P/U Tire Inflation ?

I run LT tires on a F250 SD and keep the PSI at 60. The sidewalls state one psi, the sticker in the door well says a different psi. What do you guys adhere to as far as "who's right" ??

I run what the tire says. Lower pressure gives a better ride but wont carry the weight.

I think what is on the tire is the MAX pressure and MAX weight load.... If you are running empty, you may be a little STIFF riding.. Thats why some drop the pressure  10 #.... Suggested pressure on the door may be for a nice ride, average load..... also depends on the tire manufacturer.. could be a different rating for similar size tires.

If I am not pulling a trailer I run 65psi in all four tires. When I am pulling a trailer I will run 80psi in the rear tires assuming the tires are 10 ply. And that’s in my Fords

the pressures listed on the door sticker are correct for the tires listed on the door if your putting load range E tires on and the door sticker calls for load range C tires and you pump them up to 80 PSI because the tire says so you are reducing your traction by a very large amount.  you should always be running the tire pressure that matches the rated capacity with the load your carrying.  this will give you the best ride, braking . handling and longest tire life. if your running different size tires or overated tires its up to you to lower the pressure. each manufacture publishes a load per pressure chart for their tires. or you can math to figure it out. https://www.4wheelparts.com/a/tire-wheel-package-guide-tire-pressure-checker

Edited by Dakota Dave - 09 Oct 2020 at 11:14am

sorry to disagree but after getting mad about trailer tires, looking like new and blowing out, I dropped the max pressure between 10 and 20% and found my tires lasted twice as long.  again i apologies for being different; i just ran the test myself and have no proof on paper.   the paper i do have is old, it's from buying new trailer tires!

Allisorange. Sorta, ford demanded Firestone build that tire to their specifications. Firestone engineers told Ford their tire design was destined to fail. But Harvey Firestone and Henry Ford had a handshake agreement to build tires for ford. Firestone went along with the agreement. Ford e engineers told Firestone "if there is a problem we will stand behind the tires.". There was a problem and ford bailed on Firestone. I was on a first name bases with a lot of the Firestone engineers when this happened. The tires that Firestone used to replace the bad tires looked the same but you could tell it was a different tire. The replacement tire was far heavier, sidewalls were far thicker. It was the tire Firestone engineers told Ford engineers to put on the exploders. If you bought a cheep f150 the following year, you got Hankooks. They were worse than the bad Firestone's. Rocks went thru them, some of them didn't last 50 miles on our rock roads.

fixer1958 wrote: No point in running max air pressure if you are not loaded. I have a 2500Hd with load range E. I have 45 in the front and 50 in the rear unloaded. Rides better and easier on the tires. Loaded I kick up the pressure depending on what I'm doing.

Time to check the pressure in the wifes Ford FLEX today...While doing that i thought i would check the SPECS......... This thing has them no side wall / go fast tires... 255 x 45 x 20 size.... Tires are rated at 1800 pounds at 51 psi.... The CAR cant handle any where near that kind of load.......... Door sticker says 1600 pounds at 36 psi..... Dealer had them set at 34 psi and it is plenty STIFF for riding around with not much load.... This is on a 2019 with 15K miles so all factory set / tires/ etc.

don't forget that number for tire inflation is the max pressure.   most tire jockey's aren't paid enuff to have done research on tire inflation and when was the last time they asked what your goals were with the tires------NEVER

I've been pulling goosenecks for 50 years with a wide variety of GM pickups and different trailers. The plate on the truck door is the maximum tire pressure required for the maximum truck rating. The max pressure on the tire is for that tire. I always run max tire rating on the trailers. Same on my heavy highway/construction trucks. I never load the pickup over max tire rating but will lower the pressure for periods when not pulling trailers. If you lower too much the tire pressure sensor will go off. I found that the tire pressure will increase up to 10 psi. (80 to 90 psi) from heat if running long periods loaded at near max tire rating. I found that with nitrogen in the pickup, the pressure increase under the same conditions is about half. Our 40' fifth wheel camper came from the factory with nitrogen in the tires @ 110 psi. Heat is the killer. That's why tires have a lower load rating when used as duals. I run singles.  I think tires with some wear run cooler . Heavy lug tires have a lot of rubber and run hot. Can't remember blowing a good tire on the road.

Edited by Calvin Schmidt - 12 Oct 2020 at 7:32am

Bill_MN wrote: I got E rated Michelins on my F150 about 4 years ago and figured my inflation based on the contact patch. Best way is to do the chalk test- draw a chalk line across the tread in one spot and drive forward over the chalk line, see where the chalk rubbed off or not. Should be even across the tread face then you have even contact with the road across the tread. Adjust accordingly. When you have them properly adjusted there should be the same sidewall squat front and rear. I run mine 50 psi front and 42 psi rear with no load. Add 5-10 lbs to rear if heavier trailer or load in box. Same pressure front and rear on a regular pickup will get you uneven wear as the front has much more weight on it. With a service body it probably evens out.

They "call" it a 1/2 ton, dare you to look up the specs on a 5 year old "150" vrs. a 15-20 year old "150"  . I've been told by several independent shops that the 1-2-3 '50 series have dropped in "hauling/suspension" ratings by "1". A current F 150 has the same "rating" as a Lincoln Navigator . 


Edited by FREEDGUY - 12 Oct 2020 at 6:01pm

MAX PRESSURE is what is listed on the TIRE... with the MAX LOAD....... not necessarily what you use on a specific truck.  Same tire might fit a 1/2 , 3/4 , 1 ton... all set to DIFFERENT pressure to match the TRUCK.

Edited by steve(ill) - 12 Oct 2020 at 7:08pm