Stability, hitch and tongue weight....
Concerned over handling of my combo - but I'm inexperienced as to what "good" travel trailer towing should be like. Problem: Occasional small sway (measured in a couple of inches each way, but can ...
Forum Discussion
Slowmover wrote:
Playing with tire pressure: IMHO, only if CAT Scale confirms choice.
After the Ford Explorer debacle, vehicle manufacturers got serious about the recommended pressure range. 2009 vehicles and newer reflect this on the door sticker.
A Load & Pressure Table can give adequate choices inside that OEM range.
Use of a CAT Scale to find individual tire loads solo and when properly hitched. The worst load on either end of the axle determines pressure.
Find the range. It won't be too far off the Table value. Test for pressure rise after 1.5-hrs steady state. 5-7% okay.
Remember that this is a combined rig. Higher pressure on the TV "might" seem better, but it's putting the rig through hard maneuvers that tells the story. Too high a tire pressure on the TV can make the combined rig worse off as the TT comes around. ( TT tires at full sidewall pressure.)
Some "give" usually works with TV pressure.
I run a minimum pressure. LTX on a truck usually at 9k when towing. Upgrading shocks and anti-roll bars is how to make the truck better. And I average above 100k long before 4/32s shows up. Same life for brakes.
Been RV on my own since 1973, and currently run a 2/3-full 7000-gl smoothbore tanker on super singles. A 47,000 monster back there I prefer not to ever wake up. Tire pressure is something to take seriously: Test it!!
Individual wheel loads. TV and TT.
The only thing true here is to use a scale to confirm weights.
"Playing with pressure"?
The door jam sticker does NOT give a range. It gives the lowest recommended operating pressure for the type of tire the OEM mounted.
If the truck came with P's and you mounted LT's that door sticker no longer applies.
Adding air to P tires simply stiffens them up for better towing stability. It does not increase weight capacity.
Adding pressure in LT tires DOES increase load carry capacity and that is where load charts and scales come into play. You can go all the way to MAX COLD on the sidewall but not below the rated PSI for the given load.
I highly recommend no one follows your advice to tow at minimum tire pressures.
