Another dumb question

[Markinalaska]

As I was cleaning up my rim I noticed that it’s a 15x6” rim rated at 60psi. I know the original tires were load range D and most of those have a max pressure of 65psi, which is more than the rim is designed for. The E rated tires have a max pressure of 80psi. I’m now concerned with replacing the tires with E rated ones as I wouldn’t ever be able to inflate them to their working pressure. Low air causes heat build up in tires and premature failure and I definitely don’t want that. Not after all the work/money I’m putting Into my trailer. So my question is this. Can I run more pressure in my standard steel rims than what’s stamped on them or do I have to buy all new rims to upgrade to an E rated tire? Heck even a D rated tire hold more Psi than the rim is designed for so even that’s a concern, although they’re what came with the trailer. I’m pretty sure what the answer will be but I figured I would ask anyway. I don’t want to be wasting time cleaning up rims that I’m going to have to replace. Wish I would have done this check before dropping the rest at the tire shop and are having the old tires removed. More money spent that might not have been needed.

[silverloaf]

That would be an interesting question for a rim manufacturer, not necessarily a tire store. I've had had pretty good luck with tech support at various companies. Are there any numbers on the rim that a rim manufacturer could correlate to a pressure/strength rating?

There are no such thing as dumb questions; only answers pontificated by someone with a strong base of ignorance.

[Markinalaska]

Thanks Bob,
I know that there isn’t such a thing but it gets people to read it . I will have to see if I can gather enough of the numbers off of all the rims added together to make sense of it all. I can’t read everything on the one I have access to right now. The others are at the shop. I might just go ahead and put load range D back on it. It worked for many years on this trailer and don’t see any reason they wouldn’t still work. After all the money I’m spending on the driveline improvements I don’t have enough liquid cash available to buy new rims and tires. And these rims look like they’re going to clean up well.

[RISK]

Interesting, I’ve never really given it much thought.
I just replaced my tires on to matching wheels that I purchased and both were rated to 80 psi cold. These are aluminum wheels and I ended up going with Good Year Endurance tires. Load range E. Since I’m not at full load and I’m a sissy when it comes to tire inflation (I’ve seen one blow while being inflated and the the guy got tore up, tattered face territory... haunting...) I inflate to about 75psi, feels about right.

Ian

[Markinalaska]

Well, after much more research I’ve answered my own question. If I replace the Tires with Goodyear Endurance trailer tires I don’t need to inflate them to the maximum psi. They are the only tire (according to Goodyear) that has a chart for different weights of the load and the corresponding tire inflation needed for that load. So if I use them I can then weigh my trailer and adjust the tire pressure accordingly. As long as I don’t have to adjust them up too much I should be alright. If I end up having to do that then I will have to get new rims. Right now I just want to get everything back together so I can get the trailer off the blocks. I live in an earthquake prone area and that concerns me.

[silverloaf]

Well, after much more research I’ve answered my own question. If I replace the Tires with Goodyear Endurance trailer tires I don’t need to inflate them to the maximum psi. They are the only tire (according to Goodyear) that has a chart for different weights of the load and the corresponding tire inflation needed for that load. So if I use them I can then weigh my trailer and adjust the tire pressure accordingly. As long as I don’t have to adjust them up too much I should be alright. If I end up having to do that then I will have to get new rims. Right now I just want to get everything back together so I can get the trailer off the blocks. I live in an earthquake prone area and that concerns me.

Sounds like a good plan. Discount Tire strongly recommended load range E tires when I replaced our's 3 years ago. There was no charge for the upgrade from the D. I keep the tires in the 75-80 psi range.

Heat is always the Achilles heel to tire life, especially to the walls. That shouldn't a problem for you in Alaska! How hot does cold really get?

[Markinalaska]

Well Bob,
I now live in what’s called the banana belt up here although it doesn’t ever get really hot, it never gets really cold either. For the last 6 years I’ve not had to plug my cars in at all. In Fairbanks you have to plug in every winter or it won’t start. Cars don’t like it when it gets down to -30 and colder. The coldest I’ve seen since living up here was -72 and the warmest was 95. That’s in Fairbanks. Here in Homer the coldest I’ve seen is 0 and the warmest was 74 in 6 years. Fairbanks has some extreme temperature changes. But anything below -30 feels about the same. It’s friggen cold. I had pictures of the screws holding the door knobs on the exterior doors frosted up on the inside. That’s a cold soak for sure. Used to get people in the Midwest try and tell me that they get a -40+ wind chill and it’s the same. It isn’t the same at all. The wind doesn’t really effect the machinery where the ambient temperature does. I used to tell people that after working outside in the winter in Fairbanks you could go home and get in the freezer to warm up. . Our cutoff for riding snow machines to the ranges at Eielson was -50. When it hit that number we didn’t have to go out to the ranges. -49 and your still good to go. Riding a snow machine in those temperatures you really have to keep covered up or you could frostbite any exposed skin in just a minute or so.

[silverloaf]

Mark,

I recall the early days of modern fuel-injected engines while working in automotive engine design. The injector's o-ring seals would loose their compliance at cold temps; that is, -35 degrees F or colder. Fuel would spill out of the fuel delivery rails at cold-start, creating opportunities for a thermal event. It took the industry several years to develop seals with greater resiliency.

Heavy use of salt for both dust (summer) and ice (winter) controls in the Maritime Provinces of Canada was also problematic. Nylon bushings surrounding throttle control linkages would swell from excessive salt exposure. This, in turn, caused the linkages to bind or stick. The result was a ride on the wild side, although I suspect people never got out of their driveways. This, too, was solved over time.

So, here I sit in Georgia, far removed from the thermal excursions in Alaska. You have my respect and best wishes, my friend.

[Markinalaska]

Where are you living in Georgia? I used to go to Stone Mountain years ago. We never spent a lot of time in Georgia as we were traveling to Florida to visit relatives. My plan right now is to travel with the trailer once I get it ready for the road for a year or two and then head to Panama to do some tuna fishing for a few years.

I have friends that live in the panhandle of Florida and North Carolina so maybe whenever I head that way we could meet up. It will be a year at least though before I’m ready to hit the road. Every time I start fixing one thing I find another that needs work. The trials and tribulations of owning an older TT.

[silverloaf]

Mark,

We lived in a suburb of Detroit, MI, for 47 years and headed south last October.

Stone Mountain is about 20 miles east-northeast of Atlanta. Our new home will be located roughly 70 miles north of Stone Mountain in the foothills of the Georgia Mountains. The Great Smoky Mountains in North Carolina will be 120 miles or so north of our location.

That's a mighty ambitious plan you have to head to Panama for tuna fishing. I'm reminded of the movie, Shawshank Redemption, where the main character escapes from prison and heads to Mexico to start a new life.

We would welcome the opportunity to meet you. We'll have room in the house, but we are also considering utility and sanitary hook-ups for trailers as part of the build project.

Our trailer has been in storage since we re-located. We hope to use it on-site while the house is being built.