By Jack Bradshaw – Reprinted from Spring 2007 Motorcader
In the past, we have talked about weighing your coach and adjusting the tire to the proper pressure based on the coach’s weight. The question is: do you weigh a coach with a tag axle the same as one with only two axles?
Individual wheel weights are what we stress. As such the wheels on the tag axle are no different than the wheels on any other axle when it comes to weight. It is supposed to carry one-third of the rear axle load. Improperly inflated tires on the axle will cause it to carry too much or too little he loads at the expense of the driving tires and wheels.
An article from the A’Weigh We Go organization said it found many tag axles carried very little weight and others carried so much weight they were almost lifting the driving wheels off the ground,
Individual wheel weights are the only accurate way to find out how your coach is loaded for each individual wheel. After getting each wheel weight then you can adjust the tires to the proper pressure for safety and get the best ride on your coach.
Now that you know how important it is to know the weight of each wheel, what tire pressure should you put in each tire? The answer to this is in your owner’s manual. There is a chart in the manual to show you what pressures to use based on the weight. I hope this will clarify how important it is to know the load weights to safely maintain your coach.