Date:         Tue, 10 Jun 2003 04:02:22 +0000
Reply-To:     Mike Finkbiner <mike_l_f@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Mike Finkbiner <mike_l_f@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Tire Pressure
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed

John Rodgers <j_rodgers@CHARTER.NET> said:

Tire pressures affect the wear pattern on tires. Something to consider
when looking at tire pressures. To much air, wears a tire in the middle.
To little and it wears on the edges. This is specific to the tire and
the load on it, so what is actually required can vary a great deal. My
van calls for something in the 40-50 psi range. The tires themselves are
marked for 65 PSI, so what does a fellow do??  I went with the pressure
printed on the tire - 65 PSI.

John -

The max pressure listed on the tire is if you are carrying that load, or
close too it.  Otherwise you will probably have a stiffer ride than you
want.

Goodyear has a pretty good web site devoted to the care of RV tires, and
there are enough similarities that you can get a lot of useful info from it.
  Specifically, they have a load/pressure chart at -

http://www.goodyear.com/rv/general/RVTable1.pdf

which shows how much pressure to inflate various tires to support specific
weights.

If you are running a standard Westy, with a rear axle load max of 2800# or
so, you could run the 205R14 they show at only 35 psi.  You wouldn't need 65
psi until you need to support about 4100# on that axle.

Of course there are other factors.  Use the vehicle doorplate as a guide,
and if you are trying a new tire, you might want to adjust pressures up and
down (within a logical range) to see how the van handles.  I get better
handling with about 10 psi more in the rear than the front.

At any rate, there's lots of good stuff at this site -

http://www.goodyear.com/rv/tirecare/loading.html

- Mike

Mike Finkbiner
'87 Westy
mike_l_f@hotmail.com

Perception is more real than truth, and belief turns truth into lies.    -
Kedar Nan

_________________________________________________________________
Add photos to your messages with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*.
http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail