Tire pressure carrying northern-lite

Thanks for posing this question as I had been looking all over for the answer to this question this past summer and couldn’t find a definitive answer.

I have a pretty much stock 2011 F350 6.4L dually and a new NL 10.2. The only suspension enhancement I’ve put on my truck is Torklift’s lower stable loads. I also put new Michelin tires on the truck a couple months ago, same size as the stock BF Goodrich that came with the truck purchased new.

I thought my truck rode just fine without the camper on it, but it felt a bit soft and out of control when I had the tire psi at 75psi front and 60psi rear that Ford recommends for my truck.

I checked all over Michelin’s website for recommended psi’s for my tire size, and the only charts I could find were for RVs and heavy duty trucks., that were all larger tire sizes than I have. However, regardless of tire sizes, Michelin’s charts always recommended higher tire pressures for heavier loads.

With that in mind, I checked with my local tire dealer, which Michelin recommends on their website, and my dealer said he thought he would run something like 70 psi in the rear with the NL on it.

In any event, with all of my wisdom (ha, ha!) I decided to run at 75psi all around, so that’s what I did. It seems like my truck certainly drives and handles much better with the tires inflated to that level, so that’s what I’m going to keep them at for now.

As an aside, I had troubleo with Michelin tires in the past on my 2000 F250. According to a service tech at a Ford dealer I went to, Michelin has softer sidewalls than do some other tire manufacturers, and that, coupled with a narrower rim that Ford was putting on their trucks at the time, compared to Chevy and Dodge, resulted in the tires sitting flatter on the ground. Anyway, at the time I switched to Bridgestone Revo tires and that solved the problem, so I assume the dealer was correct in what he said. In any event, I think I was having too soft of a ride, versus too hard of a ride as you are experiencing.

Kayteg1 wrote:

Reddog1 wrote:
If you have the factory tires and wheels, I suggest you use the PSI as stated in your trucks user manual or the door decal.

If you have aftermarket tires, of a different size than factory, use the tire manufactures recommendation.

I think it is worth noting, you are driving a truck, not the family car. It will ride differently with and without a TC.

Wayne

Door decal on 1-ton trucks shows the pressure recommended for 1-ton load.
When you load 3 tons, this is going to change.

^ Lol. Always entertaining!

Kayteg1 wrote:

Reddog1 wrote:
If you have the factory tires and wheels, I suggest you use the PSI as stated in your trucks user manual or the door decal.

If you have aftermarket tires, of a different size than factory, use the tire manufactures recommendation.

I think it is worth noting, you are driving a truck, not the family car. It will ride differently with and without a TC.

Wayne

Door decal on 1-ton trucks shows the pressure recommended for 1-ton load.
When you load 3 tons, this is going to change.

The Door decal is for the tires and wheels stated on the decal, nothing more or less. I am not aware of any decal stating exceptions.

Reddog1 wrote:
If you have the factory tires and wheels, I suggest you use the PSI as stated in your trucks user manual or the door decal.

If you have aftermarket tires, of a different size than factory, use the tire manufactures recommendation.

I think it is worth noting, you are driving a truck, not the family car. It will ride differently with and without a TC.

Wayne

Door decal on 1-ton trucks shows the pressure recommended for 1-ton load.
When you load 3 tons, this is going to change.

Ideally you should load up and have your truck weighed by the axle.

Consult the tire manufacturer's inflation charts for your tires, and inflate the tires to the level on the charts.

It's very likely you don't need the tires inflated to the full 80PSI.

My door sticker says 80 psi in the front tires and 65 psi for the rear dually tires. I found handling to be terrible with the tire pressure that high. Constant steering adjustment and struggling to stay in my lane. When I drop the pressure to 75 psi or below in front and say 62 in the rear the handling is vastly better. If I fill the front tires above 75 psi I am back to that out of control feeling. I have yet to notice uneven wear at 13,000 miles with running lower than door sticker pressure.

Someone told me I should go even lower, like 70 psi in front and 60 psi rear, but I am hesitant to go that far below the door sticker.

I have talked to other truck campers in campgrounds who have said the same thing, that handling improves with lowering the PSI a little.

My camper is only around 3,500 lbs fully loaded, and with almost no overhang off the back, so I am well below maximum tire capacity which is a factor in why I can go lower pressure. My understanding is that the door sticker is for maximum load and you can go lower pressure with less than maximum load.

I am surprised by some posts saying they run higher pressure in rear dually tires than the front tires. That is the opposite of what my door sticker says. I have assumed that you want lower pressure in the rear tires because the weight is spread over two tires.

hedgehopper wrote:
Recently, we have been running 80 psi all around with our10-2 Northern Lite on our Dodge dually diesel. This is more than the recommended pressures from the tire loading charts. However, I like the increased stability the higher pressures provide. And higher pressures provide better fuel economy. The tires will probably wear more in the center of the tread. And yes, the ride is a little rougher. But we are willing to live with that.

We do the same. 80 psi, tires max recommended pressure. So far the only uneven wear has been the front outers. Looks like rotation will be every 5,000 miles to get the most out of these stock Nexen brand tires.

Recently, we have been running 80 psi all around with our10-2 Northern Lite on our Dodge dually diesel. This is more than the recommended pressures from the tire loading charts. However, I like the increased stability the higher pressures provide. And higher pressures provide better fuel economy. The tires will probably wear more in the center of the tread. And yes, the ride is a little rougher. But we are willing to live with that.

I run 80/80 in my F-350 Dually with the additional towing package. I don't expect it to be a soft ride. I go by specs, load, handling, and wear. So, far, everything is doing just fine with those pressures.

Bill

I have a 2004 Dodge Dually with Airbags and Upper Stable Loads. My TC is a 11.5 foot Bigfoot at about 4000 lbs. I only have about 5 psi in the airbags, empty or loaded. My overloads just do touch the Upper Stable Loads with the TC loaded.

My tires are Goodyear Wrangler, LT235/80R17 M&S. The sidewall says maximum load single 3085 80 psi, maximum load dual 2835 80 psi. NOTE, maximum.

The door decal says LT235/80R17E, front 5200 at 65 psi, 9350 at 65 psi.

I see no reason to run more than the 65 psi as indicated on the decal as reflected by my weight. The scales show my front axle at about 4600 (decal max 5200) and the rear about 7400 (9350). To increase the tire air pressure, would probably have a rougher ride. I am absolutely pleased with how smooth it rides now. I bet if the OP followed the instructions on the decal of his truck, he too would be pleased.

I have made the mistake of adding leafs to spring packs in times past. They were great when the TC was loaded, but you sure knew when the TC was off. I would not do that again.

Wayne