Tire pressure

[jwnall]

We recently bought a used 2012 Kodiak 187qd camping trailer. The tire pressure in it seems low to me (25 lb on each tire). I know that it sat unused for about a year before we bought it, and it could be that just normal leakage has taken place. There is no sticker nor plate anywhere on there which states the desired tire pressure, and the owners manual is no help either. The tires themselves say maximum cold pressure is 50 psi. Any help would be greatly appreciated.


John

[chrisski]

If you search load bearing capacity of tires, you’ll find that the more the tire is inflated, the more the tire carries.

Lack of any other info, I’d inflate the tire to 50, and then look at a spec sheet for the tire type for tire rating in LBS then and multiply by two or four, however many tires you have, and if this exceeds the rating of the max gross vehicle weight of the tires, I’d happily drive them.

[persistent]

As you guessed, 25 psi is likely way too low for a 187QB.

Best practice is to fully load the trailer for travel and take it to a CAT scale. Get weight of trailer for less than $20.

Divide CAT weight by 4 (4 tires).

Federal law requires a tire spec chart be attached to the trailer. Usually it is on the driver's side near the front. Older trailers may have the spec stamped into the tongue frame on the driver's side.

If not, use a tire pressure chart or calculator to determine optimum tire pressure.

I run mine at 50 psi because weight of trailer is near maximum tire capacity.

Tires - Rear Tire (Full Spec) - ST205/75 R14C

https://www.rvusa.com/rv-guide/2012-...-specs-tr10752

https://www.etrailer.com/question-649692.html

[franktafl]

John, what brand of tires are you running? Sitting for a year could mean trouble. Dry rot is the first thing I think of that could happen. A blow out on the highway could be a real disaster since the tires usually take out parts of the RV and can get pretty expensive to repair. If the tires are the original tires that came with the unit, I would recommend changing them.

[Tireman9]

Hopefully someone reading this has a 187qd that still has the Certification label on it. The label has IMPORTANT safety info such as Tire Size, Load Range, GAWR and inflation required to support the GAWR.


Short term:
What is the Load Range on the current tire sidewall?
What is the PSI on the tire sidewall?
While I do not know the specs for your RV I would guess that when loaded you should have PSI close tot he number on the tire.
If the tire DOT date is older than 5 years you need new tires but until you learn the actual load on the tires you are only guessing on size and Load range because we have no idea if the tires were changed since 2012..

A quick search of the internet gave ST205/75 R14C but that may not be correct. If it is then 50 psi is what I would use till I get more facts.



Let us know what you learn and we can help you.

[rich2481]

I agree to look at tire date, most likely they are old even if good looking, why chance it,,