We have always increased the tyre pressure before towing and decreased them after towing ie. On arrival on site. I see very few others doing it. Is this really necessary?
------------- Jean
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It's a good point you raise. If you follow the tyre pressures as per car manufacturers hand book then indeed one should reduce the pressure if the car is no longer fully loaded/towing. Do I bother, no. The thing I always do before towing the van is check tyre pressures, van and SUV and adjust if necessary.
Quote: Originally posted by Rainbowsend on 28/6/2022
We have always increased the tyre pressure before towing and decreased them after towing ie. On arrival on site. I see very few others doing it. Is this really necessary?
I think it would depend to some extent on the car and what it is towing. My opinion, and that's all it is, would be that the ratio between the car and trailer would make a difference. A smaller, lighter car, towing a relatively heavy trailer would probably need more tyre pressure adjustment than a bigger, heavier car towing a relatively light trailer. I drive a Nissan X Trail, which is a fairly substantial car, and I tow a caravan weighing less than a ton, so all I normally do is make sure my tyre pressures are correct before towing. I don't actually increase them. I hardly know when my caravan is on the back anyway.
I increase to tow away but leave the higher pressures until I get home after th4e holiday.
It would be too much faff to reduce then increase whilst away and the gain would be very small.
Once we have reached the campsite, it is very rare for us to use the car again until time to go home, so, no I do not re-adjust tyre pressures on arrival.
Quote: Originally posted by Ancient Uncle on 29/6/2022
Once we have reached the campsite, it is very rare for us to use the car again until time to go home, so, no I do not re-adjust tyre pressures on arrival.
Quite the opposite to us then. Our car gets more use when we are away on holiday than it probably got in the previous two months, as we are always out exploring.
I usually inflate to full load figure before we go away and deflate when we get home, can’t see it making too much difference driving around with higher pressures for a couple of weeks.
Often wondered how much difference it makes inflating to higher pressures though as it’s only 100kg extra weight on the car (nose weight) so is just like having a larger person sitting in the back, obviously the stiffer side walls will help with towing stability
Quote: Originally posted by Ancient Uncle on 29/6/2022
Once we have reached the campsite, it is very rare for us to use the car again until time to go home, so, no I do not re-adjust tyre pressures on arrival.
Quite the opposite to us then. Our car gets more use when we are away on holiday than it probably got in the previous two months, as we are always out exploring.
I can see that my remark could be misunderstood, Colin. Yes, we are also out exploring every day, but we take our e bikes with us and can cover anything up to about 40 miles a day, depending on our plans.
Another good reason why we need an ehu on our pitch, for re charging the bike batteries.
I certainly increase the tyre pressure to loaded value (on my car it's a rather significant 30% increase for rears!) before towing van, but leave it at that until I return home after holiday.
Running at higher pressure when not loaded (towing van/boot full) theoretically increases wear on centre part of tread, but for maybe the one or two hundred miles it'll do, I'll not be worrying about it. It also decreases traction slightly, so marginal increased risk of wheel spin or skidding, again not enough to be worrying about.
Whilst the increase in weight from the trailer nose weight and luggage in boot may only match that of a couple of rear seat passengers, it's the increased resistance to tyre lateral roll that is my priority with the higher pressure, the dynamic loads when cornering or on bends and changing direction can cause the kind of tail end side movement on soft tyres that can encourage a bit of snaking to start with the van. The higher pressure also keeps the tyres running cooler, so reducing the likelihood of a tyre blowout, which with a caravan on the back would potentially be a bit dramatic!
It's handy with my Skoda Karoq. Instead of faffing about with the handbook, I open the flap to the fuel filler and it's printed for me, together with a handy ice scraper.
The difference is substantial, varying between 2.1 to 2.5 for fully loaded.
If I leave them at 2.5 for normal running about, the suspension is hard to the point of being uncomfortable for my wife's bad back as the Karoq has firm suspension anyway, particularly with the 18 or 19 inch wheels with the "rubber bands" that pass for tyres.
Every car has it's own characteristics and shortcomings, but I would suggest that with the caravan noseweight and holiday luggage, some extra pressure is necessary.
Quote: Originally posted by Ancient Uncle on 29/6/2022
Quote: Originally posted by Colin21 on 29/6/2022
Quote: Originally posted by Ancient Uncle on 29/6/2022
Once we have reached the campsite, it is very rare for us to use the car again until time to go home, so, no I do not re-adjust tyre pressures on arrival.
Quite the opposite to us then. Our car gets more use when we are away on holiday than it probably got in the previous two months, as we are always out exploring.
I can see that my remark could be misunderstood, Colin. Yes, we are also out exploring every day, but we take our e bikes with us and can cover anything up to about 40 miles a day, depending on our plans.
Another good reason why we need an ehu on our pitch, for re charging the bike batteries.
Ah, I see. We don't have ebikes but we do use public transport whenever we can. If not, then we use the car. At home we have plenty of public transport, so now we use that whenever possible, only using the car when there is no other viable option. Fuel prices have had a big effect on our car use.
Neither of us has been on any kind of bike for probably over 50 years. We need EHU too or we don't have a fridge or hot water.
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Topic: Changing car tyre pressure
via mobile 28/6/2022 at 5:06pm
