tyre pressures

[lefrog]

hi

i am new to caravaning & driving to cornwall soon, we have an abi transtar it say's in the handbook that tyre pressures are 54 psi. tyres are 175/13. however this seems a bit extreme. i was hoping that someone may be able to put my mind at rest?

thanks in advance

tom

 

[lunar2000]

Hi Tom, Sounds ok to me 54psi is what I use in my tyres 175/13 (95). Just make sure you check them cold. I had the experience recently with the hot weather when one tyre in the sun read 60psi and the other in the shade read 54psi.

I had checked them before leaving home first thing in the morning and they both read 54psi.

Enjoy your Cornwall trip

Pop

 

[rayc]

Tom, the tyres are Commercial vehicle tyres (175-R13C) and 54 psi is the normal pressure for them. They normally have a speed / load rating of 94N which is 680kg per tyre at, I think, approx 80mph or therabouts. Ray

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Tom

Yes 54 does sound alot, but just consider, Your car weighs about 1.4 Tonnes, and it has four wheels so each tyre has to carry about .35T (350Kg).

Your caravan probabably weighs in at 1.2Tonnes with only two wheels each tyre has to support about 600Kg.

The pressure in the tyre will need to be able to support the weight, so caravan tyres will need to pumped up to a significantly higher level.

 

[lefrog]

hi all

just a word of thanks for your help.

tom

 

[gary]

54psi is the maximum pressure for a 175x13 6ply light commercial tyre, however current advice from the tyre industry sensibly recommends reducing this by 10% for caravan use. This inturn reduces the maximum weight from 1340kg @ 54psi to 1210kg @ 48psi per pair.

The Transtars weight varied widely during it's production so you need to check what yours actually weighs to see if 6ply is still OK or that you need to move up to the stronger 8ply tyre. Further you say you are new to caravanning so it's probable that you don't know the history of the tyres fitted and particularly their age.

With that in mind I would have the tyres checked for condition and age and replaced if necessary, plenty of tread depth is irrelevant however any cracks between the tread pattern or on the side walls means they defiantly need changing.