anyone know what a normal tempature would be on the truck and trailer tires while towing i blew a tire while towing and the tire people said it was from heat .now im checking the temps but dont know whats normal.

 

I don't know alot about this but I've been told that if you replace your air with N2O (nitrogen) they run very much cooler and you get better fuel mileage. Been thinking about doing it on my trucks but haven't yet.

Mark

 

i was told the same thing i just dont no how you could adjust air pressure without going back to the tire dealer i do think this is going be good thing in the future when more places have it.

 

Go weigh your setup and make sure you are not overloaded for the current tires. Different brands will run at different temps. Check the condition of your tires and replace trailer tires every couple of years. Inflate and check tires when completely cold.

 

The nitrogen thing is kinda BS on a street car. Race cars do use nitrogen because there is more consistent pressures in theory. The problem is that normal air is roughly 80% nitrogen anyways so you are only gaining the benefit of adding 20% (assuming it is 100% pure nitrogen which it likely isn't anyways) The only other added benefit is that the nitrogen air is likely free of moisture. Moisture will also cause a more drastic pressure rise when heated. As for fuel mileage...definitly BS. Where is the increased fuel mileage coming from? If tire pressures are inflated properly then they will increase with temp roughly 1psi for every 10°F. 100% nitrogen would be roughly 20% less of an increase not accounting for moisture levels.

The tire people referring to the blow out being from heat are slightly correct but rather they should have explained that the heat build up likely came from the tire being low on air pressure. This doesn't mean that your tires were necessarily inflated incorrectly. I am going to assume you check the pressure on a frequent basis and especially before every trip at a minimum. Assuming the pressure were correct to start with there is nothing to say you didn't pick up a nail or screw or something while driving which led to air pressure loss (not necessarily flat but just low on pressure). Running a tire low causes more tread and sidewall flex which in turn creates heat in the rubber. Once enough heat builds up then the tire comes apart. It is possible to overheat a tire with proper air pressure but it isn't likely. To do that you would need to be running it above it's rated load capacity or speed capacity. Assuming you have the proper tires for your trailer and your trailer isn't grossly overweight then it is unlikely it was from load. I would have to put my bets on the tire blowing from being under inflated at that time. While towing how would one tell if they had a tire low on air...other than when they wake up the next morning to find it flat? Usually if it is flat by morning or several days later it also means it was getting low at some other point while driving.

I have debated getting one of these systems for my trailer to prevent the same scenario.

http://www.doranmfg.com/tirepressuremonitorproducts.htm


If it provides any decent info the optimum tire temps for my race tires on my race car are roughly 200°F. Most normal street tires won't usually see those temps but it is also said that tread blistering starts appearing around 300°F. These are on DOT rated race tires (Toyo Proxes RA-1's). In other words on your truck or trailer I'm not sure what the tire temps would be but if the pressures are good and the load is ok then I wouldn't worry about temps too much. Make sure you use as a minimum the pressures listed on the tire placard in the drivers door jamb of your truck and the tire placard usually in one of the cupboards of your trailer. If in doubt go with the maximum on the sidewall of the tire which will give you maximum load capacity but not necessarily optimum tire wear.

Hope this info helps.

 

great info thanks for taking the time to answer

 

It isn't recommended to go by someone else's temperature as it could be real different depending on the temp of the day, asphalt vs concrete, sunny vs rainy, etc.

What is important though, is that all your tires are about the same. After you travel an hour or two, stop and immediatly use your IR Thermometer on all the tires, in about the same place (sidewall, midway between tread and rim) from about the same distance (4-6"). Go from tire to tire, stopping long enough to get the reading and walk to the next. What should ALARM you is a single tire that is maybe more than 5-8* higher than the rest. A lower pressure tire creates more heat. The hotter tire is low on pressure. If you have a hot tire, now you can get your fingers dirty testing actual pressure. IIRC, my tires on the "Sunny" side of the truck were only a degree or two higher than the "Shady" side tires. YMMV
I use a cheap RS IR thermometer. I think it was $50 normal and $30 on sale.

 

Very good points and not a bad idea using temps as an indicator...just remember that taking temps isn't a substitute for actually checking the pressure periodically but can give a good indication as to an issue while on the road.

 

Exactly what he said. Complete BS on a street vehicle. The increased mileage is the biggest joke of all!

I second this post also. It's the temp difference between tires that you should watch for.

 

I use my radio shack 50 buck ir therometer to check temps on the truck and trailer when on the road, at rest stop and when refueling. Summer run about 120-130 degrees if hot outside, and running hard. Also check break/hub tempatures. Tires run on the sunny side are hotter than the shady side.

Other use for the IR gage, check the temp of the smoker, at the grill height on the lid. Check temps of milk in the grocery store cooler.

 

Good thinking dssimecek. Im always checking my tires by hand when I stop. I have an IR thermometer. Never thought about pointing it at my tires. monnshyne I had nitrogen put in my tires (free at costco because they were bored). By hand, I noticed no difference in the temps of my trailer and truck tires. Wish I had been using a thermometer prior to changing so I would know for sure. I do know for sure though that the tires dont loose as much pressure as they were.

 

my tires are also running between 120-130 when hot .so i guess thats about normal.