RV Tire Safety
with RV tire expert Roger Marble
Yeah, I know that if you are like me you were given a stack of owner’s manuals with your new RV. I doubt that many have ever read every page of the 6″ to 8″ stack of papers. However, I would suggest that you at least check the section of the basic manual that covers “Tire Safety.”
I was recently involved in some litigation on tires and quickly learned that the folks who were complaining about their tires may have claimed to have read the manual, but for some reason didn’t understand the information, or felt the information didn’t apply to them, or just didn’t care – as it was obvious that they had failed to follow the tire maintenance and safety instructions when it came to RV weight or tire inflation.
A review of the table of contents will find section titles such as “Tire Safety” or “Weighing your RV.”
I have to wonder why so many seem to feel that instructions such as the following don’t apply to them: “Before using your RV, you should inspect all the tires for proper inflation, uneven wear on the tread, cracks, foreign objects, or other signs of wear or damage. Don’t forget to inspect your spare tire!”
I read questions on tires on the many RV forums I follow, and almost every week someone is saying things such as: “I have looked everywhere for tire inflation information but can’t find out about my tires,” or “What size tire can I run?” or similar questions. In reality, they have the information in their personal files.
I have found that copies of many Owner’s Manuals are available for free online, so even if you lost your manuals or didn’t get them when you purchased a pre-owned RV, you should still be able to find them online.
While I might be able to nit-pick at some of the details in the information, in general, I believe that if people read and follow the instructions, the percentage of people who have tire problems could be reduced significantly.
It really doesn’t take a lot of time or effort to read and review the information on tires, proper inflation and correct loading of your RV. It also doesn’t take much time to actually follow the instructions. If there is some part you don’t understand, I along with others would be more than happy to help out our fellow RV owners.
Certainly making a little effort to educate yourself will take less time than it would take to change out a tire after it had failed and would also be MUCH less expensive.
 
Read more from Roger Marble on his blog at RVtiresafety.net.
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I have read and re-read the manual several times. When an issue arises the manual is the first place I look. It’s always put away in the same place and easy to get to in a pinch. While I admit some of the information is beyond my expertise, at least I have a place to start. The manual is so much more helpful than my co-pilot, a black Labrador.
I read every manual cover-to-cover, as I do with anything I buy, including my cell phone and camera. I don’t remember all they say, but I do remember where to quickly find what I need to know later.
Good to know. I guess the question for others is: If you read the manual, Do you follow the instructions i.e. checking air every morning of a travel day? Did you get your motorhome weights for each tire position? Is your cold inflation pressure sufficient to support the measured load + a bit of “Reserve Load”? Do you run a TPMS so you don’t need to get out with an accurate pressure gauge each morning AND you are able to get a warning as soon as you develop an air leak? Too few do any of the above, never mind all of the above. Glad you are the exception. Safe Travels.
I wish I had received a comprehensive set of manuals that truly matched my rig. What I got was generic and there was no wiring diagram.
Newmar gave us a very nice heavy duty portfolio, with dividers by type of item, plumbing, exterior, interior, applicances, etc. In it was all the documents/warranties/mfg info for all items in our coach. Our coach is 17 years old and we still use that info. If we have a issue with something first place we look. If information in documentation can’t answer our question we can contact the mfg or google information based on model number. Solved many issues on our own.