Truck Tire Pressure

Cummins12V98 wrote:

rhagfo wrote:

Lauren wrote:
Having had my share of trailer blowouts years ago because I wanted smooth ride in the truck and trailer I did a lot of investigating and talked to Goodyear, Michelin and others - dealers and factories - and also on here. Blowouts came from under inflated / overheated tires.

Consensus among the tire people and most people on here was run at max on the tire. If there go over that when warmed up, they are built for it. And we run in some very warm temps.

So, mine are checked regularly (not every day) at ambient temp before I take off. Carry my own 120v / 140 max psi compressor (need 110psi for the trailer tires).

I also have air hitch and air ride on axles on the trailer; not on the truck. Check all that as well.

Knock on wood, no blowouts for 6-7 years.

BTW, you will most likely get all kinds of answers on here. I did before I went to the source.

So in your mind a tire rated at 3,415# at 80 psi, is not overinflated when carrying only 1,450#? :h

Which profile will that tire at 80 psi, with only 1,450# on it look like??

Hey don't you know "MAX" is always better?

:S Cummins I don't know what came over me!!

Yep, run them like Rocks, wear out the center, and spin and slide when it is wet or snowy out!!

Glad you brought me back to reality!

rhagfo wrote:

Lauren wrote:
Having had my share of trailer blowouts years ago because I wanted smooth ride in the truck and trailer I did a lot of investigating and talked to Goodyear, Michelin and others - dealers and factories - and also on here. Blowouts came from under inflated / overheated tires.

Consensus among the tire people and most people on here was run at max on the tire. If there go over that when warmed up, they are built for it. And we run in some very warm temps.

So, mine are checked regularly (not every day) at ambient temp before I take off. Carry my own 120v / 140 max psi compressor (need 110psi for the trailer tires).

I also have air hitch and air ride on axles on the trailer; not on the truck. Check all that as well.

Knock on wood, no blowouts for 6-7 years.

BTW, you will most likely get all kinds of answers on here. I did before I went to the source.

So in your mind a tire rated at 3,415# at 80 psi, is not overinflated when carrying only 1,450#? :h

Which profile will that tire at 80 psi, with only 1,450# on it look like??

Hey don't you know "MAX" is always better?

Lauren wrote:
Having had my share of trailer blowouts years ago because I wanted smooth ride in the truck and trailer I did a lot of investigating and talked to Goodyear, Michelin and others - dealers and factories - and also on here. Blowouts came from under inflated / overheated tires.

Consensus among the tire people and most people on here was run at max on the tire. If there go over that when warmed up, they are built for it. And we run in some very warm temps.

So, mine are checked regularly (not every day) at ambient temp before I take off. Carry my own 120v / 140 max psi compressor (need 110psi for the trailer tires).

I also have air hitch and air ride on axles on the trailer; not on the truck. Check all that as well.

Knock on wood, no blowouts for 6-7 years.

BTW, you will most likely get all kinds of answers on here. I did before I went to the source.

If you talked to GY Tech Support they told you to follow what the RV or TV MFG says!

There is NO way GY told you to run MAX pressure unless the MFG says to.

I have talked to GY tech support, they said to follow what the MFG says unless you have changed load range like "E" to "G" for example. The they will tell you to weigh your tires and run what the weight/inflation chart says plus 5psi for the upsized tire.

With my 98 RAM 4X4 2500 I would get 120K on Michelin Tires and over 100K on BFG's because ran pressures based on load. 72psi all the time front, 40 solo rear and 80 loaded.

On my 15 RAM the door sticker says front 80, rears 65 and that is what I run loaded and run rears at 45 solo.

Did similar on the 11 RAM dually and had lots of even tread left at 40K.

In fact the tread on the rears was 1/32" thinner in the center at 45 solo/60 loaded.

65/70 front and 75/80 rear will help your tires do their best to carry the load and run cool.

Cecilt wrote:

Looked at the door jamb and it says to use 65 psi front and rear. No reference is made to if truck is loaded/towing a camper. I think this sounds low. I did air down to 75 rear and 70 front and it felt much smoother going down the road. If you are towing a decent amount of weight do you "trust" the sticker or rely on the sticker when you are just driving without towing? tks

The pressure listed on the load sticker will accommodate the max rating for your vehicle. The absolute best thing is to weigh your truck (loaded) and get a tire inflation chart. It will tell you what tire pressure is needed for the weight of your axles.

This is an interesting thread as I just did some research on tire pressure too.

My example is load range "E" tires on my E450 class C. The tires themselves call for max pressure of 80lbs. The door sticker shows 75 front, 80 rear, and that worked "OK" with the Michelin tires I had and I never questioned the pressure. It rode like a truck and I guess that is what I expected.

I recently bought a new set of Yokohama load range "E" tires with the same tire pressure maximum stamped on the tires and I was completely disappointed in my purchase. The RV wandered all over the road and was very difficult to keep in my lane... I'd never had that issue before. I decided to see if anyone else had similar results.

My research lead me to this chart... Michelin Tire pressure Chart

Looking at the chart shows that Michelin recommends varying tire pressure based on actual weight carried. Well dang I thought... I'm sure I'm not anywhere close to the maximum tire rating so off to the truck scales to verify my weight per axle.

Yikes! According to the chart, I was WAY over recommended pressure. According to the chart I should be running 45 lbs front and 60 lbs rear for my actual loaded RV weight so...

I've compromised a bit and am running over chart recommended pressure 65 rear and 50 front. Yes, I know the chart is for Michelin and not Yokohama tires, but Yoko does't offer a comprehensive pressure chart that I could find so I'm taking some risk I suppose, but the RV drives and rides better than ever, and we operate in the summer Nevada heat over 100f often so I'm confident I'm not overheating my tires (checked with temp sensor).

My conclusion is knowing how much your RV actually weighs will effect the actual tire pressure you should maintain.

Lauren wrote:
Having had my share of trailer blowouts years ago because I wanted smooth ride in the truck and trailer I did a lot of investigating and talked to Goodyear, Michelin and others - dealers and factories - and also on here. Blowouts came from under inflated / overheated tires.

Consensus among the tire people and most people on here was run at max on the tire. If there go over that when warmed up, they are built for it. And we run in some very warm temps.

So, mine are checked regularly (not every day) at ambient temp before I take off. Carry my own 120v / 140 max psi compressor (need 110psi for the trailer tires).

I also have air hitch and air ride on axles on the trailer; not on the truck. Check all that as well.

Knock on wood, no blowouts for 6-7 years.

BTW, you will most likely get all kinds of answers on here. I did before I went to the source.

So in your mind a tire rated at 3,415# at 80 psi, is not overinflated when carrying only 1,450#? :h

Which profile will that tire at 80 psi, with only 1,450# on it look like??

Having had my share of trailer blowouts years ago because I wanted smooth ride in the truck and trailer I did a lot of investigating and talked to Goodyear, Michelin and others - dealers and factories - and also on here. Blowouts came from under inflated / overheated tires.

Consensus among the tire people and most people on here was run at max on the tire. If there go over that when warmed up, they are built for it. And we run in some very warm temps.

So, mine are checked regularly (not every day) at ambient temp before I take off. Carry my own 120v / 140 max psi compressor (need 110psi for the trailer tires).

I also have air hitch and air ride on axles on the trailer; not on the truck. Check all that as well.

Knock on wood, no blowouts for 6-7 years.

BTW, you will most likely get all kinds of answers on here. I did before I went to the source.

the bear II wrote:
I go by the PSI shown on the sidewall of the tire. I always keep pressure at the max shown even if no load in the truck.

No reason, I just do it so I don't have to worry about adding air if carrying a load. Some folks lower the pressure to improve the ride.

Must ride like a rock!

That is the Max pressure for the Max weight listed on the side wall!
Bad tire wear and less traction unless you place that amount of weight on the tire.

I run about 55 front and 45 to 65 rear unloaded/loaded! I place 5,500# on the rear loaded, total tire rating is 6,830#. That is 1,300# less than the max, so less air pressure. Makes for a better contact patch for traction.

My door sticker calls for 65 front, which is what I run towing or not. Empty, I run 50. Sticker says 45 but I just can't bring myself to go that low. Towing, I played around with pressures and found 70 is good for my load. TT I run 75 hot weather, 80 cool weather.
TV E rated Michelin. TT E rated Carlisle. TT weight @ 9500 - 9800 depending on length of trip.