New A, want to be safe

[Skins]

Hello everyone. I have been lurking for a while and have a question or to I was hoping I could get help with.

I have always had C's but just traded my 2013 forest river 31' for a 2013 Winnie vista 35b.

I love it but I am concerned about weight (the coach not me) and the tires. After reading posts about blowouts I want to be on the safe side. Those 22.5 tires are intimidating. I weighed my coach with all the stuff transferred from my C and had a full tank (80 gals) of gas. Holding tanks empty, no food, beer, sodas etc., but did have the family in it. My total weight was 19,880 pounds or 7,280lbs front and 12,600 lbs rear. The gvwr is 22,000lbs. From what I can tell I have roughly 120 pounds to capacity but almost to capacity on the front axle. Is that correct?

I know that the weight needs to be in the rear but the bulk of my storage is in the center.

As for tire pressure, the sticker by the driver from Winnebago says 90 psi yet the dealer had all the tires set at 85psi. Also I have read that you should adjust the pressure based on the tire manufacturers (goodyear) guide. Their guide goes by the loaded weight less the axel. I don't know how to get that weight.


Any and all help is greatly appreciated. Sorry if the typing is bad. Trying to do this on an iPhone is a pain.

[FlyingDiver]

According to Winnebago Motor Homes - 2013 Vista, you have an 8,000 lb front axle and a 15,000 lb rear axle, and 22,000 GVWR. So you could add 720 lb to the front, or 2,400 lb to the rear, but only 2120 total. For that size RV, those cargo numbers seem pretty good.

The sticker number is probably the min pressure for the max weight, and since it was not at max weight when delivered from the dealer, the 85 lbs was probably correct.

Yes, you need to weigh the coach with everything in it, then look up the correct tire pressures on the manufacturer chart. It's not "less the axle". It's the actual weight on that corner, including the wheel(s), axles, etc.

[MattC]

Believe the tire manufacture's tables....
As I read your note, you have 2120# to GVW, but you have no water or provisions on board. My guess is you will be close. You will also find that most of the weight goes on the rear.

I have never heard of "loaded weight less the axle". Are you sure you read that correctly? Maybe they mean total weight less the front axle. .

Matt

[Hooligan]

Welcome to IRV2... Here is the Goodyear instruction on weighing your RV. It is best to get individual weight at each wheel. It also lists some places you can weigh your RV. (this may be the guide you have in your post)
Weighing your RV - Goodyear RV

Weigh the rear axle, (12600) if- for example, driver side= 6000, passenger 6600, use the minimum pressure on all tires on that axle needed to support 6600 lbs. (3300# per tire). If 85# is the minimum in the table, don't use less than that even if the weight on each tire is less.

The number from the load table is the minimum recommended, most add 5 or more pounds as a cushion. I run 5-10 lbs above because it gave a more stable ride that was still comfortable. Under inflated tires heat up and fail. Over inflated, harsh ride and reduced contact patch.

Hope this helps...

[CLIFFTALL]

Welcome to IRV2.

Cliff

[wincrasher]

Originally Posted by Hooligan

Welcome to IRV2... Here is the Goodyear instruction on weighing your RV. It is best to get individual weight at each wheel. It also lists some places you can weigh your RV. (this may be the guide you have in your post)
Weighing your RV - Goodyear RV

Weigh the rear axle, (12600) if- for example, driver side= 6000, passenger 6600, use the minimum pressure on all tires on that axle needed to support 6600 lbs. (3300# per tire). If 85# is the minimum in the table, don't use less than that even if the weight on each tire is less.

The number from the load table is the minimum recommended, most add 5 or more pounds as a cushion. I run 5-10 lbs above because it gave a more stable ride that was still comfortable. Under inflated tires heat up and fail. Over inflated, harsh ride and reduced contact patch.

Hope this helps...

Good advice - but I would add that if you are adding a cushion - like 5 lbs over, that you still do not exceed the max inflation psi for that tire.

[Skins]

Thank you for all the responses.

I understand that weighing each corner is preferred but I don't have access to a scale like that, just per axle.

I misspoke about the tire manufacturer. They are in fact Michelin.

I am still fuzzy on determining pressure. Is the weight of each axle divided by two to get the load per corner if I can't weigh them separately?

If so, based on this chart and my tires being 255/80R22.5 LRG: Michelin North America RV Load & Inflation Tables

I see it as I should have the minimum PSI's listed in the chart for my tires. That being 70psi. That just doesn't sound correct. I must be doing something wrong.

[phinneyj]

Originally Posted by Skins

Thank you for all the responses.

I understand that weighing each corner is preferred but I don't have access to a scale like that, just per axle.

I misspoke about the tire manufacturer. They are in fact Michelin.

I am still fuzzy on determining pressure. Is the weight of each axle divided by two to get the load per corner if I can't weigh them separately?

If so, based on this chart and my tires being 255/80R22.5 LRG: Michelin North America RV Load & Inflation Tables

I see it as I should have the minimum PSI's listed in the chart for my tires. That being 70psi. That just doesn't sound correct. I must be doing something wrong.

Welcome to the iRV2 forums. From what I have learned you also need to balance the load, I think a no more than 10 percent difference between wheels on the same axle. Balancing left to right aids in road handling. This is probably a little more simplistic. There are charts available for calculating proper weight ratios. There is a membership group known as Escapees RV Club that provides MH per wheel weighing for $45 at there events. Hoping I make the one in Lodi, CA in April to get weighed.

[FlyingDiver]

If you can't get four corner weights, I would take 1/2 of the axle weight, then add 10% to that, to account for side-to-side imbalance. For your rear axle, that would be about 7000lb, which would put it at 70lb pressure. You're not reading it wrong. For your fronts, it would be 75lb. Add 5lb to each of those if you're really unsure about the actual weights.

I know these seem low, but those are actually pretty heavy duty tires for a fairly light coach. Our RV weighs over 50,000 lbs as she sits, and I use 85lb rear and 110lb front.

[Skins]

Thank you.

I went off the dealer invoice for the tires. I will visually confirm when I can get to my rig.

One last question. I hear about tire temperature. I plan on buying a monitor. I read they have a programed level. What should normal tire temps run if everything is load correctly, distributed evenly and tires are inflated to spec?

[Pusherman]

Originally Posted by FlyingDiver

According to Winnebago Motor Homes - 2013 Vista, you have an 8,000 lb front axle and a 15,000 lb rear axle, and 22,000 GVWR. So you could add 720 lb to the front, or 2,400 lb to the rear, but only 2120 total. For that size RV, those cargo numbers seem pretty good.

The sticker number is probably the min pressure for the max weight, and since it was not at max weight when delivered from the dealer, the 85 lbs was probably correct.

Yes, you need to weigh the coach with everything in it, then look up the correct tire pressures on the manufacturer chart. It's not "less the axle". It's the actual weight on that corner, including the wheel(s), axles, etc.

I think FlyingDiver is spot-on. Weigh the coach as you drive it, full fluids, people, pets. Go to Michelinrv website to get inflations for your actual tire sizes vs actual weights.

I highly doubt you have any issues with too much weight in that coach, based on what you have posted.

Note: when you do get the proper inflations for your tire sizes based on Michelin's tables, add 5+ psi for insurance. Do all checks and inflating when tires are cold. The lower the pressure, the better the coach will ride (overinflated tires will affect handling). If its under-inflated, you could suffer a zipper tear blow-out. Really important to get this one right.

[CampDaven]

Since you are running goodyears

http://www.goodyearrvtires.com/pdfs/rv_inflation.pdf

[FlyingDiver]

Originally Posted by CampDaven

Since you are running goodyears

http://www.goodyearrvtires.com/pdfs/rv_inflation.pdf

No he's not. See post #7.

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by wincrasher

Good advice - but I would add that if you are adding a cushion - like 5 lbs over, that you still do not exceed the max inflation psi for that tire.

Or for the wheel!
Some tires, like our Michelins will take 131 psi, but the Alcoa wheels we have are limited to 120 psi. The lowest one is the limiting factor.
BTW, the pressure shown on the sidewall of a Michelin tire (as well as others) is the MINIMUM to support the MAXIMUM weight the tire will take.
I have the actual quotes from various manufacturers about this on my laptop, but I'm at work right now and don't have access to it.