Why not just inflate to the Certification label level?

I continue to read RV forum posts from people asking about what inflation to use. Tire Sidewall?, Sticker? Owner's manual? The inflation used by a neighbor? There is also continued confusion on what the sticker inflation is.

"Vehicle Certification Label" AKA "Tire Placard" only considers one thing. The max tire load capacity (molded on the tire sidewall) when the tire is inflated to the level associated with the original tire Load Range (Ply Rating) as shown in the industry load & Inflation tables.

Federal DOT Regulations specify the label indicate the tire inflation level needed to support AT LEAST  50% of the GAWR. NOTE there is no margin or reserve load capacity specified or required by the DOT Regulations.

Starting in Nov 2017, the RVIA (RV Industry Association) required that trailers have a 10% margin on tire load capacity. Motorhomes do not have this margin requirement from RVIA as far as I know.

This Reserve Load margin for trailers is more important than on Motorhomes due to the significantly higher Interply Shear imposed in trailer application.

Tire companies, do not know the exact loading that will be placed on their tires in RV application so you have to do a little work to learn the MINIMUM inflation needs for your personal vehicle. You could simply use the inflation on the Tire Placard but you still need to confirm, with scale measurement, that no axle is loaded more than the stated GAWR. It is also strongly recommended that you confirm your side-to-side load split is close to 50/50 as the tires do not "know" what the other tires are supporting, so you could be unknowingly overloading one tire by hundreds or even 1,000#.

I have other posts in this blog on how to learn the individual tire loads.

##RVT900