TitanTrailer.com
Use this information to make tire safety a regular part of your vehicle
maintenance routine. Recognize that the time you spend is minimal
compared with the inconvenience and safety consequences of a at tire
or other tire failure.
1.5. SAFETY FIRST–BASIC TIRE MAINTENANCE
Properly maintained tires improve the steering, stopping, traction, and
load-carrying capability of your vehicle. Underinated tires and over-
loaded vehicles are a major cause of tire failure. Therefore, as mentioned
above, to avoid at tires and other types of tire failure, you should main-
tain proper tire pressure, observe tire and vehicle load limits, avoid road
hazards, and regularly inspect your tires.
1.5.1. FINDING YOUR VEHICLE’S RECOMMENDED TIRE PRESSURE AND
LOAD LIMITS
Tire information placards and vehicle certication labels contain informa-
tion on tires and load limits. These labels indicate the vehicle manufac-
turer’s information including:
• Recommended tire size
• Recommended tire ination pressure
• Vehicle capacity weight (VCW–the maximum occupant and cargo
weight a vehicle is designed to carry)
• Front and rear gross axle weight ratings (GAWR– the maximum
weight the axle systems are designed to carry).
Both placards and certication labels are permanently attached to the
trailer near the left front.
1.5.2. UNDERSTANDING TIRE PRESSURE AND LOAD LIMITS
Tire ination pressure is the level of air in the tire that provides it with
load-carrying capacity and aects the overall performance of the vehicle.
The tire ination pressure is a number that indicates the amount of air
pressure– measured in pounds per square inch (psi)–a tire requires to be
properly inated. (You will also nd this number on the vehicle informa-
tion placard expressed in kilopascals (kpa), which is the metric measure
used internationally.)
Manufacturers of passenger vehicles and light trucks determine this
number based on the vehicle’s design load limit, that is, the greatest
amount of weight a vehicle can safely carry and the vehicle’s tire size.
The proper tire pressure for your vehicle is referred to as the “recom-
mended cold ination pressure.” (As you will read below, it is dicult to
35