Tire Pressure

We have a 2007 2720SL with 14" radial tires - it was a repo and we are assuming the tires are the original ones. According to what we read about TM tires - they say 55 psi is sufficient. However, from what I have read on the forum I see that some inflate to 63 or 65 psi. We will be traveling on highway road most of the time. Our tow vehicle is a 1500 Chevy Silverado.
Again this is only our 2nd trip out in our TM and we are still learning. Thanks in advance for any advice sent our way.
T

Originally Posted by tshawah

We have a 2007 2720SL with 14" radial tires - it was a repo and we are assuming the tires are the original ones. According to what we read about TM tires - they say 55 psi is sufficient. However, from what I have read on the forum I see that some inflate to 63 or 65 psi. We will be traveling on highway road most of the time. Our tow vehicle is a 1500 Chevy Silverado.
Again this is only our 2nd trip out in our TM and we are still learning. Thanks in advance for any advice sent our way.
T

It all depends on what ply rated tire you are running. If you have the OE tires, then they should be a Load Range C (6 ply rated) tire. This tire probably has a maximum of 50 PSI written on the sidewall. Tires have what you can call a reserve (or extra) allowance, but I, personally, don't think I would be comfortable with running 65 psi in a Load Range C tire.

You can take this for what it is worth. In my professional dealings (I own a tire business), I encounter many radial tires that are what we call "separated". This is where the belts become separated from the rubber they are encased in. The tread and belts can then sling off of the tire body. This causes damage to vehicles and trailers.

When a separated tire comes into my place, the first thing I check is air pressure (believe it or not, most are still aired up, even after throwing a belt/tread). I would say nearly half of the separated tires I encounter, are overpressurized. I see people air their tires up, to the point of where they literally pull the rubber away from the belts (or separate them). This is usually the result of someone airing a tire up by looks instead of a gauge (or sometimes using a faulty/cheapo gauge). Radial tires have a squat to them, even when properly inflated. If you air a radial up to where it doesn't have the "squat", most likely you are also going to ruin it too. This is why I have a problem with airing a tire with a 50 psi maximum up to 65 psi.



Now if you had a Load Range D (8 ply rated) tire, then it has a max listed at 65 psi, which you can run at that or lower down some.

You also need to make sure that what you are reading in the forums applies to your particular Tmanor and load you carry. There are heavier TrailManors than yours and therefore need tires that carry heavier loads (and corresponding air pressures)