pull behind trailer tire pressure?

[al v]

What tire pressure do you run your in your pull behind trailer?

I have a 170 pound aluminum trailer. The trailer has 12 inch wheels. The tires are 5.30-12. The trailer is very light. Unloaded, there is only 75 pounds on each tire. I only plan to haul maybe another 150 pounds. So, perhaps 140 pounds per tire fully loaded (when you factor in tongue weight).

The trailer manual is saying to run 60psi, which I've tried. The trailer is very bouncy at 60psi and 50psi.

I have seen advice that says run what the manual says.

I have seen postings on the internet where 20-25psi is a good rule of thumb.

I have seen advice that says the tread of the tire should run flat when the trailer is loaded. At 20psi, the tread is still crowning.

The max pressure listed on the tire is 80psi for a load of 1050 pounds. I have seen advice that says run the max pressure.

Pulling a trailer is new to me, so just looking for input on what actually works best.

[Mr Whiskey]

Out aerodyne is 26cf & weighs 180lbs empty, with 12" tires. We run 25psi & regularly load another 350+lbs of camping gear. Pulls & rides like it's on rails. I've had it in the triple digits passing on the interstate & pulled it across the Rattler into Hot Springs on many occasions.
They say it will wear the tires faster but they're easily replaceable & I prefer the smoother ride. There was simply too much bounce & jerk at the recommended pressure, kept pullin' this ol' dogs tail.

[sandy]

I have a tent trailer at over 400 lbs. I run 30 PSI with no ride issues.

[WintrSol]

I went through this with our utility trailer, which we added MC chocks to, for hauling our bikes. If you check out trailer tire sites, you'll find they say to always run the sidewall pressure. First, running lower pressures will heat up the tires more, and cause more sidewall flex. Second, you never know when the trailer may hit a road hazard that causes the effective load to near the max rating. Yes, they bounce more, but it's a safety issue.

[cookiedough]

I'd run the max it feels comfy to you not bouncing up/down as much. Definitely NOT the max, but try 30-32 psi and go down from there.

I own a lightweight 350lb. ATV flat open trailer 7x8' with 10" wider tires.  I run under 40 psi if not much weight, but 44 psi if loaded with two 700lb. ATV's on it.  I think max is 50psi, but feel that is way too high.

If no or hardly any weight unloaded on that trailer, it bounces up and down horribly and lower psi does help ease the bounce somewhat. 

Don't go too low though say 20 psi since blowouts could occur and heat buildup.  I wouldn't worry about tread life since those 10" tires are pretty cheap to replace. 

[trout dude]

I've run a lot of trailers all shapes and sizes i think what Mr Whiskey said is your starting point and work from there and you will get results. This will wear the tires faster but not a lot. Good luck and drag it like it's not there.

[R J]

The trailer my late father-in-law and I built, looked like a stag coach, I run 40# in them.   It was usually full when I pulled it.

Prior to the 40#, I used to run 30#.    One day I used the tires and wheels off of it to haul some cement to the land fill on a different trailer.

I hit a chuck hole pretty hard, stopped looked the tire over and it looked good.     Swapped the wheels back to my little trailer and took off for  InZane.

About 150 mile out, I lost the center hub of the wheel, in a Construction Zone no less..     I figured the chuck hole I smacked pretty hard split the rim at the hub.

I don't know if the extra #'s would have saved the wheel or not, but it might have.

[Fudd]

Mr. Whiskey nailed it.
I have a bunch of trailer miles too.  I'm more concerned with the bounce than the tire wear.  Chances are, your tires will dry-rot before you wear them out anyway.  Even with 25 psi, I forget the trailer is back there, sometimes.

[al v]

Filled the tires to 25psi and fully loaded the trailer. Did 300 miles today and the trailer pulled nice and smooth. Tires stayed cool. Thanks for all of the input...