Trailer Tire High Temperature Question (Not Pressure)

Amazonica

I am setting up a Tymate TPMS with High Temperature Alarm for my T@B 400 and can find no data for what my "High Temperature" setting should be. I have a basic understanding of Tire Pressure, and how that changes with air/road temps, driving, and just time. Not wanting to hijack other's threads regarding pressure, I would appreciate the helpful folks knowledge on the Temperature topic please. I understand these are just comments, and fully accept responsibility for my own decisions, informed or not. 

Here's the (possibly?) relative info. I keep my trailer fully loaded ~ 3500 lbs. 2020 400 Boondock with the original Rainier Apex "C" rated ST tires. I do my best to keep the tire at 50psi 'cold'. I rarely drive above 60 mph, drive at sea-level, and have been as high as 10,910 ft, although not in the same day. I drive in all types of temperatures, paved roads and bumpy dirt roads. I've read other's threads regarding blowouts and am strenuously trying to avoid that. I tow with a Ram 1500 and based on what I'm hearing may not even notice a trailer blowout with this as a TV.

I don't want my alarm set too low, where it goes off when the tires aren't in danger, and of course don't want it set too high. I have looked on the tire, and it has a "Max" PSI, but no temperature info.

Anyone doing this, or have experience with tire temperature?

N7SHG_Ham

It depends on season, I have changed mine in summer. I try to keep maybe 20f above pavement temps. I have had mine alarm sitting in sun, silence it and start moving and usually drop down once not parked in direct sun and moving.

The idea is to see an anomaly and so you don't want it too high, so ambient temps need to be considered. I rarely see over 10f above ambient on my pickup or the Tab, so I set 20 over and figure if it alarms, there is an issue I should check on.

Amazonica

Thank you @N7SHG_Ham.
How do you determine 'pavement temps"? Hand (like I do for my dog walks)? Or do you have a thermometer of some type? This is all a learning experience for me.

N7SHG_Ham

Just guess usually, but I do carry an infrared temp gun, I guess I could use that.

morey000

I've driven the heck out of those Rainer Apex's at 110F and 70mph.  they haven't exploded yet.  (no temp sensor).  Is this really a problem?

Amazonica

Hi @morey000. I'll leave the answering of your question to the more experienced folks on here. I travel solo and really want to avoid a blowout or having to change a tire beside the road. It's more preventative and peace of mind for me. While I have never seen a T@B on the side of a busy highway, or in remote areas with a shredded tire, I have seen other trailers, one with a tire on fire. 

tabiphile

morey000 said:

I've driven the heck out of those Rainer Apex's at 110F and 70mph.  they haven't exploded yet.  (no temp sensor).  Is this really a problem?

Of the 273million vehicles in use in the US, how many have the tire temperature checked every time they are driven or ever? As long as you maintain the proper tire pressure and as long as your tires are in good condition )no checking/cracking/dry rot/aging issues, good stems and valves) you should be able to proceed exactly as you have and drive the heck out of your tires.
Tire fires are likely due to bearing failures just like RR car wheel fires are due to journal failures. Fear not!

Amazonica

Very true, on all accounts. Fear is not my motivating factor nor is spreading it. Everyone has a different comfort level with risk and towing. I really like the data and peace of mind. The multitude of shredded tractor- trailer tires on the sides of roads tells me that heavily loaded vehicles are rougher on their tires. 
I really appreciate all of the information and viewpoints on here. It's a great bunch of folks with a lot of knowledge.

Happy Thanksgiving. 

ChanW

Hi @Amazonica. I appreciate your desire for data. Theoretically, the more data, the more predictability. 
Regarding the semi-truck tire bits, from my understanding, though I might be wrong, the shredded tires are retreads coming apart. Cheaper to replace one of those big truck tires with a retread. And why not - they've got redundancy on the dual tires! Just more data for you to chew on... 
I had one blow right next to my open driver window one day, as he was passing me on the interstate. Scared the $#!π our of me! I was very glad it didn't blow a few seconds later - most of the shrapnel flew out behind me, rather than in my face.
I hate to imagine being on a bike in that situation...

Amazonica

Thank you @ChanW. Yes, Big trucks are very different from our T@Bs. 

I’ve been on a bicycle riding along Hwy 160 near Durango (wouldn’t do that now!) and had a retread fly off just ahead of me. Only by pure luck did I not get struck. 

If anyone is interested in the tire temp data from my recent trip, here it is.
Drove from Willis Texas to Junction Texas, mostly backroads. Stayed at 60 mph, daytime temp varied during my drive from a low of 64dF to a high of 74dF. Trailer tires started out at 50psi, and 71dF. Sun was up when I got the readings but didn’t appear to make a difference.

The highest temp my trailer tires saw was 85dF and their highest psi was 54.
The truck tires got up to a high of 60 psi (from starting at 55 psi).

Denny16

If you tow your trailer at. 60mph or less, and the tires are at cold psi of 50 max, you should not encounter any issues of the tires overheating.  I have never had a trailer tire blow out.  On ling trips. when I stop, I touch check my hubs and tires to make sure they are not overheating.  If a tire or hub feels very hot (warm is OK), then let the rig cool down.
cheers

CrabTab

Since you've started to collect data @Amazonica, perhaps you should set your alarm for a certain percentage above your current average. That way you'd know when temp is trending up and to investigate. As you collect more data over time, adjust your alarm.

It sounds like your system is checking temp at the valve (of internal air?). All of my experience with tire temps is at the tread using a pyrometer. I could give you all sorts of suggestions/analysis if you wanted to talk tread temps, but fear they'd be useless here...

Amazonica

Thank you @CrabTab.  Definitely don't want to pester anyone on a holiday. While I do enjoy data for data's sake, My main intention is to monitor things before a problem develops. I plan to be in Southern Arizona soon, and not knowing at all what to expect, I want to keep an eye on things. This year many of us are not so much in charge of our own plans, so I don't know how long I will be staying there/have to stay, possibly into the summer. I've heard some tales about how hot the pavement can get. 😬
When time permits, I would definitely appreciate your data! Knowledge is power.

N7SHG_Ham

The temperature is secondary and any steep rise is likely going to accompany a low pressure alarm. I doubt with correct pressure a tire is ever going to heat up enough to explode. The sequence of failure is typically low pressure, keep running, increase in tempature and then failure.

Not all tire failures on big trucks are recaps, the guy that replaced me on the truck I used to drive lost a brand new virgin steer tire, he safely got truck stopped on shoulder, but it did go off like a bomb with just a few thousand miles on it. It might of given early warning with a TPMS system.

Dalehelman

Tire heat is caused by two things. Load and air pressure. The heat is generated by the flexing of the side walls. Low pressure causes the side wall to flex more. Increased speed increases the flex rate generating more heat. It’s like bending a piece of metal back and forth. It can create enough heat to burst into flame. Keep your air pressure at the required psi based on your weight. If your tires are in good condition. The chances of a blow out due to over heating is very unlikely.

Amazonica

Thank you. I do start out at 50 psi. They do heat up a little when I’m driving. I’m learning how much. Not concerned that they’ll burst into flame, just that they may blowout due to some variable that I could’ve watched and prevented. 😊

Dalehelman

Blowout occur from a couple of sources either road hazards or old faulty tires. Low pressure can sneak up on you. 

rcarlson1957

I have same setup to monitor my camper tire pressure just like I do for my Ridgeline. Not really all that sure about the value of the temp part. Searched high and low and most info talks about maintaining proper tire pressure, not overloading them and paying attention to age of tires (a lot of camper tires get replaced due to aging vs wearing out from mileage unless you just are on the road an awful lot). Like some have said, overloading, too high or too low air pressure affects your tires negatively and can increase the temp. So unless you screw that up or are driving on old tires (not good) seems like the temp feature is kind of "meh". 

Amazonica

Thank you @rcarlson1957. I sincerely appreciate you and the others who have taken time to help out a fellow T@Bber. 

With the input from here, I will keep an eagle eye on the PSI, and not worry about the temperature. I’ve noticed on a really long sunny driving day yesterday, that the tire temperature only varied between 10dF (shaded side) and 15dF (sunny side) from ambient air temp as displayed unscientifically by my truck. 😄

N7SHG_Ham

@Amazonica thus why in my 1st post I said I keep mine at about 20f over expected temps and if it alarms there is probably an issue. Usually as noted an abnormal temp alarm is also going to be due to an under inflation alarm, so you usually get a double warning as it were. I suppose there could be a situation where a bad bearing or dragging brake causes an overheated situation without loss of pressure, and that could drive pressure up also causing an alarm. I therefore keep both temp and pressure limits within reason, kind of like a fuse, you don't want it too big just to get rid of blowing issues, you want the warning before catastrophic failure.