Grandy Creek KOA: Jul 16-18

We took our Keystone Premier 31BH travel trailer RV out for the second time this past weekend. We went to the exact same pull-through site at Grandy Creek that we went on the Victoria Day long weekend a couple of months ago. Leaving on the Friday night after dinner was really nice. Traffic was light and smooth and we arrived at the campground around 9 pm. This time, I packed it with more gear and supplies to see what it would be like to tow during our extended road trip later this summer.

I'm getting more used to the new towing setup now and found that it towed even better than before. The biggest difference was that I inflated the rear tires on our 2007 GMC Yukon XL Denali to the maximum 44 psi as shown on the sidewall and I raised the weight distribution bars on our ProPride 3P hitch to 8 inches. It felt very smooth and the forward/back tugging sensation that I felt on our last trip had disappeared. I think it has to be due to loading the RV differently with more balanced weight than to the change in tire pressure. I least I hope so because....

There was one problem with setting the tires to 44 psi. When we were about an hour away from our destination, the tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) on the Denali warned me to check the rear tire pressures. I guess they were approaching 50 psi. Now, that's understandable because the psi naturally rises when the tires are driven on. However, it was a relatively cool evening that night. I'm worried that extended driving on hot pavement in the intense summer heat in the east would cause the tire pressures to rise even more and even though I know I didn't inflate the tires more than the max, I'm just not comfortable ignoring the warning messages.

On our trip home, I lowered the tires to 40 psi, but the TPMS still gave out a warning part way through our drive. I'll probably set it closer to the 32 psi recommendation and leave it like that.

Comments

  1. First, thanks for the great pics of the Bullet. I'm looking at the same trailer. Second - I tow a Rockwood Bunkhouse (8317SS) with an Expedition EL, held together with a Squeakalizer. Sorta the same setup as you - big trailer, squishy SUV suspension but with a different lash up. I noticed a marked difference in my towing when I inflate the Pirelli Scorpions to 44 (the max) vs the Ford recommendation of 32. The difference being an elimination of porpoising.

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  2. That's good to know you experienced the same thing. I really like how it handled at 44 psi. Other people recommend it, too, so maybe I shouldn't worry about so much.

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