Checking hub and tire temperatures - Fiberglass RV
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Old 10-10-2002, 04:02 PM   #1
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Checking hub and tire temperatures

On Yahoo-Scampers we were discussing checking tire/hub temps every time you stop. I suggested using one of those nifty no-touch temp guns that give you a surface temp at the touch of a trigger.

I talked myself into taking my recommendation; the good ones start about 80-90 USD and up. I found Radio Shack has a low end model, so for 57 USD I am now the proud owner of one, complete with battery and sales tax. It's oval and about the size of a beeper, even has a belt clip.

You just point it, press the button and read the temp. Good for other stuf, including cooking (altho it won't read inside temp or thru glass, just surfaces), checking components on your cooling system, etc., and may even be able to detect propane tank levels (maybe have to pour some water on tank, but I doubt it needs to be boiling, in fact cold might do it).

The possiblilities are open to the imagination. I luv new toys!!:)

Pete, 59 1/2 going on 12, and the RatLadies who are bored



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Old 10-13-2002, 12:42 PM   #2
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tire temps

Is THAT what they were talking about? I thought it was tire pressure and couldn't begin to imagine taking off the hubcap, every stop, to check tires. Now Temp. That I can understand. I've GOT to start reading every word.



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Old 10-14-2002, 10:01 PM   #3
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Unfortunately, hubcaps get in the way of visually and tactilely checking the hubs for leak and heat on outside.

With a narrow-beam IR Thermometer (i.e., one of the RayTek models, you could leave the hubcaps on and shoot the temp of the back side of the opposite wheel from under the trailer.

Pete and Rats



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Old 10-15-2002, 05:26 AM   #4
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Temps

>>hubcaps

Pete, I always heard that hubcaps (particularly baby moon full hubcaps) on trailers was a bad idea, in that the caps could impede the dissipation of heat.

>>temperature

no touch temp gun sounds like a great idea! I've always used the two-second rule ... if I can't hold my finger on the hub for two seconds without saying "dang, that's hot," there's a problem! :)



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Old 10-15-2002, 08:57 AM   #5
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Charles before you touch that hub...

...

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/read.php?TID=387



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Old 10-15-2002, 11:06 AM   #6
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Hub temp

I like your method of testing, Charles. I've been somewhat confused on this temp issue too. According to our local Bubba, hub should feel warm to hot after braking. So, where do you draw the line? Seems like if you know you've got'em greased, and bearings arent' too old or busted up, then warm to hot hub is par for course?:bh He says if your hub's cold after braking, you got problems.



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Old 10-15-2002, 04:19 PM   #7
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temps

The bigger half of this temp stuf is knowing what's normal; doesn't matter if you are using the touch&burn or IR touch method, eyeballing the shimmering air or using an IR-based nite scope on your sniper rifle, you should already be doing it so you'll know abnormal when you encounter it (be that too hot or not really warm enuf for braking effort).

If you are coming down a 20% grade of thirty miles at noon in August in Arizona, you will have different normal temps than the same rig in a 50F rainstorm at night in Minnesota.

Generally speaking, if you can't touch it without pain, something's wrong, but even pain and tolerance thereof is subjective among individuals.

Pete and Rats



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Old 11-27-2002, 01:05 PM   #8
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Hub and Tire temps

Ever seen one of those cheaply made foreign movies with subtitles? You know the ones where you see the door slamming then five minutes later you hear the sound? Well, that's kind of like the way my brain works.

The reason for the explanation is that I began thinking about all the tire and temp stuff that was talked about some time back. Those fancy gadgets for measuring temps on tires, etc. Okay, I do regularly check the air in my car, and I'm pretty paranoid about air temp in trailer tires. So now I check to see what they feel like after they've been driven for a while Okay, so what the heck am I feeling for? I like Charles' ouch method. Okay, I got all that. I can do that. Now here's my questions:

1. If I touch the metal part where the bearings are and it's warm or hot...what should I do?
2. If the tire is hot, what does that mean and what do I do?
3. I start out with 45 cold psi in my tires, after driving 35 miles it registers 52 psi (hot). Since the tire is rated for 50 psi (which is cold, I assume) do I have a problem and what do I do about it, if anything?

Thanks.



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Old 11-27-2002, 02:10 PM   #9
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Quote:
Orginally posted by Suz

Ever seen one of those cheaply made foreign movies with subtitles? You know the ones where you see the door slamming then five minutes later you hear the sound? Well, that's kind of like the way my brain works.

The reason for the explanation is that I began thinking about all the tire and temp stuff that was talked about some time back. Those fancy gadgets for measuring temps on tires, etc. Okay, I do regularly check the air in my car, and I'm pretty paranoid about air temp in trailer tires. So now I check to see what they feel like after they've been driven for a while Okay, so what the heck am I feeling for? I like Charles' ouch method. Okay, I got all that. I can do that. Now here's my questions:

1. If I touch the metal part where the bearings are and it's warm or hot...what should I do?
2. If the tire is hot, what does that mean and what do I do?
3. I start out with 45 cold psi in my tires, after driving 35 miles it registers 52 psi (hot). Since the tire is rated for 50 psi (which is cold, I assume) do I have a problem and what do I do about it, if anything?

Thanks.
Suz,

1 & 2 are subjective measurements, so I won't comment.

3, however, is objective. The tire is rated for a maximum [b]cold inflation pressure of 50psi. Don't let out air after the tire is hot.



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Old 11-27-2002, 03:58 PM   #10
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tire pressure

Suz:

I've got 5 air pressure gauges. How many of em do you think read the same??? it was an awakening!



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Old 11-27-2002, 05:36 PM   #11
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Quote:
Orginally posted by PineConeDon

Suz:

I've got 5 air pressure gauges. How many of em do you think read the same??? it was an awakening!
PCD,

With majority voting logic, use three guages. If two agree, use that reading. :E :E

Would that produce an accurate measurement? :o



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Old 11-27-2002, 06:38 PM   #12
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Air guages

My husband has one air guage, I have another, and the air pump has another. I do not rely on the air pump one. Husband's weighs about 1 1/2 lbs more than mine. I have one of those really good ones that has a large dial and holds the air pressure until you release it. So, I use one air guage and one air guage only...that is the one that I carry in my vehicle. His is a good one also, but if I use the same one all the time then I feel it is consistent.

Since I'm still not sure what 'normal' temp is for tires, etc, and what to do about it if its one way or the other, guess I'll just keep an eye on them so if they burn up I can say...''Yup, them suckers were hot all right!'';)

At least now I undertand that, just like a car, the cold air pressure is what counts.

Thanks.



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Old 11-28-2002, 07:19 AM   #13
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Tire pressure (Accu-Pressure/TireSignal, etc.)

Speaking of tire pressure, has anyone seen or used either of these devices?

They sound interesting, although I would still periodically check using a conventional gauge. When traveling I usually walk around our vehicles each time we make a rest-stop or whatever, and these would at least give some visual evidence whether the tire pressure is OK. What do you think?

http://www.accu-pressure.com/cgi-bin/Store...d=3761867.70878

This brand is also sold at some Big O Tire stores:

http://thetiresignal.famousvisions.com/

You can find others on the e-market that seem to be identical to the Tiresignal.



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Old 11-28-2002, 08:25 AM   #14
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tires

I'm kind of like Suz on the tires.
Quote:
I'll just keep an eye on them so if they burn up I can say...''Yup, them suckers where hot all right!
(that was great, Suz) :lol When I was out with the trailer, everytime I stopped, before I started to pull out again I would walk around the trailer. :) everything was still in place, so I thought everything was OK because theres still a trailer there, don't have to go and look for it. :L as long as nothing was draging or smoking I thought I was alright. now I get top touch the tires/wheels and know if they are hot or not. :omy If they are hot, I will sit there until they cool? unless I get tired of waiting. :wak



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Old 11-28-2002, 10:43 AM   #15
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JJ & Suz,

Before you start fondling the running gear read the third post on the following thread: :jump :jump

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/read.php...387&page=1#2334



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Old 11-28-2002, 11:05 AM   #16
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Thanks, Morgan

I appreciate the link. I always test the waters (or gear/tire in this case) to see if any heat is radiating off of it. I learned my lesson the hard way one time (hummm....I believe that was somewhere around 19 aught 8 or at least in that century). As the old time southerners used to do, I kept my much-used iron skillet in the oven. For what ever reason (probably distracted) I left my skillet in the oven when it was preheating....Funny, you would think that my reaction time would have been faster since I was much younger, but nope. It wasn't until after I had grabbed the skillet with my bare hand and was halfway up to the stove top before the pain reached my brain by shouting 'IDIOT, USE A HOT PAD!'

So...I always check the level of radiating heat, followed by a light finger tap before I proceed.

Lesson learned but I sure could have used one of those signs them.;)



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Old 11-28-2002, 01:13 PM   #17
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Hot Stuf

Well, here's a handy tip when around potentially "hot" electric wires; don't grab, tap, but do it with the BACK of your finger or hand -- that way if it's hot and causes your muscles to contract your hand will be pulled away from contact rather than pushed into it (Voice of Experience speaking here, vividly recalling the time I tried to stop a lawnmower engine by firmly grasping the uninsulated plug wire connection -- ripped a hole in my thumb...).

The subjectivity of How Hot? is answered by checking all the time. You will quickly learn what "normal" is under a variety of conditions, including ambient temps, road speeds and braking.

If tires are hot, check pressures and if they are OK, then slow down. A tire with only 5 psi being towed in 4WD low-low gear will not get hot; same tire at 80 mph will not get far.

If bearings are hot, esp one side compared to other, also slow down and get to repair place to repack or replace (I make an assumption here that you have already weighed your trailer side-to-side and there's no glareing difference -- you *have* done that, haven't you?) or check brakes to see if one is dragging or not functioning.

Quickest way to check equal brake function is to drive slow and use the control to cycle the brakes on and off a few times. If that makes the front end of your truck try to swing to one side or the other, the brakes aren't equal. Next step is ammeter to see current drain, which should be about 2.5 Amps per magnet (5 Amps for single axle). If drain is OK, then one side is adjusted too tight or the other is too loose; if drain is not OK, then wire is broken or magnet is NFG (polite version is Not Fine Goods).

If one bearing is REALLY hot, or you can hear grinding when your driver inches the rig forward or you jack up the wheel and spin it OR if the wheel seems a bit cockeyed, don't drive it any further or you will chance permanently damaging the axle spindle (needing entire new axle).

Pete and Rats



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Old 11-29-2002, 08:04 AM   #18
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Thanks for all the input

At first, I thought it was going to be another one of these :o. However, after digesting it, I began to see that, like everything else, it's pretty much getting a feel for it (gained from experience) and common sense.
Quote:
(I make an assumption here that you have already weighed your trailer side-to-side and there's no glareing difference -- you *have* done that, haven't you?)
I totally understand the importance of this. Although I have tried, I haven't accomplished it - - yet. This leads to another area of which I have some thoughts and inquiries so I am going to post on another thread.



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