Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems For Preventing Tire PSI From Reaching Dangerous Levels

Question:

Hello! I have a question about trailer tire pressures and I haven’t found the answer anywhere yet. It says everywhere to inflate the tire to its max PSI when cold in the morning. In my case that would be 110 PSI. I worry about that pressure rising to well over 120 psi while driving especially when traveling to a warmer climate. In the past I did this and set all tires to max PSI in the morning but was in a cold area. Later that day when traveling through a hot area I had two tires blow out at different times and ended up having to replace all 4 on the road. When I checked the pressure in the hot environment I remember them being waaaay over inflated. So I’m scared to do that again. If traveling to a warm environment should I check them routinely? If so should I adjust to the max cold psi when they are hot? Should I start them 10ish PSI low in the morning? Thanks so much!

asked by: Neil D

Expert Reply:

I recommend using a system like the TireMinder i10 TPMS for your 2018 Grand Design Momentum 5th wheel toy hauler. The TireMinder has a system with either 4 Sensors # TM89FR or 6 Sensors # TM29FR. The sensors are capable of detecting both tire pressure and temperature while you are driving. This will help you to set limits for both the pressure and tire temperature to reduce the chance of having a blowout in the future.

A tire will typically gain around 1 psi of pressure with a temperature change of 10 degrees. Since you will have the sensors you will be able to see how much the temperature and pressure goes up when you start driving in the morning and the temps are cooler. Typically you will see the tires level out at a pressure after 15-20 minutes of constant driving. That pressure is the ideal range that you will want to keep the tires are when they are warm. While you are driving if you see the pressure and temperature inside the tires climbing to dangerous levels you can lower them down to the safe pressure that you saw when the tires warmed up. There are some areas that get so hot the tires will get very hot regardless of the tire pressure. It is best at that point to stop until the temperatures begin to cool down.

I do not recommend starting with the tires at a pressure lower than the 110psi recommended by the tire manufacturer as lower pressures can actually cause a tire to overheat and damage much faster.

expert reply by: Bud M