Quick question on tire pressures

[LagunaH1]

Hey guys,

I'm heading to Moab in a week (sorry, not the PWIM event) and will be towing about 6500 pounds. AFAIK leaving the tires at 60 PSI front and 65 PSI rear is going to be ok?

[verdesardog]

Totally depends on what tires you have on your truck.....

[LagunaH1]

Ah, yes, minor detail eh?

I'm running the stock tires

[Bill2014]

That is absolutely fine - I often tow a 15,000 pound trailer with my OEM truck Duratracs at 65 front 65 rear

[OffroadTreks]

Yup, that's fine. I was towing the Airstream on the stock 33's using the recommended pressures. Those are ideal for towing. When not towing, that's when you probably want to reduce the pressure for a more comfortable ride.

Thuren recommends usually 5-10% less PSI in the rear than the front if you have no load in the bed.

[Bill2014]

BTW - the 65 front 65 rear is cold pressure - the pressures will jump up 3-5 pounds once you've driven a while.

If you run too low of a pressure, the tires will heat up dramatically. A good rule of thumb is: If the tire is too hot to keep your hand on the sidewall, then your pressure is too low for the load.

[OffroadTreks]

BTW - the 65 front 65 rear is cold pressure - the pressures will jump up 3-5 pounds once you've driven a while.

If you run too low of a pressure, the tires will heat up dramatically. A good rule of thumb is: If the tire is too hot to keep your hand on the sidewall, then your pressure is too low for the load.

Good advice, I've heard similar advice on airforums for towing. In regards, tire pressures should only rise 3-6 psi above cold temps. If you see a dramatic increase over 8psi, you could be overloaded or underinflated.

[LagunaH1]

Thanks guys, much appreciated

[coder]

If you have stock tires I would run at factory recommended pressure while towing what does it say on your door sticker?

If you don't like anything OEM you can call the tire manufacture and they can provide the load carrying capacity and corresponding tire pressure range for your tires.

[Bill2014]

Best year Power Wagon

[LagunaH1]

Back home from Moab. The PW did great towing and I stuck to the OEM tire pressures. Coming out of baker, the TPMS light started blinking and then turned on solid after about 10 minutes of climbing the grade towards Vegas from Baker. Looking at the tire pressures, my left rear tire was at 78 pounds at that point. I wonder if that was just too much for the TPMS. I let a bit of air out of that tire to get back down near 70 and that seemed to "cure" the TPMS light. All was well for the rest of the trip.

Edit: I should add that RAM customer service was less than helpful. "Take it over to the dealer if you have any concerns". Thanks. Great advice in the middle of the desert, LOL

[olyelr]

Bahhahaahahah.

Yea, the TPMS most likely has a setting for too high of a pressure along with the low setting. If the pressure is too low a blurp will come on the screen to raise the tire pressure... did one happen to come up recommending you to lower the pressure?

[FordyceCreekTrail]

After searching endless old posts here, I came up with 50 front and 45 rear. I believe that is perfect. I have no idea where 60 and 65 came from the it turns the tires into wagon wheels and the ride is brutal. And I live off-road so forget it. I towed a heavy forklift at this pressure and had no issues.

[Bill2014]

The 60 PSI 65 PSI probably came from your door sticker (look to my earlier posted pic in this thread)

Wagon wheels are the regular Ram 2500's and 3500's with 80 PSI in the tires.

The tech at the dealer accidentally put 80 PSI in my rear tires at my last state inspection. I pulled a twinstick and chewed out the dealer for putting 80 PSI in tires rated for 65 PSI

[OffroadTreks]

Really, depends on what tires you are running, but a great way to determine a good tire pressure is to chalk test your tires after the are warmed up in a parking lot. You can find how-to videos on youtube.

[NickTF]

Thuren recommends usually 5-10% less PSI in the rear than the front if you have no load in the bed.

Is that recommendation for the OEM duratracs? I know he was fond of 48psi in the front and 28-30psi in the rear for the toyo mt 37x12.5x17. Tires work great unloaded at that pressure. I was skeptical with so much difference front to rear but it worked well.

[OffroadTreks]

Is that recommendation for the OEM duratracs? I know he was fond of 48psi in the front and 28-30psi in the rear for the toyo mt 37x12.5x17. Tires work great unloaded at that pressure. I was skeptical with so much difference front to rear but it worked well.

READ: https://www.thurenfabrication.com/tech/ ... dling.html

See, Notes on tire pressure

[FordyceCreekTrail]

Yes on the door but why? No way the stock tires need 65PSI. Hitting any bump and especially off-road is like crashing into a brick wall. I have owned plenty of rigs weighing in at 5-5500lbs and 28-35lbs was perfect. No way a 7K rig needs 65lbs.

[OffroadTreks]

Yes on the door but why? No way the stock tires need 65PSI. Hitting any bump and especially off-road is like crashing into a brick wall. I have owned plenty of rigs weighing in at 5-5500lbs and 28-35lbs was perfect. No way a 7K rig needs 65lbs.

Try 8k.

Also, it's probably some stupid corp liability BS or some nonsense from HQ. The older Power Wagons had a LOW PSI button on the dash so the TPMS light wouldn't come on. And for awhile dealers would even reprogram the TPMS, but (was it last year or has it been two) awhile ago they stopped doing it. And people were reporting early on that the dealership was prevented from doing so.

[NickTF]

Is that recommendation for the OEM duratracs? I know he was fond of 48psi in the front and 28-30psi in the rear for the toyo mt 37x12.5x17. Tires work great unloaded at that pressure. I was skeptical with so much difference front to rear but it worked well.

READ: https://www.thurenfabrication.com/tech/ ... dling.html

See, Notes on tire pressure

“Once you find this good front pressure, drop the rear about 20psi compared. This will net balanced tire wear, and a more comfortable balanced ride.”

Where did you get 5-10% from?

[OffroadTreks]

From convo's on the facebook group. But still all relevant info.

[Low_Sky]

Is that recommendation for the OEM duratracs? I know he was fond of 48psi in the front and 28-30psi in the rear for the toyo mt 37x12.5x17. Tires work great unloaded at that pressure. I was skeptical with so much difference front to rear but it worked well.

READ: https://www.thurenfabrication.com/tech/ ... dling.html

See, Notes on tire pressure

“Once you find this good front pressure, drop the rear about 20psi compared. This will net balanced tire wear, and a more comfortable balanced ride.”

Where did you get 5-10% from?

If you read that paragraph carefully, you'll see that Don's talking specifically about the Cummins trucks. If he says 20 psi bias is the sweet spot for a Cummins, a Hemi truck should be less because of the lighter front end.

[NickTF]

READ: https://www.thurenfabrication.com/tech/ ... dling.html

See, Notes on tire pressure

“Once you find this good front pressure, drop the rear about 20psi compared. This will net balanced tire wear, and a more comfortable balanced ride.”

Where did you get 5-10% from?

If you read that paragraph carefully, you'll see that Don's talking specifically about the Cummins trucks. If he says 20 psi bias is the sweet spot for a Cummins, a Hemi truck should be less because of the lighter front end.

True, but in email exchanges with him directly he suggested the same thing for my 2015 PW.

[OffroadTreks]

Chalk test it and be done.

[MJockey]

Yes on the door but why? No way the stock tires need 65PSI. Hitting any bump and especially off-road is like crashing into a brick wall. I have owned plenty of rigs weighing in at 5-5500lbs and 28-35lbs was perfect. No way a 7K rig needs 65lbs.

Because they assume we are not smart enough to remember to add tire pressure when we decide to carry 6200lbs on our rear axle.