reducing tire pressure when unloaded

Old-Biscuit wrote:
I have a 3500 SRW Dodge

Front Tires at 55 psi...all the time
Rear Tires at 80 psi for towing 5th wheel
**Rear Axle/tires at 6200# when towing
Rear Tires at 45 psi when NOT towing
*Truck weighs 7980# with 3120# on Rear Axle/Tires when not towing

Been doing that for 11 years.
60K per set then new tires (not cause tires are worn out but because I am anal about tires)
Tires wear evenly across thread

X-2 what OB said.
1T SRW '05 CTD QC Dodge. "Door" pressure req's say 45 in front.
UN-loaded I run with 50 lbs in all 4 tires.

Only change I make when towing the 5th = I use the 'max' on tire sidewall for rears = 80 psi.

Been doing that with the Dodge since new ('05) and my former '85 1T Ferd Crew cab (since it was new).

No need (or desire) to ride in a buckboard when it's M-T..:W

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I also have a 2017 6.4 Ram 2500 as noted in your profile. The rear of the truck unladen is around 3000#. The Firestones on mine at 50psi will support about 5000#. These are the stock tires. I run front and rear at 56psi due to ride consideration. Only thing is every time you start the truck you will have to hit the left arrow on the steering wheel then the right arrow to clear the Evic of the TPMS screen. Granted the TPMS warning light will still stay on but I just ignore it. Good luck.

Doug

My door placard specifies for my 2006 dodge ram 3500 dually diesel:

Loaded: 80 psi front and rear
Unloaded: 60 psi front; 40 psi rear

Me Again wrote:

rsgs wrote:
For towing, I run my fronts at 65# and the rears at 70#. When not towing, I run the fronts at 55# and the rears at 50#. I add the extra air in front to make up for the weight of the diesel. Excellent ride when not towing.

So you only put the heavier diesel engine in when towing? Couple trips to the scales will show the front axle weight varies very little, between towing and not towing.

YUP, even with my 5,750+- pin I add less than 200# to my steer axle even with my hitch full forward. I leave my fronts at 80psi all the time on my DRW.

rsgs wrote:
For towing, I run my fronts at 65# and the rears at 70#. When not towing, I run the fronts at 55# and the rears at 50#. I add the extra air in front to make up for the weight of the diesel. Excellent ride when not towing.

So you only put the heavier diesel engine in when towing? Couple trips to the scales will show the front axle weight varies very little, between towing and not towing.

CALandLIN wrote:

Road Phantom wrote:
Mostly, we drive our truck unloaded, since it's our everyday beater as well. Our truck is a Ram 2500 reg cab 4X4. How low can I safely lower the air pressure to improve the ride for my arthritic wife?

There is an industry-wide inflation pressure warning that describes any tire found with an inflation pressure 20% below vehicle manufacturer recommendations to be in a "run flat" condition.

A lot of trucks only have inflation info for fully loaded. One has to use a little common sense and look at the inflation table and inflation the rears to the actual load plus a little margin. Handling and braking are reduced with tires inflated for full load when the truck is running light.

Chris

The door post sticker on mine says rears 75 loaded, 45 unloaded. Fronts don’t change.

Road Phantom wrote:
Mostly, we drive our truck unloaded, since it's our everyday beater as well. Our truck is a Ram 2500 reg cab 4X4. How low can I safely lower the air pressure to improve the ride for my arthritic wife?

If you decide to go lower than what has been recommended by the vehicle manufacturer, you MUST insure the inflation pressures you decide to use will carry the load on each tire. In the commercial world of doing things, that will require you to go to some scales and get the load on each tire position, than inflate all tires to a psi that will support the heaviest loaded position. (That is not an acceptable procedure for your vehicle and it's considered unsafe.)


There is an industry-wide inflation pressure warning that describes any tire found with an inflation pressure 20% below vehicle manufacturer recommendations to be in a "run flat" condition.

I run all my tires at 55psi when not towing, and this setup provides a comfortable and smooth ride.

For towing, I run my fronts at 65# and the rears at 70#. When not towing, I run the fronts at 55# and the rears at 50#. I add the extra air in front to make up for the weight of the diesel. Excellent ride when not towing.