Over Inflate Tires when storing trailer ?

Happy, I too think they are. The problem comes in when they are exposed to the sun. If parked indoors or shaded from the sun should be no problem.

[mjlaupp]

[quote author=Windbreaker link=board=7;threadid=1315;start=msg9378#msg9378 date=1063935969]
Happy, I too think they are. The problem comes in when they are exposed to the sun. If parked indoors or shaded from the sun should be no problem.
[/quote]
Indoors is ok if there are no sources of electrical sparking such as from power tools used in the garage. Electrical sparks generate ozone which is just as bad as the ultraviolet from the sun. Fluorescent lights also generate UV light. Overall the damage risk is much less when the TM is stored indoors but there is still the possibility of some damage to the rubber.
MJL

[RockyMtnRay]

Bill wrote:

I'm anxious to hear what the factory says, either way.

I called Jimmie Davis at TM this morning and asked him if using the rear jacks to take all weight off the tires for long term storage would cause any problems. His response was that there was absolutely no possibility of damaging the trailer itself by doing this. He went on to say that he couldn't say whether or not this might damage the jacks, but as for trailer's frame, there wasn't any reason at all to worry.

My new plan is to place jack stands directly under the retracted rear scissor jacks. Reason: the scissor jacks attach to the frame fore and aft of the lifting point, thus spreading out the lifting load over a much greater area of the frame than would be the case if the jack stands were placed directly under the frame. Also with the jacks retracted and with identical height jack stands, I'm going to come much closer to having equal lifting heights on both sides so lateral torsion forces will be minimized.

[MikeD]

Happy,

My understanding is that trailer tires are designed to cope with extended parking times, but that extended parking is hard on any tire. The Goodyear site addresses the issue of trailer tire storage specifically, and gives some procedures to minimize what damage does occur.

From this discussion and the info on the Goodyear site, I conclude that the best way to store the trailer is to lift the tires from the floor, reduce the air pressure, and cover the tires - (thanks for calling the factory RockyMtnRay). In my case, I want to open and close it during the winter months (new trailer - I have a lot of projects), and I need to move the trailer in order to open it. So, it appears that over inflating the tires is my best bet.

My only other concern is that the Goodyear site warns against moving the trailer "during extremely cold weather". Temperatures get down to 0[sup]o[/sup] F. here - is that "extremely cold" ?

MikeD

[RockyMtnRay]

Temperatures get down to 0o F. here - is that "extremely cold" ?

As someone who grew up in Montana (where temps regularly drop down to around -30, sometimes -40)...and who lives in a state where the mountain area temps pretty regularly drop to -30 or lower (Frasier, CO is often the coldest spot in the nation); my sense of these things is that Goodyear probably considers zero as being at the warm end of "extremely cold" and was most likely thinking more along the lines of -20 to -40. I say this because it's been my experience that you have to get down around -20 before tires will retain their flat spots for several minutes of driving.

Personally I wouldn't be moving the trailer around or doing much with it when the temp is much below 10 above...the tires aren't the only parts that get stiff and brittle in cold temperatures.

[pemc4279]

Ray and Larry--you might need to agree to disagree. After all, the whole purpose of owning and using a TM is to relax and enjoy life! With that said, my contribution may be akin to comparing apples to skateboards, but here goes.

Before the TM, we owned a canvas sided pop-up. I used the scissor jacks/stabilizers to level the trailer and it deformed the door opening. I'm noticing some very minimal tweaking in the door of my TM. As a result, I refuse to level the trailer with the jacks/stabilizers. I use the Anderson leveler (greatest thing in the world for this!) and tongue jack to level side to side and front to back. Then I only firm up corners with jacks/stabilizers.

While you're both referencing professionals, there's no better teacher than experience and my experience tells me the jacks/stabilizers should not be used to level. I understand it's possible I'm being over-cautious, but better safe than sorry!

Happy Trails!

[tentcamper]

I like the idea of over inflating. I always lose about 10 psi after winter storage.

Maybe I will take some weight off the tires. Never have done it before. But I think using the jacks on the camper might will best for me. Drop the nose down about 6", extend the rear jacks, rise the noseback up to level with the elec jack and drop the front jacks. I should get about 6" lift with almost no effort.

[BrucePerens]

I will continue to lift my tires off of the ground during storage. I think the biggest problem with leveling the trailer using the stabilizers is that it's pretty easy to push a stabilizer over when it's fully extended. Especially if it's only attached with two bolts. Some of them provide a better bolt pattern.

[tentcamper]

I would not be to concern with two bolts on each jack.. But I worked under cars for years, up 2 feet on 4 jack stands with no bolts. But I get the visual thought.