New trailer tires

[colbysmith]

Tire manufacturers and dealers want to sell tires. Of course they are going to say replace them every few years. Speaking from experience towing various trailers, maintain the rig and tire and you'll get the best longevity out of it. I started running nitrogen before last season and one for sure thing I noticed was very little pressure change in the tires from cold to hot. Regular air could change by 5 lbs! Colby

[localboy]

I recently bought a set of four Michelin tires for the F250 from Costco. They filled them w/ 100% nitrogen. Same with the one tire I bought for the trailer after a side-wall blow out. Got it from the local Les Schwab and they filled it w/ nitrogen.

But nitrogen is not easy to find and is not convenient. How do I drive to a shop and still fill my tires "cold"? I have a nice compressor system w/ filters, water separators etc in the garage, so I just top everything off with good old fashioned air. My air set up and my regular maintenance etc eliminates as much H2O as possible.

I have "heard" that w/ nitrogen, the tire pressures will remain more steady vs plain air. Is that reason enough? I don't know.

From the inter-webby: http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/repair-questions/4302788

[colbysmith]

I should note I got a deal to fill both my tow vehicle and trailer tires with nitrogen for $30. Free refills for the life of the tires. (After my one blowout last year, they refilled the new tire with Nitrogen for me for free....so as long as I keep using my dealer, they'll probably keep me in Nitrogen for free since my initial charge... I like not having to top off or let off the air as the season changes. Also like the dryness of the Nitrogen. Other that guess it depends on how much you want to spend to keep the tire pressure pretty constant year round.

[thataway]

Expansion coefficient of nitrogen vs air is virtually identical. See:
http://powertank.com/truth.or.hype/

98% of the high end end motor homes say change tires at between 5 and 7 years, a majority say 5 years. Yes, maybe a 45,000 lb RV with tire pressure at 110 PSI has more stress on the tireds, than an 8,000 lb boat trailer, at 55 PSI. I check my tire temps on the boat and the RV every two hours. Often there is zero difference between he temperatures. For me its a safety issue.

I went to our local tire store today to ask about trailer tires for the C Dory single axle trailer. Tire size is 225 x 75 15" rims. I am load rated D at 2450 per wheel. They had a Omni Trail Radial, in the correct size, 10 ply Load range E, Load Index of 117 (?) and rating of 2830 (380lbs per wheel, or 760 for the axle more than the current tires. I am not going to load the trailer any higher, but having a total capacity of 5660 lbs makes me feel a little better than 4900 lbs.

Does anyone have experience with the Omni Trail? (made in China of course)

The Maxxis seem to be back ordered in this size and Carlislie does not seem to make the USA tailer tire in this size, load rating...

[colbysmith]

Regardless what the formulas say, I can only go from experience. Before the nitrogen, I was changing the tire pressures by about 10% between winter and summer. (5 lbs) Would also see several pounds increase between cold and after running an hour or so down the road. With the Nitrogen I've only seen about a pound or two change between seasons, and no more than a pound change between cold and running.... Perhaps it's the moisture that causes the increased pressure changes.... Not recommending everyone change from regular air to nitrogen...just sharing what I've experienced.

[AstoriaDave]

Strongly suspect colbysmith's pressure effect with "air" is due to liquid water turning to vapor as the tire warms up. I bet dry air would respond similarly to his dry nitrogen. Localboy's replenishment with good old WA air strained through a compressor and a water separator is a cost effective solution.