What Air Pressure Should I Run In My RV's Tires?

by Art
(Las Vegas, NV)

How to Determine the Proper Tire Pressure for Your RV

How to Determine the Proper Tire Pressure for Your RV

Purchased a used 2004 Four Winds 5000, 22' on Ford E 350 Chassis. Manufacturer's tag on the driver door recommends 65# front and 60# rear PSI air for the associated tires. These seem awful low for the weight. Are these numbers right, especially for the rear tires?

ANSWER: Hi Art figuring out the proper inflation for your RV's Tiresicon is going to take a little work on your part. Even though your RV Manufacturer has tire inflation recommendations, they may not be correct. You need to look at the sidewall of the tire to see the recommended tire pressure. You should also visit the tire manufacturers website to determine the proper inflation based on the weight the tire will be carrying and the only way you can do that is by weighing your RV.

You can weigh your RV at some truck stops, some RV Shows, Sand and Gravel Yards, etc. When you weigh the RV it should be fully loaded including food, clothing, full fresh water tank, passengers, towed vehicle, etc. Once you have determined the heaviest end of each axle you need to inflate all the tires on that axle to the recommended PSI.


Important Note: You should only inflate your RV's tires when they are cold to get the proper tire pressure. If you try to inflate the tires after they have been driven you will end up under inflating them, because the air in the tires expands when tires have been driven on.

The best way of determining the proper PSI is by visiting the website of the RV tire manufacturer. Major RV Tire manufacturers such as Goodyearicon have load and inflation tables online. Just look up the model of the tire you have and the weight it is carrying and the proper inflation PSI will be listed.

Even though your RV Manufacturer has some recommended tire pressures listed, those pressures are based on the tires that came with the RV and they may not be correct if you have gone to a different brand tire, etc.

For more information please read the answer I gave to the question below.

Should We Weigh Our RV To Determine Proper Tire Inflation?

Do you have any suggestions or comments on this topic? You can add them to this page by clicking on the "Click Here To Post Comments" link located near the bottom of this page.

Happy RVing

RVing Al

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Comments for What Air Pressure Should I Run In My RV's Tires?

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starstarstarstarstar 		Which tire sticker
by: Roger Marble

Anonymous said he followed the sticker in the engine compartment. 80 psi, but didn't say what the pressures were on the door. '99 predates the latest rules from DOT so it would help to know what info is on which sticker. It is possible that the door sticker was the base truck BEFORE the RV was built onto the E350 chassis. The best thing to do is to get scale weights at a truck stop for each axle. Then consult tire company load & Inflation tables to learn the minimum cold inflation numbers. You can learn more details of proper tire inflation on my RV Tire blog www.RVTireSafety.net.

Note I am a retired tire design engineer so do know about tires.
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Tire pressures.
by: Anonymous

I have a 24 foot 1999 E-350 chassis. I found a tire pressure of 80 Lbs posted in the engine compartment on top of the radiator put there by the RV manufacturer. It differs from the posting on the door. I inflated to this pressure and the handling greatly improved. You might check for an updated inflation pressure from your RV manufacturer.
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Corrections from a tire engineer
by: Roger Marble

Quite a collection of half right and half old wives tales. Start with using the inflation provided by the RV MFG. They are the ones responsible for providing inflation that meets the RV weight limits. Tire companies do not know what the RV their tires go on weigh. Always measure tire pressure cold Never hot. We know the pressure will increase when you drive and tires are designed for that. If you lower the cold because you don't want the hot pressure to go above the number on the chart or on the tire you probably are underinflating your tires.

If you learn the weight on the heavy end of an axle on your motorhome and use the inflation that matches that load you are setting your cold inflation to the minimum needed. If the ambient drops the pressure goes down and now your tire is underinflated. That's why it is suggested to add 10%
You can learn FACTS at www.RVTireSafety.net
Rating
starstarstar 		Always follow the manufacturer's recommendation
by: KenNTennessee

You should always follow the manufacturer's recommendations for both tire size and type as well as inflation pressure. Believe it or not RV manufacturers do engineer their products for safety in all phases of driving. You can upgrade to a more premium tire of the same size and grade than the OEM tires, but to change the size or grade or inflation without having all the data and running the engineering calculations is unwise and may be actually putting lives and property at risk.
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starstarstarstarstar 		air pressure
by: Bob M

always always always inflate your tires cold on all vehicles and trailers
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starstarstar 		Info?
by: Anonymous

I've always heard check the pressure hot not cold. When a tire gets hot from running down the road the air expands increasing the pressure in the tire. If you set the pressure when the tire is cold it will be in excess of your desired pressure when the tire gets hot.
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starstarstarstarstar 		tire pressure
by: Jerry Worley

Look on the side of tire,would be your best place to look ! Just Saying

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