A few days before travel:
- Check all tires and spare (when “cold”–not driven more than a mile) for proper pressure with tire gauge and inflate to maximum pressure stated on tire a few days prior to your trip so that you have time to discover and take care of leaking tires before departure.
- Check all tires and spare for any apparent damage.
- Check pressure when “cold” every day for a few days before departure. Good tires/valve seals do not lose significant air over a few days. If yours are, they stand a chance of blowing en route and need to be repaired or replaced.
- Ensure that all tools needed to change tires are loaded and accessible, including a good spare.
- Make sure you have the number of a service company that can help you with flats or problems along the way, in case you need any assistance.
NOTE: If you notice a lump or apparent manufacturing defect on a new tire still under warranty, take pictures of the tire and contact your tire dealer or manufacturer for guidance. If there is any question, change the tire before the trip and get with the manufacturer or dealer when you have time. Manufacturers require the tire to be returned in defective condition in order to be replaced at their cost. (A blown out tire is too damaged to determine the cause and will not be covered.)
During your trip:
- On long trips, check all tires by inspection and touch at each gas/water/feed stop. If too hot to touch, too hot to travel! Pull into the shade and wait until they cool off.
- If you run over something, find a safe place and check your tires as soon as you can. Using caution, inspect them for obvious damage, listen for air escape, look for low inflation, check tire pressures with tire gauge if you suspect significant air loss.
- We do not suggest stopping on the side of the interstate or road. If you have to drive on a flat tire to get to a safe place, carefully do so. (Reduce speed, put on flashers, etc.) Most modern trailers have torque flex axles which equalize the load and the rim will not be damaged, but if not, your life is worth much more than a rim or fender.
- If you have a front tire blowout, using caution, check the rear tire on that side for damage/leaks. It is likely you ran over something. (Might as well check ‘em all while you’re at it.)
- If you do not feel confident in changing your own tire, call a mobile service company to do it for you.
