I've been towing my 67 Vintage Race Midget for 20 years with a dual
axle, enclosed 16' Haulmark and have had 1 flat tire and two start to
disintegrate. All three tire shops I went to for replacement insisted
on the same thing, i.e. trailer tires, not truck or car, and
inflation at max pressure. Trailer tires ARE built for that specific
use, car/truck tires are not. My Midget weighs less than 1600 lbs but
I carry a few hundred lbs in tools, spares, supplies, etc.
Read the max load number indicated on each of the four tires,
calculate the weight of the car, the trailer, and the contents. Don't
forget, the load the tires have to carry includes the weight of the
trailer and all the miscellaneous things you keep in it in addition
to the car. Max weight carrying capacity is at max air pressure. Make
your decision from those numbers.
Also, all tire shops recommended speed no more than the max indicated
on the tires, in my case 65 MPH. That happens to be about 2200 RPM on
my truck and it feels real comfortable there. I may use different
brands but always the same construction, size and load rating.
Checking for heat build-up in the tires and the hubs at your first
rest stop is a good idea.
Don't forget a compatible spare. I keep my spare at higher PSI
because it always seems to loose air sitting inside. When you have a
flat, you want the spare to be at the same pressure the other three
tires are and you can always take air our but not always put it back.
Some of us carry a hand or foot pump or one of those cheap pumps that
runs off the cigarette lighter. The more self-sufficient you are the
less time and money you'll lose, especially on a long trip on lonely roads.
Be prepared. Safety Fast.
Bob
At 12:12 PM 7/15/2011, derf wrote:
>I disagree. Why would you run less pressure? I would run trailer
>tires at max or near max rated pressure.
>Trailer tires have different sidewall characteristics and you do not
>want them acting like car/truck tires.
>35-40 on a 50 rated tire is too low, IMO.
>Correct me if I'm wrong.
>
>On Fri, Jul 15, 2011 at 10:50 AM, Jim Seippel <aseippel@austin.rr.com> wrote:
> > The trailer will be minimally loaded. You are looking at 375 lbs per tire.
> > That is much less than the tire loading on a full size car. I
> would probably
> > use something between 35-40 psi. That should be a good compromise between
> > tire heating from low inflation pressure and excessive wear from
> > overinflating. Just make sure you load the trailer at least 150-200 lbs
> > tongue heavy to prevent the trailer from steering the tow car back and
> > forth.
> > Jim
>_______________________________________________
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