Weighed my rig, look at these numbers

[Parrott_head]

I took the TT and TV to a CAT scale today and weighed it as it sits.
The trailer is pretty much loaded with what we take. There normally would be some groceries and maybe 20 pounds of clothing.

The truck had a full tank of fuel and me in it. Wife would add a bit more but she is pretty petite.

We have travelled using the Rick Steves method of packing and enjoy travelling light.

Here are the numbers:

F150 with just me and the drawbar from heck attached= 6040 pounds

Weight of truck with TT attached= 6760 pounds
Weight of TT attached to TV = 5780

So if I do my maths correctly the tongue weight = 720 pounds
Trailer weight without being attached to truck = 6500 poiunds

Labelling on the TT claims a dry weight of 5890 and a capacity of 1250 for cargo so we have about 610 pounds of cargo.

We have about 11% tongue weight.

I have all four trailer tires at 65 psi. This is max inflation but the tires are nowhere near the max weight capacity, so the tire may be overinflated.

On method of checking for correct tire inflation is to make a mark across the tread with a paint stick. Then drive straight about 100 feet the check the paint lines. If they are worn only in the center, they are overly inflated, if worn on the side of the tread then under inflated. If worn evenly then you are about right. Does anybody still do it this way?

Here is a link to my truck ratings.

https://www.driverside.com/specs/for...tyle_id=662124

Any comments?

[V3600]

Never heard of the paint stick trick. Cool idea. Thx.

[1bigmess]

If the tires on the trailer are ST tires, inflate them to the max pressure on the sidewall/ Google "RV tire safety blog" for more info.

[cwsqbm]

Originally Posted by 1bigmess

If the tires on the trailer are ST tires, inflate them to the max pressure on the sidewall/ Google "RV tire safety blog" for more info.

+1. Trailer tires live a different life than car/truck tires. They don't steer or drive, but instead have to deal with being dragged sideways (on a multi-axle trailer).

On my cars and trucks, I work to find the ideal pressure. On my trailer, rated pressure all the time. In fact, Goodyear states, in writing somewhere, that if you have 65mph-rated ST tires, you can go faster if you put pressure higher than that listed on the sidewall.

[Pooter]

Originally Posted by Parrott_head

I took the TT and TV to a CAT scale today and weighed it as it sits.
The trailer is pretty much loaded with what we take. There normally would be some groceries and maybe 20 pounds of clothing.

The truck had a full tank of fuel and me in it. Wife would add a bit more but she is pretty petite.

We have travelled using the Rick Steves method of packing and enjoy travelling light.

Here are the numbers:

F150 with just me and the drawbar from heck attached= 6040 pounds

Weight of truck with TT attached= 6760 pounds
Weight of TT attached to TV = 5780

So if I do my maths correctly the tongue weight = 720 pounds
Trailer weight without being attached to truck = 6500 poiunds

Labelling on the TT claims a dry weight of 5890 and a capacity of 1250 for cargo so we have about 610 pounds of cargo.

We have about 11% tongue weight.

I have all four trailer tires at 65 psi. This is max inflation but the tires are nowhere near the max weight capacity, so the tire may be overinflated.

On method of checking for correct tire inflation is to make a mark across the tread with a paint stick. Then drive straight about 100 feet the check the paint lines. If they are worn only in the center, they are overly inflated, if worn on the side of the tread then under inflated. If worn evenly then you are about right. Does anybody still do it this way?

Here is a link to my truck ratings.

https://www.driverside.com/specs/for...tyle_id=662124

Any comments?

If you have the same Ford factory hitch as my 2011 F150 you are exceeding the recommended MAX tongue weight by a couple hundred pounds. I would be concerned.

[Cumminsfan]

Keep your TT tires aired to the max psi. It's better to wear them out early than have a blowout.
So are saying when you went to the scale did or didn't have your WD hooked up?

[Tireman9]

Originally Posted by Parrott_head

I took the TT and TV to a CAT scale today and weighed it as it sits.
The trailer is pretty much loaded with what we take. There normally would be some groceries and maybe 20 pounds of clothing.

The truck had a full tank of fuel and me in it. Wife would add a bit more but she is pretty petite.

We have travelled using the Rick Steves method of packing and enjoy travelling light.

Here are the numbers:

F150 with just me and the drawbar from heck attached= 6040 pounds

Weight of truck with TT attached= 6760 pounds
Weight of TT attached to TV = 5780

So if I do my maths correctly the tongue weight = 720 pounds
Trailer weight without being attached to truck = 6500 poiunds

Labelling on the TT claims a dry weight of 5890 and a capacity of 1250 for cargo so we have about 610 pounds of cargo.

We have about 11% tongue weight.

I have all four trailer tires at 65 psi. This is max inflation but the tires are nowhere near the max weight capacity, so the tire may be overinflated.

On method of checking for correct tire inflation is to make a mark across the tread with a paint stick. Then drive straight about 100 feet the check the paint lines. If they are worn only in the center, they are overly inflated, if worn on the side of the tread then under inflated. If worn evenly then you are about right. Does anybody still do it this way?

Here is a link to my truck ratings.

https://www.driverside.com/specs/for...tyle_id=662124

Any comments?

Chalk or paint is OK for quick alignment check but not for inflation check. Simply not accurate enough. For TV and MH you can use published Load/Inflation tables to learn the minimum inflation needed to support the measured load and add 10% psi margin.
Here is a post on MH inflation.


TT is NOT THE SAME as for motorized vehicles. Tires in TT application should run the sidewall max if you want to lower the odds of having a tread separation.

You should also run TPMS (OE or aftermarket) to know if/when you develop a leak. Checking in AM or at start of trip doesn't catch issues that develop. If you don't think you need a TPMS consider how you would feel if I were to cover all your instrument gauges with tape? After all you can always check oil and water lever at the start of a trip. WHo needs to monitor engine oil pressure or temperature while driving?

[smurfsofwar]

Originally Posted by Pooter

If you have the same Ford factory hitch as my 2011 F150 you are exceeding the recommended MAX tongue weight by a couple hundred pounds. I would be concerned.

Not with a WDH.

[Parrott_head]

Originally Posted by smurfsofwar

Not with a WDH.

What he said.

We drove down to Lake Murray and back this weekend. Since the tongue weight was 11% of TT I shifted some things to put more weight forward.

On the tow back I was pretty please. Oklahoma is famous for its winds and today was no exception. Passing over the Arbuckle Mountains (more like steep foot hills) it did fine. This area is really windy due to the topography of the northern plains feeding into the rise of the land.

A couple of times I ran the truck up to 75-80 MPH just to get a feel for it. Was very calm and planted feeling even when passing tractor trailers.

I then went back to my preferred speed of 65-70. The truck holds this speed very well.

Had a great weekend. I think we are ready for out of state trips now.

[goldtr8]

[QUOTE=Parrott_head;3069252]
A couple of times I ran the truck up to 75-80 MPH just to get a feel for it. Was very calm and planted feeling even when passing tractor trailers.

I then went back to my preferred speed of 65-70. The truck holds this speed very well.
QUOTE]

ST Tires for trailers are rated for 65MPH exceeding this speed creates heat and can lead to ply separation and blowouts.

[1bigmess]

True fact. Your trailer tires might be rated for a higher speed than 65, as mine are, but *any* time spent above the speed rating of the tire could do permanent damage. There is no safety buffer built in.

RV Tire Safety: Speed Rating

[h20ski]

The attached links has a lot of information about RV tires.










www.goodyearrvtires.com/pdfs/rv_inflation.pdf


https://www.michelinb2b.com/wps/b2bcontent/PDF/RV_Tires_Brochure.pdf

[Parrott_head]

Originally Posted by Cumminsfan

Keep your TT tires aired to the max psi. It's better to wear them out early than have a blowout.
So are saying when you went to the scale did or didn't have your WD hooked up?

I had the Blue Ox WDH hooked up. It added about 720 pounds to the truck.

[Tireman9]

[QUOTE=goldtr8;3069319]

Originally Posted by Parrott_head

A couple of times I ran the truck up to 75-80 MPH just to get a feel for it. Was very calm and planted feeling even when passing tractor trailers.

I then went back to my preferred speed of 65-70. The truck holds this speed very well.
QUOTE]

ST Tires for trailers are rated for 65MPH exceeding this speed creates heat and can lead to ply separation and blowouts.

You realize that the trailer tires may be rated for 65 MAX. (No speed rating molded on tire sidewall means 65 is the MAX) I also see that tire companies with R&D departments (Goodyear, Michelin Bridgestone etc) have 75 as a MAX on any tire in RV application.
Speed rating of tires is like the engine redline. it may be possible to exceed the limit but at a cost of long term life of the engine or tire.

Just because a tire doesn't fail the instant you abuse it does not mean it will not come back to bite you later. IMO this is one of the contributing factors to why so many want to claim they were doing nothing wrong when their tire failed. They want to ignore the cumulative damage they did to the tires days or weeks or months earlier.

Damage to tires is cumulative and microscopic tears and cracks in the tire structure do not fix themselves. The cracks just continue to grow.