well I made my first long haul with my new to me 5ver, my 5ver did well being used I was very happy with it, how it pulled and maneuvered. that's why we buy 5vers isn't it. I did however have tire problem with my truck, (I should have known better) the truck was given to me and had some front end shimmy which went away when I rotated the tires. on my return leg off a 1000 mile trip I picked up a bad shimmy/vibration (slow you down to a crawl vibration) found a bad tire driver rear and mounted a spare, (this was the one I figure might have caused the slight vibration when in front) 100 miles up the road picked up another vibration and the other rear was going out)so I hobbled back 10 miles to the nearest open store last night (Wal-Mart) put two new tires on the rear. tire guy told me the tires that came off were from 02 and probably went bad due to the load on that age of tire. Comments ? also with a tire rated at 80 psi max cold what do you recommend or prefer to pull at ?? I was set at 70 psi cold before I left on the trip.

12 year old tires, you were beating the odds.

Towing a FW, I have my tires at the max. I run the rears at 80#s.The weight rating on your tire is figured at the max pressure.Jerry

Sidewall of tire will state 'MAX Load Rating at MAX PSI---COLD'Because I run at max load I use max psi. Max is 80# on my tires---not the same for all tires.When not towing I use 45# in rear truck tires.What are your tires rated at and at what pressure?What is the weight on rear tires/axle of truck?

Might want to read his other posts.https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/28016845.cfm

I run the tire pressure listed on the sticker inside the door. On my current 3500 DRW, it says 70 front and 65 rear. Over 25,000 miles towing 5th wheels and the tires are wearing great. My last truck, 2009 Chevy 2500, was 72 on the rear. Instead I went for 80 and wore the tires out pretty quick. Check the tire pressure chart for your make of tire for the proper air pressure. It's not always best to run max sidewall pressure.

understanding tire load rating | Good Sam Community

15 Replies

Me_Again
Explorer III
Oct 23, 2014
g4sbrg wrote:
the tag on the door of the 2000 F150 states LT245/75/16 at 60 psi rear, 45 psi front, the LT245/75/16 tires are rates 3042 lbs at max psi 80 cold. I would think it would be best to run at the tire max when towing a 5ver ??????????

the rear GAWR on the truck is 4800 lbs
OEM tires were most likely Load Range D!
g4sbrg
Explorer
Oct 21, 2014
"" and have a competent mechanic check out "" not sure I am taking this well, in my defense a lazy man would not have took the energy to drop the spare to get access to check the psi on it which I did do.
I do agree a blow out at highway speeds could be very bad.
""point taken ""

safe travels !!
g4sbrg
Explorer
Oct 21, 2014
the tag on the door of the 2000 F150 states LT245/75/16 at 60 psi rear, 45 psi front, the LT245/75/16 tires are rates 3042 lbs at max psi 80 cold. I would think it would be best to run at the tire max when towing a 5ver ??????????

the rear GAWR on the truck is 4800 lbs
Me_Again
Explorer III
Oct 21, 2014
g4sbrg wrote:
In the years like 96 to 99 this truck was called a F250 light duty. in 2000 it was the grandfather (so I've been told) of the F150 heavy duty, it has a #7700 GVWR and a seven lug rim, 3.73 rear end and extend payload options, 4 wheel disc brakes, oil and trany coolers. seemed to do the job well, will probably want more HP and Torq if and when I hit mountains, the truck was given to me by my father in-law. 2000 ford, ONLY 65,000 miles. no rattles and now no shimmies or vibrations. how he got this was his chevy broke down in front of a ford dealer and there was a hitch installer down the street while he was out on a 2 month trip. he did say the chevy was a good truck but he had got it long before he had a 5ver and it wasn't quite set up right. Ford dealer was right there and he was on his way that night. anyway thanks for your comments yall have been very helpful to this new guy on the road.

A 2000 F150HD has wheels rated for 80 pounds inflation? What does the door jam list as OEM tires? Chris
g4sbrg
Explorer
Oct 21, 2014
In the years like 96 to 99 this truck was called a F250 light duty. in 2000 it was the grandfather (so I've been told) of the F150 heavy duty, it has a #7700 GVWR and a seven lug rim, 3.73 rear end and extend payload options, 4 wheel disc brakes, oil and trany coolers. seemed to do the job well, will probably want more HP and Torq if and when I hit mountains, the truck was given to me by my father in-law. 2000 ford, ONLY 65,000 miles. no rattles and now no shimmies or vibrations. how he got this was his chevy broke down in front of a ford dealer and there was a hitch installer down the street while he was out on a 2 month trip. he did say the chevy was a good truck but he had got it long before he had a 5ver and it wasn't quite set up right. Ford dealer was right there and he was on his way that night. anyway thanks for your comments yall have been very helpful to this new guy on the road.
Me_Again
Explorer III
Oct 21, 2014
g4sbrg wrote:
the old tires were 3042 at max 80 psi, this is also what the tag on the door states. this is what walmart had available for me last night. considering two new to replace the ones on front. should I upsize the load rating and put the upsized one on the rear. the 3042 is plenty for my load. thanks yall!! or do you recommend just setting at max cold, I was 10 under when I started my trip.

A 2000 F150HD has wheels rated for 80 pounds inflation? Chris
wandering1
Explorer
Oct 21, 2014
The tires were too old. If the sidewall says 80 psi that means you should run 80 psi in the tires. Check for correct air pressure when the tires are cold. Over or under inflation causes the tire to run hot and will damage the tire. Ignore tire expert wannabes personal opinions and run the psi indicated on the tire sidewall for all trailer tires.
schlep1967
Nomad
Oct 21, 2014
Get the fronts replaced also and odds are you will no longer have problems. Provided the suspension and steering is in good shape. The tires were old and you don't know if they had been abused by hitting or driving over curbs or other debris. The fact you had a shimmy probably means you had a belt broken or separating. New tires all around and have a competent mechanic check out the suspension, steering, drive train and brakes before towing again. It is not only your life on the line when towing with marginal equipment. All of our families are out there on the road with you.
tegu69
Explorer
Oct 21, 2014
By putting the problem on the rear was probably the worst thing you could do. When you do get around to replacing the fronts, I would put new ones on the rear. The problem with upsizing the new tires is when you rotate them, they will be on the front. The old load rating was probably fine. You lucked out with a 12 year old tire, just having to replace it.
g4sbrg
Explorer
Oct 21, 2014
the old tires were 3042 at max 80 psi, this is also what the tag on the door states. this is what walmart had available for me last night. considering two new to replace the ones on front. should I upsize the load rating and put the upsized one on the rear. the 3042 is plenty for my load. thanks yall!! or do you recommend just setting at max cold, I was 10 under when I started my trip.

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understanding tire load rating

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