Keeping the best Tire pressures on a motor coach.

[Yachts]

Ok guys each axle , what should they be?. Where does everyone run them.. 1999 no slide..

[NewellCrazy]

Between 110-120 depending on your tires.

See this Thread:

http://www.luxurycoachlifestyle.com/forum/chassis-suspension/491-proper-tire-inflation-summer-season-tire-care.html

[Ron Skeen]

I have been running 115 front axle 105 drive 95 tag for the last 8 years with no problems until I was told to put 125 front and I had a blow out within 700 miles. It was hot that day and I was running 70-75. This happen about 4 years ago. I then went back to 115 and I have also monitor tires with pressure pro for the last 9 years. I now have up graded the fronts on my 04 and do run 120 fronts and 110 drive and 100 tag because of the slides. I thinks I had posted pictures of blow out back in 08

[Yachts]

You blow passenger side? My wife had the 96 on I-40 doing 70 when it blew. Got her off the side slowed down it was a wild ride..

[The Newell]

Here is Ron's post of what happened. This baby apparently likes passenger tires it sounds.




This happen in 08 traveling at about 75 on cruise. Was crossing a bridge when it blew. The blow out kick the cruise off and I coasted to a stop before I got to the entrance ramp for the interstate. When it happen there was a bang and jerk on the steering wheel but the real bouncing was as it got slower. I did have a tire monitoring system and the front tires were showing around 135-140 lbs. I had always run 115 lbs cold but had stop by Newell for service and they were recommending 120 cold so that was in them at the time. Since that I have gone back to 115 lbs. I drive about 20K a year and I put new tire on every 2 years and the tire that blew was less than 2yrs old The pictures show all that was left of the tire and rim when I got stopped. The body damage was only the wheel flare which I pick the pieces up and reused. A State Trooper who had a office at the exist heard the bang and thought there had been a major wreck. He was on the scene within minutes and came to my rescue. There was a Les Schaab Tire store at the exist and the S/T took me to the store and they had a new tire and rim in stock. I was delay only about 1 hr and spent 1K and was back on my journey. I Pray and Thank the Lord for safe travel.

[86loco]

What a mess and not something I would want to really experience. Was the rim taken out back when you owned it Yachts?

[Yachts]

Rim was actually ok.. Shocked:unsure:

[NEWELLWIZARD]

Yachts you may want to consider putting a tire pressure monitoring system all around.

[Neweller]

How ironic that is. I have been lucky on so many coaches over the years and never experienced a blowout running outdated tires, overweight, under inflated, in extreme weather conditions and the list goes on. I want to keep it that way, knock on wood. Of course I've experienced it with autos and trailers. I can see though it being a larger problem on the heavier coaches with such a spread from the rear axles to the fronts, do to mainly the length on these 45 footers, then add a slide and look out baby stuff can happen if you don't stay constantly on top of it. Need I say more?

[77newell]

Hi Ken: if you plan to use the inflation pressures provided by those that responded to your original post I would suggest you consider a broader base of information.

For our heavy vehicles the minimum tire pressure is based upon the actual loaded weight of the heaviest end of the axle the tire is supporting. Using that weight you then go to the inflation table provided by the tire manufacturer for the particular tire size and load range rating of the tire installed on the axle in question. Since different though similar coaches may utilize different tire sizes and load range ratings you need to use your particular tires to determine pressures. The pressure in the table is the minimum necessary to carry the weight reliably for the life of the tire. You may decide to go higher, but no higher than the table indicates for the load range rating of the tire. The higher the load range rating the higher the maximum allowed tire pressure together with higher load capacity with the higher pressure.

Then you need to maintain that minimum cold tire pressure as measured with the tires cold. You also critically need to know the maximum speed rating for your particular tires. Exceeding that speed puts the carcass in jeopardy of failing if driven above the tire's speed limit.

Finally, I worry that we are missing something if we are having tires fail early in their life. I can find no document on manufacturer's websites indicating any reduction in expected tire life as the load on the tire increases as long as the tire is designed to carry that weight and tire pressure is maintained appropriately. Unless the tire carcass was physically injured, trucker's experience is that we should expect to run these tires reliably for at least the life prescribed by the manufacturer. If that is frequently enough not our experience then I believe that it is either the application into which the tire is placed or something we are doing with maintenance of pressure that is likely leading to that outcome.

This posting sounds uncharacteristically stern for me and I simply lack the ability at the moment to make it just as informative without the inherent unfortunate tonality. I'm certainly in no position to tell anyone what do do in this ambiguous arena of tire pressures. Hopefully you can simply take what I've written as my take on the tire pressure situation and infer nothing further.