Unless you spend all of your time on the road, your RV will probably be parked in storage some of the time. That’s why it’s important to follow these steps to help protect your Goodyear RV tires when you’re storing your vehicle:

• Keep the vehicle in a cool, dry storage area out of direct sunlight or UV rays.
• Place the vehicle on blocks to remove the weight from the tires. If the vehicle can’t be put on blocks, make sure the storage surface is firm, clean, well-drained and reasonably level.
• Unload the vehicle so that minimum weight is on the tires.
• Inflate tires to the recommended operation pressure plus 25%, but don’t exceed the rim manufacturer’s inflation capacity.
• Thoroughly clean the tires with soap and water before storing them.
• Move the vehicle at least every three months to help prevent ozone cracking and flat-spotting, but avoid moving it during extremely cold weather.
• Adjust the tire inflation before putting the vehicle back into service.

Even the most cautious drivers can accidentally drive over a nail, screw or glass. If a tire loses all or most of its air pressure, you should take your vehicle to a Camping World Service Center. Punctures don’t just affect the
surface of the tire, they affect the inside as well. That’s why only trained technicians using industry-approved methods and materials should inspect and repair, or replace a tire.

Mixing Tire Types
When you mix tires of different constructions, sizes and stage of treadwear, it can affect handling and performance. Goodyear recommends using the same size and type of tire on the same axle.

Wheels And Ratings
It’s important that tire and wheel ratings are compatible. For example, a tire rated at 3,000 pounds should never be mounted on a wheel rated at 2,000 pounds. Your Camping World Service Center can help you match tires and wheels for enhanced protection and performance.

The Importance Of Tire And Wheel Balancing
To get great tire performance from your Goodyear RV tires, the weight of the tire and wheel assembly  must be distributed uniformly around the tire’s circumference. Out-of-balance tires tend to cup and wear excessively at the heavy spot. You should have wheel balancing performed at Goodyear when:

• New tires are mounted.
• A tire and wheel are moved to another position.
• Used tires are installed on existing wheels.
• After a flat repair.
• Any time a tire is dismounted and removed.

Tire Rotation Patterns
Every RV and trailer is unique, so consult your vehicle owner’s manual for rotation recommendations for your vehicle. If the tires on your vehicle show uneven wear, ask your Camping World Service Center to check for and fix any misalignment, imbalance or other mechanical problems before rotating the tires.

Wheel Alignment
Proper wheel alignment is essential to maintaining even treadwear on your Goodyear RV tires. Normal
wear of moving parts in a suspension system can result in misalignment, which can cause scuffing and rapid, uneven wear in your tires. Take your vehicle to a Camping World Service Center for regular alignment checks and adjustments.

Routine Tire Inspections
You should take your RV to your Camping World Service Center and have a tire inspection at least once a year. It’s also a good idea to have them inspected after you drive on rugged, rocky terrain or when you take your RV in for service. Have the Retailer check both sidewalls, the tread area, valves, caps and any valve extensions. Plus, your RV’s Goodyear tires should be checked for nails, cuts, bulges, aging, cracks and weathering, as well as objects lodged between the duals.

Cleaning Your RV Tires
Dirt and grime can keep road oils close to your RV’s Goodyear tires. That’s why you should clean your
tires whenever you wash your RV. You can wash your Goodyear RV tires with the same products you use to wash your RV – a soft brush and mild soap. Each Goodyear RV tire contains additives, and as the
tire rolls, they rise to the surface of the rubber to help protect the tires from cracking. Goodyear RV tires do not need any other dressings, appearance products or covers to help protect them. In fact, using products that contain alcohol, petroleum or silicone products may cause your Goodyear RV tires to deteriorate, crack and age more quickly.

How To Check And Adjust Your RV Or Trailer Tire Pressure

• Use an accurate air pressure gauge.
• Inflation should be checked when tires are cold.
• Check inside duals as well as outside tires.
• Do NOT bleed air from hot tires.
• Inflation pressure should be adjusted to the tire carrying the heaviest load, and all tires on the axle should have the same inflation pressure.
• Use proper sealing metal valve caps or quality flow through valve caps.
• Tires which have lost more than 20% of their recommended inflation pressure should be considered flat.
• Flat tires should be professionally inspected and repaired by a Goodyear Retailer.

It’s important to know that air temperature and atmospheric pressure have an effect on tire inflation. If the temperature increases 10° F, tire inflation increases 2%. If the temperature outside drops 10° F, the inflation pressure in your tires will decrease 2%. When it comes to atmospheric pressure, the psi increases .48 psi for every 1,000 feet increase in altitude. And conversely, the psi decreases .48 psi for every 1,000 foot decrease in altitude. If there are temperature and altitude changes when you’re taking your RV on a trip, it’s important to check your tire inflation more frequently.

How Tire Inflation Pressure Affects Treadwear

Your RV’s Goodyear tires should wear in a smooth, even pattern. If tires are not at proper inflation levels, it can have a drastic effect on treadwear. Underinflation and overinflation can cause tires to wear unevenly, and ultimately, reduce the tire’s overall life. That’s why it’s important to inflate your RV tires to the proper pressure so the wear rate is at its best.

Maintaining a proper and evenly distributed load in your RV or trailer doesn’t just help you determine the proper inflation of your tires, it’s also essential to the performance of your tires and your vehicle. A proper, even load:

• Helps enhance handling.
• Helps improve fuel economy.
• Helps provide regular tire wear.
• Helps maintain braking ability.
• Helps extend the life of the tires.
• Help protect major RV or trailer components from excessive wear.

Now that you’ve weighed your RV or trailer, look at the manufacturer’s load and inflation tables to help determine the correct tire inflation pressure for your vehicle’s loading. If you haven’t weighed your RV by wheel position, you should use the recommended inflation pressures found on the vehicle’s certification label or in your vehicle owner’s manual.

Now that you know when and how to check the inflation pressure of your tires, it’s important to know how much air should be in them. The proper air inflation for your RV’s Goodyear tires depends on how much your fully loaded RV or trailer weighs. If you look at the sidewall of your RV’s Goodyear tire, you’ll see the maximum load capacity for the tire size and load rating and the minimum cold air inflation needed to carry that maximum load. The lower the air pressure, the lower the load you can carry.

To figure out proper tire inflation, you must first weigh your RV or trailer. If you’re weighing a trailer, it must be weighed unhitched from the vehicle towing it. To get an accurate weight, your RV or trailer must be fully loaded with the items you’re taking on your trip, including food, clothing, water, fuel, supplies, towed vehicles or other items. This will give you the vehicle’s GVW or Gross Vehicle Weight. The GVW must not exceed the GVWR – Gross Vehicle Weight Rating established by the chassis manufacturer as the maximum weight that the chassis and its components can support. If the GVW does exceed the GVWR, you must remove some items from the vehicle and weigh it again. You can find the GVWR for your RV or trailer in the vehicle owner’s manual. Now that your vehicle is at or below the GVWR, you should weigh your RV or trailer (hitched to the tow vehicle) by individual wheel positions. If that’s not possible, you can weigh your RV or trailer by individual axle positions. This will give you the GAW or Gross Axle Weight. The GAW is the actual weight of a fully loaded vehicle carried by a single axle. The GAW must not exceed the GAWR or Gross Axle Weight Rating. The GAWR is the maximum weight rating that components of each axle can support. A loaded axle may be within its rating, but could possibly be overloaded on one side. Equal distribution of load is important to help ensure your tires are not overloaded. Make sure you consult your vehicle owner’s manual for the proper GAWR for your RV or trailer.

Now that you understand how important it is to maintain proper inflation pressure in your RV’s Goodyear tires, you need to know when and how often to check it. Here are some recommendations:

• Before each trip.
• Every morning during long trips.
• Before you leave and when you return home on short trips.
• Before and after storing your vehicle.
• At least once per month while the vehicle is in storage.

Always check your tires when they are cold and haven’t been driven more than one mile. The load capacity for a given cold inflation pressure is based on ambient outside temperatures. The pressure in a hot tire may be as much as 10 to 15 psi higher than the cold tire pressure, therefore you will only get an accurate reading when you check your Goodyear RV tires when they’re cold. To help make sure your tire pressure readings are accurate, we also recommend that you use a quality truck tire gauge with a dual-angled head. This way, you can check inner and outer dual wheels at the same time. It will make it easier to check your Goodyear RV tires, and check them more often.

The amount of service life you get from your RV’s Goodyear tires is directly related to how your tires are used and stored. Factors such as how evenly you pack your RV, the weight of all your supplies, tire inflation pressure, how fast or slow you drive, whether you’re driving in the mountains or not and the types of terrain you drive on all have an effect on your tires. Because these conditions vary widely, it’s impossible to predict how long your Goodyear tires will last. However, if you take care of your tires and control the service conditions the best you can, you can help extend the life of your Goodyear RV tires.

Keeping your RV’s Goodyear tires properly inflated is the single-most important thing you can do to enhance performance and help extend the life of your tires. Improper inflation can cause issues and stress for the tire. Underinflation can cause poor handling, fast and/or irregular wear, decreased fuel economy or even disablement. Overinflation can reduce traction, braking ability and handling, as well as result in uneven wear and a harsh ride.