Tire Pressure Again
I know this has been discussed before. I could probably figure it out from searching the forum but I am in a rush to prepare for my first camping trip. I am also in a rush since I am going into the truck dealer on Friday for other reasons and want to resolve this tire pressure issue also. So please forgive me for asking this again.
The door sticker on my new 2016 Ram 3500 dually says the tire pressures should be 80 in front and 65 in back.
When I picked up the truck the tire pressure monitor (in the display inside the truck, not that I checked it at the valve) said all tires are set to 71. I brought this up to the dealer saying that the tire pressures are set incorrectly. The dealer argued with me and said 71 for all tires is correct. I responded saying, "You are saying that the tire pressures on the door sticker are incorrect?". The response was that those pressures are for when carrying a load but when driving unloaded 71 in all tires is correct.
Note that this is a new custom ordered truck. I was built only a couple weeks before I took delivery. Unless the dealer changed the tire pressures before I took delivery, this is what the tires were set to straight from the factory.
I find what the dealer said (to not follow the door sticker) hard to believe. I have since read the truck manuals and everything says to use the tire pressures on the door sticker and I found no mention in the manuals of different tire pressure when carrying a load or not.
The only thing I have heard about unloaded versus loaded that makes sense is that the RV dealer told me that tire pressure can go up 1 or 2 psi when the camper is put on the truck, so ideally tire pressure should be checked and adjusted when the camper is loaded and unloaded. So if I am at 71 unloaded I would expect 72 or 73 with the camper on the truck. Or if the rear wheels are at 65 unloaded I would expect 66 or 67 loaded.
I have also read that sometimes people run higher pressure than the door sticker. I believe that is for when you are carrying a heavy load (and possibly this is more about single rear wheel than for a dually). My camper is lightweight. I expect around 3,500 lbs wet, and I am putting this on a 3500 dually. In other words, I have a lot of truck for the camper (this was intentional because I wanted enough truck for add a tow in the future).
With the lightweight camper should I consider more pressure than the door sticker? If so, in both the front and rear tires, or possibly that is only for the rear tires? Or should I keep it at the door stick pressures?
So my questions are:
+) Is there any chance that the dealer is correct that I should run all tires at 71 psi? Or should I insist that they adjust the tires to the pressure on the door sticker?
+) Then how important is it to adjust the pressure when I load and unload the camper. That seems like a lot of trouble every time I load and unload. Besides, if people run higher pressure when loaded the extra 1 or 2 psi is going in the correct direction.
+) When the camper is loaded should I run at the door sticker pressures or should I consider running at higher pressure?
The door sticker on my new 2016 Ram 3500 dually says the tire pressures should be 80 in front and 65 in back.
When I picked up the truck the tire pressure monitor (in the display inside the truck, not that I checked it at the valve) said all tires are set to 71. I brought this up to the dealer saying that the tire pressures are set incorrectly. The dealer argued with me and said 71 for all tires is correct. I responded saying, "You are saying that the tire pressures on the door sticker are incorrect?". The response was that those pressures are for when carrying a load but when driving unloaded 71 in all tires is correct.
Note that this is a new custom ordered truck. I was built only a couple weeks before I took delivery. Unless the dealer changed the tire pressures before I took delivery, this is what the tires were set to straight from the factory.
I find what the dealer said (to not follow the door sticker) hard to believe. I have since read the truck manuals and everything says to use the tire pressures on the door sticker and I found no mention in the manuals of different tire pressure when carrying a load or not.
The only thing I have heard about unloaded versus loaded that makes sense is that the RV dealer told me that tire pressure can go up 1 or 2 psi when the camper is put on the truck, so ideally tire pressure should be checked and adjusted when the camper is loaded and unloaded. So if I am at 71 unloaded I would expect 72 or 73 with the camper on the truck. Or if the rear wheels are at 65 unloaded I would expect 66 or 67 loaded.
I have also read that sometimes people run higher pressure than the door sticker. I believe that is for when you are carrying a heavy load (and possibly this is more about single rear wheel than for a dually). My camper is lightweight. I expect around 3,500 lbs wet, and I am putting this on a 3500 dually. In other words, I have a lot of truck for the camper (this was intentional because I wanted enough truck for add a tow in the future).
With the lightweight camper should I consider more pressure than the door sticker? If so, in both the front and rear tires, or possibly that is only for the rear tires? Or should I keep it at the door stick pressures?
So my questions are:
+) Is there any chance that the dealer is correct that I should run all tires at 71 psi? Or should I insist that they adjust the tires to the pressure on the door sticker?
+) Then how important is it to adjust the pressure when I load and unload the camper. That seems like a lot of trouble every time I load and unload. Besides, if people run higher pressure when loaded the extra 1 or 2 psi is going in the correct direction.
+) When the camper is loaded should I run at the door sticker pressures or should I consider running at higher pressure?
