV body parts are not readily available. One last point is don't just go off the GVWR sticker on the vehicle. You may be surprised to learn you are hundreds if not thousands of pounds over gross with people, bikes, canoe, laptop, camping supplies, full tanks, the dog, the cat, hiking gear, TV, food, etc.

[bufbooth]

I am guessing that the 50 psi all around on the door was for the original tires, which is about the correct psi for most 185R/14 load range C tires. The 29 psi was for the pickup truck with no RV coach on it.

My 1990 Odyssey (bathroom in rear) with 3/4 tank of gas, full fresh water tank, and about 1/4 loaded with gear (but no passengers in it) had the following weight:

Front Left tire - 1110 lbs

Front Right tire - 930 lbs

Rear Left tire - 2430 lbs

Rear Right tire - 2140 lbs

Front axle total at 2040 lbs

Rear axle total at 4570 lbs

Total weight of 6610 lbs, add passengers and I should be about 7200 lbs.

(rear about 5,000 lbs and front about 2300 lbs)

So, I would recommend to run all six tires at near max pressure. I take the tire’s max PSI and then subtract 5 psi to ensure that I do not over inflate the tires due to the air gauge being a few pounds off. Also, 29 psi is definitely too low for the front tires, I would even state 50 psi is too low. With the front tires you need to consider more than just the standing still weight on the front tires, when you are moving and hit the brakes the front tires provide 70% of the braking power, which means that about 70% for the vehicle’s weight (about 5,000 lbs) is being applied to the front tires. I realize these numbers exceed the tire rating, but the tires will handle these weight spikes for short periods. Also, the front tires experience a bit more weight while corning. Both are times that one does not want to experience a tire blowout.

Dennis...

PLEASE HELP.

My Toyota is a '90 Odyssey with a 6000GVWR. My question is what is the proper inflation pressure. I just got (4) new Nexen 185R LT 14/D 8ply, ,the tire dealer said the duallies should have 65PSI the MAX, and the front tires 29PSI. I question this, but he insisted this is the correct Pressures. The tag on the door shows 50PSI all around. Can anyone provide the correct info? I don't have an owners manual. I would appreciate any help.

Jewel

[heyheymymy]

Thanks for the advice, everyone.

It looks like the front tires were made in '04, which is surprising as they look a lot newer than that. The older couple that I bought the Toy from used it once a year to drive down to Texas and back, so maybe that accounts for the limited tread wear.

As for the rears, only one of the two outer tires has a manufacturer's dating code on it, and it looks like it might have been made in 2000, which is worrying. Again, the tread is fine, but ten years is ten years. Should I be at all worried?

I also found a public scale nearby, so I'll head over there and see what the weight distribution is like.

[Diesel_Aggie]

Especially on an RV I'd be worried about the 2000 tire. I recently had the spare on my F-350 blow out the sidewall driving down a city street. This tire was dated 2000. No warning, just a pop. Apparently that was the inner cord popping. Shortly after I pulled into a parking lot. Glanced at the tire on the way in and noticed no problems. Came out three minutes later and the LF corner of the the truck was on the ground. It blew thru the outer layer while I was in the store. Since this was my spare and the other tire hadn't been replaced it was rather inconvenient.

I had a set of 4 "new" tires on my 5th wheel trailer that the previous owner bought new right before I got it in late 2006. They were old stock and date coded 2001. I had 3 blow outs in just a few months in 2007. Tires were always run at max PSI and were well within the load rating. Looked brand new and still had the rubber nipples on them.

My opinion is that RV tires should be replaced after 5 years. I'm willing to run car tires a few years past that if the condition is good.

[heyheymymy]

Dang. That is not what I wanted to hear! I'll start calling around to see what I can find.

I've got 185s on the front and 195s on the back. Should I go to 185s on the back? Seems to be what most people on this board have.

[Derek up North]

Hard to believe, but you'll find a slightly better selection in the 185R14 size. You might also want to consider doing some cross-border shopping. I'd say the 2 most installed on the Toyota are the Yokohama Y365 and Hankook RA08. The Y356 is called a Summer tire, while the RA08 is 4-Season.

[heyheymymy]

Sounds like a good idea. I'll be driving through Buffalo anyway, so maybe I can find a place there.

[Derek up North]

Check Tirerack.com. They can ship the tires to one of their 'Installers'. Or if you can find one of the big tire chains, seems that they'll price match what Tirerack quotes (plus shipping, of course).

[Ginsu4u]

Great thread. Thanks for all the info. I run 60 in the rear and 50 up front. I will be looking for a public scale as I'm curious what it weighs.

[Nam]

My 19' Warrior has 50PSI in front and 55PSI in the rear...seems to be ok. Hancook RA08 states 65PSI Max cold inflation

[Fred3]

"Old Tire" story... Last year I drove a 1990 Acura with Michelin tires from Wisconsin to California. The car has been in the family (kid's car) for a few years and we're the second owners. It had been through a couple of cold winters and it was time to get it home to sunny CA. Anyway... The tires were purchased new in 2004 from a reputable store. The tread was good and I had the car looked over at a brake/tire shop. The tires "looked fine". They had maybe 35,000 miles on them. I'd just had the dealer install a new starter, and an independent shop install cv joints and a muffler. The point is that professional mechanics (who were also in the retail tire business) had been all over the car... and I was a guy from California with a credit card who was apparently throwing money at an old car.

I really don't know how old the tires were. Never was aware of the manufacture date stamp that is on all tires.

I was driving 80 mph from Lincoln Nebraska towards CA. At a gas stop in western Nebraska, I noticed a "crack" in the sidewall. I continued (75-80 mph... smart huh!) hoping to get to my favorite tire dealer (a chain "out west") but got off the freeway at Rock Springs. Bought gas. Checked the tires, looked ok so far.. still holding air. Drove around to the car wash and while washing the car, one tire blew out. I installed the goofy spare. It was flat. Stayed the night at Quintas next door and took it into an American Tire dealer and got a new set. Drove 5 blocks at 5 mph on the flat spare and waited for them to open. They treated me very well and for $450 they fixed my tire problem.

We were very fortunate to have not had the blowout at highway speeds. All 4 tires were severly cracked and you could see the steel belts through the separation. Quite a mess. I never really checked to see how old the tires were. I assumed that a 2004 purchase meant the tires were 2004 or close.

Scared me away from running old tires.

I was taking a stupid chance to be driving on tires like that. Never again.

Had 7 new Hancook tires installed on the '84 Dolphin (Sears) yesterday.

Fred3

Especially on an RV I'd be worried about the 2000 tire. I recently had the spare on my F-350 blow out the sidewall driving down a city street. This tire was dated 2000. No warning, just a pop. Apparently that was the inner cord popping. Shortly after I pulled into a parking lot. Glanced at the tire on the way in and noticed no problems. Came out three minutes later and the LF corner of the the truck was on the ground. It blew thru the outer layer while I was in the store. Since this was my spare and the other tire hadn't been replaced it was rather inconvenient.

I had a set of 4 "new" tires on my 5th wheel trailer that the previous owner bought new right before I got it in late 2006. They were old stock and date coded 2001. I had 3 blow outs in just a few months in 2007. Tires were always run at max PSI and were well within the load rating. Looked brand new and still had the rubber nipples on them.

My opinion is that RV tires should be replaced after 5 years. I'm willing to run car tires a few years past that if the condition is good.

[Vanman]

Hi Derek Up North

Thank you for the suggestion about the weight tables. I contacted Nexen and the Tech recommended 60# in Rear, 40# in front. He is sending the load & inflation tables to me.

It is confusing to know what is the correct PSI. This July I will attend a Good Sam Rally, and they usually have a tire safety class, which I will attend.

Jewel

I went into the park to look at Toy RV's and saw a Dolphin with WOOSUNG tires that looked good, so I wrote down all the info: 195R14 8PR, 106/104R, Radial SV-280, 2085 lbs. @ 65 psi... searching on the web I think that they are made by Nexen, who seems to sell their tires under several names. At Tire Buyer.com, http://www.tirebuyer.com/tb_pages/products/tires/nexen/sv820.html , I see a 10558NXK, 195R14, R speed rating, ISO rating 104R, 2094lbs. @ 65 psi. It seems to be the current Nexen version of this tire. I was wondering if this would be a good tire for our 91 Dolphin??? With this lbs rating could I run less tire pressure for a smoother ride, or same pressure and a higher sartey margin?? Was this tire in the load & inflation tables you have?? Anyone have Nexen tires on your Toy?? You can see what they look like at, http://www.ratwell.com/technical/TirePhotos.html,

under the names Jupiter SV-820, Woosung SV-820, and Signet SV-820, which all look the same to me.

I want safety first both in load and traction, but for a few dollars more can get both and smoother ride, maybe not enough lower pressure to make much difference in ride, but I like to run higher ratings in tires on all my other cars & trucks and not many choices in this tire size. Another way to improve ride is lower unsprung weight, but not many choices for lighter wheels either??

Now to go and take that suddenly buzzing power supply apart Vanman

[DanAatTheCape]

PLEASE HELP.

My Toyota is a '90 Odyssey with a 6000GVWR. My question is what is the proper inflation pressure. I just got (4) new Nexen 185R LT 14/D 8ply, ,the tire dealer said the duallies should have 65PSI the MAX, and the front tires 29PSI. I question this, but he insisted this is the correct Pressures. The tag on the door shows 50PSI all around. Can anyone provide the correct info? I don't have an owners manual. I would appreciate any help.

Jewel

ply)

I have class D (8 ply) and I run the max 65psi all around. The camper came with class C (6 ply) the those max at 50psi.

[chefdave]

Hi

been into the orginal handbook for toyota pick up fully loaded is 60psi rear and 29psi front on the 185/14 tyre. which would be same as motorhome.

[Nam]

Reviving old thread...I am still running about 52PSI all around tires. Any conclusion or any more opinions on this subject?

[Ctgriffi]

2 hours ago, Nam said:

Reviving old thread...I am still running about 52PSI all around tires. Any conclusion or any more opinions on this subject?

There will never be an end to this discussion, haha, or to opinions on the subject!

Like some others, I lean towards 60psi in the rear and 50 in the fronts. Used to have a ton of crash/bang coming from the rear axle, but new shocks helped that a bunch. Front has new shocks now too, but I still get a lot of roughness there (hence the lower pressure), especially with one, specific kind of road blemish: the long "ripple" that stretches across the entire width of the lane. I've learned to wince well in advance when I spot those coming (i.e. pretty much when driving any secondary road in OK or AR!). Even at just 1" high, the dreaded ripple will shake the hell out of the front-end, when I'm at cruising speed.