Tire Pressure

[Karen and Leon-ESC]

Hi all,
For the life of us, we cannot find any information on what pressure our tires should be. We have a 2016 first generation 19' dual axle. It's probably in a thread somewhere but I can't find it.
Thanks for your patience with a couple newbies to dual axle!
Karen

 

[kirkman]

It should be on your tires.
I always go with what the tire manufacturer recommends.

 

[canyonrider-ESC]

Assuming you still have the stock tires that came on your trailer when new, pressure should be 50 psi (cold) on all four tires. But still worth taking a look at the tire sidewall to confirm.

 

[Karen and Leon-ESC]

Ours say 65 on the sides (class D) seems a bit high for the weight of the trailer.

 

[Brian B-P]

For the life of us, we cannot find any information on what pressure our tires should be.

The maximum tire pressure is marked on the tire sidewall. For the tires normally supplied by Escape, that's 50 PSI.

The minimum pressure is determined by what is required to support the weight of the trailer if fully loaded; tire manufacturers and the tire industry publish standard tables of load/inflation values. The trailer has a placard on it listing the Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR). If GAWR is, for instance, 3000 pounds, then each tire needs to be able to support 1500 pounds, and for the ST205/75R15 tires used by Escape, that means a minimum of 36 PSI.

Some manufacturers recommend always using the maximum allowed pressure, because they don't trust owners not to under-inflate and overload tires.

The 2016 Escape Owner's Manual has piles of generic information about tires, but does not appear to provide a specific inflation pressure value. Instead, just like your car, it directs you read the pressure on the "Canada Transport Label" (the same placard that shows the GVWR). On an Escape, this would usually say 50 PSI.

 

[tractors1]

Ours say 65 on the sides (class D) seems a bit high for the weight of the trailer.

Same tires on a 21 run well with 50 psi - that's what it came with from the factory. 65 psi on a 19 could break a lot of dishes when crossing RR tracks!

 

[Brian B-P]

Ours say 65 on the sides (class D) seems a bit high for the weight of the trailer.

It is far too high for the weight of the trailer. Although you have Load Range D tires which can be inflated to 65 PSI, there is no reason to use this much pressure. Those tires have the same load capacity at 50 PSI (for instance) as a Load Range C tire of the same size would at 50 PSI.

Recommendations to always use the maximum allowed pressure in trailer tires assume that the tire has just barely enough capacity to handle the loaded trailer weight. If your tires are ST205/75R15 LR-D, they have 2150 pound capacity each, or 8600 pounds total... about twice the weight of the trailer loaded to its limit.

 

[gbaglo]

I have load range D on my 17B, with max pressure of 65psi.
I run them at 60psi.

 

[Karen and Leon-ESC]

Thanks everyone!

 

[Brian B-P]

I have load range D on my 17B, with max pressure of 65psi.
I run them at 60psi.

... and that's with substantially more load per tire than the tandem-axle 19', so for the 19' less pressure would be appropriate.

 

[Patandlinda]

... and that's with substantially more load per tire than the tandem-axle 19', so for the 19' less pressure would be appropriate.

Brian what would you recommend with D tires on the 19 instead of 65 . Pat

 

[MyronL]

An issue I ran into on the road with my battery operated Slime digital tire gauge was inconsistent readings... on the road readings seemed not just wrong or nuts but all that other tiny screen info digital provides increased my confusion. Who can read that tiny type anyway? I only needed to know one thing, not that other crap. Besides, you make the mistake of starting that air hose timer in that gas station so now you're paying your last 6 quarters for 5 minutes! I went digging for back-up, the standard Slime old-fashioned manual reader. One simple, answer was all I wanted.

To be certain that road incident wasn't more than senior-itis I just went out and did a second test on the trailer tires. First 3 tires matched up PSI results between the two gauges. I ignored the other info continually pressing the button gets you as best I could, but the scrolling is a big pain. The fourth tire said 32 PSI with the digital, but-- the manual said 46 PSI. Think I will take digital to the anvil.

 

[rbryan4]

I chucked the Slime gauge I got as a stocking stuffer Myron. Completely inaccurate. Went back to the old fashioned stick I got from my dad. Thing has to be 35 years old and works perfectly - even agrees with my dash tpms when I check the tow vehicle pressure.

 

[MyronL]

Absolutely, And, just why isn't air at gas stations free anymore?? Re my recent experience: First two gas stations I went to said their air machines are contracted out to some bozo outfit that should have repaired them months ago.

 

[rbryan4]

Absolutely, And, just why isn't air at gas stations free anymore?? Re my recent experience: First two gas stations I went to said their air machines are contracted out to some bozo outfit that should have repaired them months ago.

Gas station air. Ugh. Don't get me started. Most stations don't even have air, and many that do have broken machines, or that stop pumping just as you're getting to the 2nd or 3rd tire.

I picked up a small Porter Cable compressor awhile back and added a nice dial pressure gauge and trigger to the end of it. To he** with the gas stations.

 

[float5]

Ours say 65 on the sides (class D) seems a bit high for the weight of the trailer.

Are they Carlisles? You can look up Carlisle's information on trailer tires. Believe they would say to run them at 65 but we don't have that. You can find what they say for yours.

 

[Marry-ESC]

With a tandem axle, you might not notice a flat tire right away. Driving with a flat tire can result in severe damage to the fibreglass in the wheel well.

Just to give us piece of mind while driving, we installed these.

 

[gbaglo]

Absolutely, And, just why isn't air at gas stations free anymore??

Because there are jerks that cut off the hose for no apparent reason.
Gas station near me posted a notice explaining that the air wasn't available because some **** vandalized it.

Did you know that site software can recognize words and replace them with asterisks? Saves keystrokes. Even recognizes British terms, as evidenced here.

 

[MyronL]

Well I'll be ****ed!

 

[Brian B-P]

Are they Carlisles? You can look up Carlisle's information on trailer tires. Believe they would say to run them at 65 but we don't have that. You can find what they say for yours.

Yes, because Carlisle typically says to run all ST tires at their allowed maximum pressure. Why? Because...

Recommendations to always use the maximum allowed pressure in trailer tires assume that the tire has just barely enough capacity to handle the loaded trailer weight. If your tires are ST205/75R15 LR-D, they have 2150 pound capacity each, or 8600 pounds total...

Carlisle assumes that you have at least a four-ton trailer, because you would only pay for ST205/75R15 LR-D tires if you needed all that capacity; as a result, they assume that you need close to 65 PSI to get all 8600 pounds of capacity.

Brian what would you recommend with D tires on the 19 instead of 65 . Pat

At least 36 PSI for enough capacity to match the load that you might put on the axles, more than that for a margin for error (changing pressure, inaccurate gauges...), and certainly no more than the 50 PSI that is often used with the same size of tire. 40 to 45 PSI? :-\

If the tire sidewalls feel too flexible when towing, or wear much faster near the shoulders, a higher pressure can be used. If stability and wear are fine but the ride is harsh, lower can be tried (but still 40 or more).