# Tyre pressures



## ksblair (Feb 26, 2012)

My Peugeot Boxer 335LWB campervan has what is politely termed a rather firm ride. Going by the sticker inside the driver's door I should be inflating the tyres to 70psi. My tyres are Bridgestone Duravis 220/70/15c light truck not specialist camper tyres. 
I took the van fully loaded ready to go on holiday to a weighbridge yesterday. The front axle weight was 1720kg and the rear 1420kg.
According to the Tyresafe website I should have the front tyres at about 48psi and the rears at about 38psi. I have emailed Bridgestone for their advice but no reply as yet.
Does anyone have any advice on this?


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## Hymervanman (Aug 20, 2010)

Each van is different and so an exact answer is virtually imposssible to give. I am suprised that Bridgestone have not replied. I am fitting Michelin Agilis Camper tyres this weekend and e-mailed Michelin for advice on pressures. They responded promptly and quoted that the suggested pressure for the rears is 80psi and 55psi on the front ( 2000kgs rear axle, !700kgs front)

They quote "The suggested tyre pressure for the rear of a motorhome running on the Agilis Camping is 80psi. This is due to the construction of the tyre with 2 casing plies enabling the use of higher pressures. Its construction and the use of higher pressures is designed to cope with continual heavy loads sometimes found on Motorhomes and can help with wear pattern issues if lower pressures are used particularly on the rear axle."


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## ksblair (Feb 26, 2012)

I noticed on the Tyresafe website that Camper tyres are inflated to a much higher level than standard light truck tyres. As you say this reflects the greater load carrying capacity of these tyres. It seems that most coachbuilts and some A class motorhomes tend to be loaded to the maximum weight capacity. My campervan still has a spare payload reserve of about 350kg and most of that available at the rear. I have always inflated the rear tyres to a higher pressure than the front but it seems I may have to rethink that.

PS
I noticed on one of the tyre related sites I was browsing that tyre fitters are recommended that tyres with an inflation capacity above 50psi should be inflated behind a safety cage.


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## EJB (Aug 25, 2007)

Michelin changed their advice some time ago re rear tyres.
Prior to that they used to recommend a lower rear tyre pressure.
Mine is 50 front and 55 rear as recommended by them.

They would now say 70 or 80 for the rear tyres!

This PDF gives a good indication:-

http://www.motorcaravanning.com/tyresafe_mh_tyres_08.pdf


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## ksblair (Feb 26, 2012)

That's the same leaflet I've been quoting. I think the higher pressures are only for Camper rated tyres. If motorhomes use these higher pressures on standard light truck tyres as fitted to my Autocruise Rythym campervan there could be be a safety issue with over inflation.


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## Hymervanman (Aug 20, 2010)

The quote was definitely for Camper tyres.
As for the high pressures, we have had the van for 3 years and done approx 10000 miles. It is presently fitted with XC Camper tyres at 80 psi on rear and in all that time , although frequently checked, I have never once had to top up the pressure. This to me is another advantage of Camper tyres


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## BrianJP (Sep 17, 2010)

ksblair said:


> My Peugeot Boxer 335LWB campervan has what is politely termed a rather firm ride. Going by the sticker inside the driver's door I should be inflating the tyres to 70psi. My tyres are Bridgestone Duravis 220/70/15c light truck not specialist camper tyres.
> I took the van fully loaded ready to go on holiday to a weighbridge yesterday. The front axle weight was 1720kg and the rear 1420kg.
> According to the Tyresafe website I should have the front tyres at about 48psi and the rears at about 38psi. I have emailed Bridgestone for their advice but no reply as yet.
> Does anyone have any advice on this?


Are you sure they are 220 width ( not 215 or 225 ), that would be unusual.

check size again and post here including load index and I will tell you what Continental say pressures would be for their van tyres of your size. At a guess I would say that 48/38 is about right though.


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## Spiritofherald (May 18, 2012)

KSBLAIR, I have reduced my pressures similar to the ones you have quoted and the steering is vastly improved, especially when going roundabouts in the wet. On the recommeneded higher pressures I had terrible understeer and had I continued at those pressures I am sure it would have resulted in an accident.


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## Philippft (Feb 16, 2008)

BrianJP said:


> check size again and post here including load index and I will tell you what Continental say pressures would be for their van tyres of your size. At a guess I would say that 48/38 is about right though.


Please be advised this information may be of no value to you and possibly down right dangerous as the information from Continental is for their tyres only.


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## Techno100 (May 8, 2010)

ksblair said:


> My Peugeot Boxer 335LWB campervan has what is politely termed a rather firm ride. Going by the sticker inside the driver's door I should be inflating the tyres to 70psi. My tyres are Bridgestone Duravis 220/70/15c light truck not specialist camper tyres.
> I took the van fully loaded ready to go on holiday to a weighbridge yesterday. The front axle weight was 1720kg and the rear 1420kg.
> According to the Tyresafe website I should have the front tyres at about 48psi and the rears at about 38psi. I have emailed Bridgestone for their advice but no reply as yet.
> Does anyone have any advice on this?


If you can give me the load index rating and the maximum tyre pressure off the tyre wall I have a spreadsheet that seems to produce pretty good results. 
Worth a try?


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## ksblair (Feb 26, 2012)

Size 225/70/15c. Load index 112. Max tyre pressure 66psi

Thanks to all. I would have thought that different makes of standard, not Camper, tyres would be about the same pressure. It's reassuring that SpiritofHerald's van seems OK on reduced pressures. It just goes against all my instincts to have the rear tyres at a lower pressure. I'll be happy to get further thoughts and Techno 100's. spreadsheet information.
It seems daft to me that the Sevel recommendation is so high - higher than the 66psi stated on the tyre.


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## Techno100 (May 8, 2010)




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## ksblair (Feb 26, 2012)

Techno
That was quick.
Unless I hear differently from Bridgestone I'll go by your table.
Off to get the ferry from Hull to Zeebrugge on Tuesday for a month down in the Ardeche. Having the right tyre pressures will hopefully make it a more comfortable trip - and a quieter ones if it helps reduce the rattles from the blinds, skylights and my teeth. 😀


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## Techno100 (May 8, 2010)

I think its pretty good as tyre size and manufacturer are irrelevant.
It relies on the load index and the maximum pressure for that tyre and then I guess it extrapolates a figure based on the actual axle load :thumbup: I found it cock on with the Michelin recommended pressure for mine that were obtained in 2008 by previous owners.


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## Techno100 (May 8, 2010)

BTW have a great holiday, how I'd love to do a month  

I'll have to settle for three weeks in France next Friday


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## charlieivan (Apr 25, 2006)

I have Toyo HO9 fitted on our van and contacted Toyo to ask advice on pressures. Wheel size - 215/75R/16C Front axle -!750, Rear 2250.

Recomended pressures - Front 60psi, Rear 72psi

When I had tyres fitted they were all set at 4 bar so will now adjust to Toyo recomendations.


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## Hymervanman (Aug 20, 2010)

Hi Charlievan, it just shows how important it is to use Manufacturer specific info, our Michelin Agilis Camper tyres are 215/75/16 with a front axle load of 1750kgs and rear 2000kgs and the recommended pressures are 55/80 psi respectively!


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## Techno100 (May 8, 2010)

Michelin give 80 rear for all now irrespective of weight.
They decided all or most motorhomes are overloaded so recommend the maximum PERIOD


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## Techno100 (May 8, 2010)

Hymervanman said:


> Hi Charlievan, it just shows how important it is to use Manufacturer specific info, our Michelin Agilis Camper tyres are 215/75/16 with a front axle load of 1750kgs and rear 2000kgs and the recommended pressures are 55/80 psi respectively!












My 225 75 16 with 1920kg was recommended by Michelin to be 65psi I think they cocked up on yours at 55 with 215's


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## Hymervanman (Aug 20, 2010)

Thanks for the info Techno, Michelin quoted "The front pressures however can be adjusted according to accurately weighed axle loads for a more comfortable ride and optimum performance"
The 55psi suggested was based on 1750kgs front axle weight at the last weighing. I was actually looking at putting 60/65psi and then adjusting as per their advice. It looks like 80psi is recommended for the rear regardless.


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## ob1 (Sep 25, 2007)

Techno's right. Michelin told me ages ago that they are recommending 80psi for the rear tyres regardless off the actual loading due to us lot overloading the rear end in many cases. They know it's not the optimum pressure and will produce a very hard ride in a lot of cases. They will also give you the correct pressure if they feel you know what your talking about.


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## BrianJP (Sep 17, 2010)

Philippft said:


> BrianJP said:
> 
> 
> > check size again and post here including load index and I will tell you what Continental say pressures would be for their van tyres of your size. At a guess I would say that 48/38 is about right though.
> ...


?

????????????????????????

Sorry but I think you will find if you compare all manufacturers light commercial
Tyres like for like size and load index the recommended pressure s will be very similar certainly within a few psi of each other. So hardly dangerous. 
After all thats how tyresafe are able to produce an generalised pressure chart.


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