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Old 07-26-2013, 08:43 PM   #1
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Tire Pressure Question

The tag on our Escape 19 says the tires should have 50 lbs. pressure when cold. Is it ok to run the tires at, say, 40 lbs. to give the trailer a smoother ride or will this cause pre-mature wear to the tires?
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Old 07-26-2013, 09:09 PM   #2
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I don't have my owners manual here to double check this, but I recall Dave telling us when we picked up our 19 to run about 45 psi in normal temps. The 50 psi is a max recommended. I wouldn't go too low, though, or the tires will run hot. I recall reading something similar in the manual and have settled on 45 pretty much most of the time.
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Old 07-26-2013, 09:31 PM   #3
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Hi: All... I changed out the original tires last year, before leaving for the Egg Camping Club rally in Tenn. I put on another set of the same Marathon radials. I always ran them at 47#s without failures. I felt that gave them space to expand and not go over the max. 50 rating. Alf
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Old 07-27-2013, 12:27 AM   #4
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If you have 14 inch run at 45#. It is easier on the body of the trailer.
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Old 07-27-2013, 07:05 AM   #5
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Trailer tires are designed ot run at, or near, max pressure. The sidewalls are not designed to flex like they do in lower pressure passenger tires.

The maximum 5o lb pressure is meant to be measured cold. I have always kept trailer tire pressures at the maximum with no regrets.

There will be less lateral movement with more pressure, resulting in a better ride for the trailer. We have never had any issues due to the ride, with the exception of one long potholed uphill drive we had to take. Heck, it shook me apart in the tow too.
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Old 07-27-2013, 08:29 AM   #6
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We picked up our 19' last month and Dave told us 45 lbs. too. We ordered the aluminum wheels which are 15". Are the stock rims 14"?
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Old 07-27-2013, 09:08 AM   #7
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I believe Escape is in the transitional stage of putting 15" on their larger units, the new 21' has them and now the 19's, white or chrome wheels.
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Old 07-27-2013, 09:32 AM   #8
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Ours is being built now and we ordered the aluminum rims so maybe they will be 15" What would be the advantage of larger wheels?
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Old 07-27-2013, 09:41 AM   #9
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The website still shows 14" on 19' and 15" on the 21' so not sure when or if the 19 will be or can be upgraded. Escape may be able to answer that. The larger wheel/tire combo should give you more capacity or safety margin as well as another 1" in height. I had no issues with the 14" chrome on my 19' Escape.
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Old 07-27-2013, 10:36 AM   #10
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We ordered 15" aluminum wheels on our 15B. We did it mostly for looks, but did gain a bit more ground clearance.
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Old 07-27-2013, 01:22 PM   #11
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In my owner's manual, (for my 2009), it says 45# for my 14" tires, though the tires themselves say 50# max. The tire man at Les Schwab, says that 45# cold is good, as it will increase with the temperature when driving.
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Old 07-27-2013, 03:53 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Zardoz View Post
We picked up our 19' last month and Dave told us 45 lbs. too. We ordered the aluminum wheels which are 15". Are the stock rims 14"?
Zardoz,
I would be interested to know if your 19 with aluminum rims are 15". Is your trailer handy to check tire size?

Thanks,

Dave
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Old 07-27-2013, 04:21 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cpaharley2008 View Post
The larger wheel/tire combo should give you more capacity or safety margin as well as another 1" in height.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JimJ View Post
We ordered 15" aluminum wheels on our 15B. We did it mostly for looks, but did gain a bit more ground clearance.
The Escape website shows "ST205-75R-14" for the 14" tires, "ST205-75R-15" for the 15' and 21', and "ST225-75R-15" for the 5.0. These should be ST205/75R14, ST205/75R15, and ST225/75R15.

If ST205/75R15 is the actual size, the sidewalls are the same height as the 14" tire, so the overall diameter difference is only the 1" wheel diameter difference. That would only be 1/2" in ground clearance change.

A ST225/75R15 would be another inch taller than a ST205/75R15, so the clearance increase over a ST205/75R14 would be a full inch.
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Old 09-22-2013, 05:26 PM   #14
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I think I've read every post about tire pressure ever posted on the Internet and I still have a nagging question...

I just went outside and cheked my tires on my 2013 5.0. They are ST225/75R15 and say "Maximum load 1150kg (2540 lbs) at 450 kPa (65 psi) cold".

I recall Dave telling me to run them at 45 psi but everything I've read says to run trailer tires at maximum pressure. 45 psi is quite lower than the 65 psi max written on the tires.

Is anyone running these tires at 65 psi? Should I?

Thanks.
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Old 09-22-2013, 06:19 PM   #15
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I'd follow what is on the tire.........or at least 60 psi
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Old 09-22-2013, 06:33 PM   #16
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You are never going to get a definite answer to this question. There are those that insist on running tires at their maximum pressure, and those that are just as insistent that they be run at the pressures the tire manufacturer's tables suggest based on axle/tire weight.

The lower pressure results in a smother ride while the higher pressure may cause less heating in the tire due to less sidewall flexing.

One point to consider:

What is the maximum pressure rating of your rims? According to Tammy at Escape, the 14" & 15" rims they supply are rated at a maximum of 50psi.

For what it is worth, on my 17B I wore out my original tires after 30,000 miles running at 45psi as recommended by Escape. I purchased Maxxis ST205/75/15 replacements and am running them at the maximum rim pressure (50psi).
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Old 10-04-2013, 05:38 PM   #17
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Camping in cold weather brought another question to mind about tire pressure. I read once that ever 10 deg F rise in ambient temperature brings a 1 lb pressure increase in tires. Often in the fall, mornings are quite cold, but the temp can rise 20 deg or more during the day. So if I started off on a 40 deg F day with 50 lbs of pressure in my tires and the temp rises to 65 during the day - am I then overinflated by 2.5lbs? Probably not any big deal one way or the other...?
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Old 10-04-2013, 10:43 PM   #18
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Originally Posted by Vermilye View Post
According to Tammy at Escape, the 14" & 15" rims they supply are rated at a maximum of 50psi.
Interesting... with ST tires, that would make any load range higher than Load Range C pointless. With Escape's trailer weights and tire sizes, any higher load range is certainly not needed, anyway.
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Old 10-04-2013, 11:06 PM   #19
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I read once that ever 10 deg F rise in ambient temperature brings a 1 lb pressure increase in tires. Often in the fall, mornings are quite cold, but the temp can rise 20 deg or more during the day. So if I started off on a 40 deg F day with 50 lbs of pressure in my tires and the temp rises to 65 during the day - am I then overinflated by 2.5lbs?
That rule of thumb is on pretty shaky ground technically, because the pressure rise is proportional to absolute temperature, and to the starting pressure, neither of which is properly considered in the forumla. Still, for typical tire pressures and typical temperatures, maybe it's close enough (which is what rules of thumb are all about).

A rise of temperature from 40 F to 65 F is a rise from 500 Rankine to 515 Rankine, a 3% increase in temperature of what you might ideally call a fixed volume of gas (air)... which would then mean a 3% rise in pressure. That's an increase from 50 psi to 51.5 psi... hey, perhaps the rule of thumb is good enough in this case.

Yes, the temperature rise will raise tire pressure, but it's not significant compared to the temperature rise in operation (due to rolling down the road), and a bit over is better than a bit under, so I wouldn't worry about it. Just don't let air out of your tires to correct the pressure in the mid-day heat then operate them underinflated later when it is cold.
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Old 10-05-2013, 07:35 AM   #20
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Thanks Brian - that is well explained and makes sense. (No worries about letting pressure out, I only check cold tire pressures.)
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