The temperature change in Spring/Autumn can make a difference over a few weeks but that change is significantly more than I'd expect.
I don't have any other explanation, though, as I hardly had to add any air after the caravan had been standing at the storage site for 8 months before we left home.
The reference on the Kia door pillar only gives the pressure for people and luggage, all round at 33lb wheather 1 person or five, one case for luggage or 5!! with no ref to the towing pressures, so into the manual I delve, eventually found it in the mine field and it states for towing up it by 2%, so up by 0.66lb, (if my maths are correct).
DD what did you do when you had your Kia, I put 33lb in front and 34lb in the rear, happy medium me thinks.
0.66psi increase??? Surely that can't be taken seriously. As if 0.66psi is going to make any appreciable difference. One would have to adjust tyre pressures by at least 2psi to serve any useful purpose. Anything less and you might as well not bother. I would wager a guess that many pressure gauges aren't even accurate to 0.66psi.
Will double check tomorrow Lutz but your thoughts were exactly my thoughts, why bother, thats why I went for the 33 front and 34 rear.
With my generation 1 Sorento I think the tyre pressures were the same solo and loaded. Don’t recall ever adjusting.
Kev, in my Santa Fe handbook, under trailer towing, it states that the rear tyre pressures should be increased by 20kpa or 0.2 bar which equals 2.9 psi for towing , my tyres are 235,60,18. Normally set at 33 psi
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Each model of tow vehicle will have their own manufacturer's recommendations for tyre pressures for towing. What might be correct for the SF may be inappropriate for other vehicles. Basically each caravanner should check their own models specifications for recommended tyre pressures.
I was try to assist Kev in the fact that his Sorrento and My Santa Fe are very similar in the running gear and weights, so if his tyres are the same size, the pressure increases will most probably be higher than the 0.6 psi that he found in his hand book.
Kev has exactly the same model as my son who also tows. Kia say all four tyres 34psi. Virtually the same as Hutch SF.
Clive my two mk1 Sorentos were 35 psi all four wheels all situations.
Clive my two mk1 Sorentos were 35 psi all four wheels all situations.
That’s one of the things that made them such great tow cars. No need to wake your neighbours up on site by having the tyre inflator screeching away as you repressurise the tyres prior to departure. 👍
Good grief! What funny things people get up to so early in the morning or did you forget to do it the evening before?
British humour Lutz. Despite our dire goings on I can still see the funny side of things 🤣 The fly was taken.
Yes, I did think as much. I guess you do have to keep your sense of humour in order to survive with the state of things at the moment.
Not just “ at the moment”. It’s been required now for six years. 😀
Keeping within the subject I remember this was discussed at least ten plus years ago saying that the caravan has to be level without any braking on. Was it Lutz who said it?
No, it wasn’t me because I wouldn’t have said that. Strictly speaking, noseweight should be measured with the caravan standing at the same attitude as when it is hitched to the towing vehicle, not that it makes that much difference. I measured the change on my caravan which is 8m long. Raising or lowering the hitch by 6cm makes about 3kg difference in noseweight in each direction, so the difference is not that great, It may, however, be appreciable if the caravan is very short and there are heavy items in the upper lockers..
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I’d like to give my tuppence worth of information regarding nose weight but it’s been so long since I checked it that I think it measured in pounds and ounces so not much help and I’ve forgotten how I weighed it.
Sounds like the olden days when we simply tried to lift the hitch - if you couldn't, the noseweight was too much - if it was too easy, the noseweight was too little.
Ancillary question... On sites with sloping pitches I've sometimes spotted a caravan with the hitch lowered right down, almost as if they have released the jockey wheel to get it down that low. Everything I've learned about towing tells me that you do not under any circumstances release the jockey wheel unless it is hitched. How have they done this? Using their jack? I'm pretty sure I couldn't lift nearly 100kg. when I haven't been able to wind the hitch down low enough, I've used ramps on both wheels to get the extra angle, but this can get make levelling on the other axis a bit fiddly.
Don’t really understand your query. You can get the hitch up or down on sloping sites by juggling between the hitch and steadies. But not by using the steadies as jacks. Move jockey wheel adjust steadies readjust jockey wheel etc until you have your required level.
It sometimes looks like people have lowered the hitch down further than simply winding the jockey wheel would allow is what I'm saying. Maybe they have a different type of jockey wheel to mine? Not sure what you mean by juggling between hitch and steadies. Surely the steadies should not be supporting the weight of the van at any time.
OK, maybe I should have searched this....
https://forums.practicalcaravan.com/threads/adjusting-jockey-wheel-on-sloping-sites.64583/
Everyone on that thread seems to advocate using the steadies to support while raising the jockey. But I thought van weight on steadies was a complete no no.
https://forums.practicalcaravan.com/threads/adjusting-jockey-wheel-on-sloping-sites.64583/
Everyone on that thread seems to advocate using the steadies to support while raising the jockey. But I thought van weight on steadies was a complete no no.
I specifically said not to use the steadies as jacks. The wheels and axle are supporting the weight of the caravan apart from the relatively low weight of the nose.
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