Do any of you run more air on your rear truck tires than the front. The tire place where we purchased our truck tires recommended running 80 in the back and 60 in the front. I asked if the wear would be uneven and they said proper rotation is key. I've never done it but then again, I've never had a gooseneck.
Posted 2009-08-18 4:20 PM (#109589 - in reply to #109587) Subject: RE: Tire Inflation
Expert
Posts: 5870 Location: western PA
I have a diesel SRW and the front end is heavy, very heavy. I run our "E"s at 80 psi front and rear. A dually would run less in the rears. Do a search and you'll find voluminous info about this topic.
Posted 2009-08-18 4:24 PM (#109591 - in reply to #109587) Subject: RE: Tire Inflation
Expert
Posts: 3802 Location: Rocky Mount N.C.
I got a GM dually, 215/85-16 lrE E tires... Michelin recommend 80 psi for the maximum load... That's what I run, front, rear, winter, summer, loaded, empty... 80 psi all the way around, all the time, is easy to remember, I don't do that air up, air down thing. Truck stays hitched to a gooseneck trailer 99% of the time anyway.
Posted 2009-08-18 6:22 PM (#109604 - in reply to #109587) Subject: RE: Tire Inflation
Veteran
Posts: 198 Location: Iowa
I have an 03 F350 Diesel Dually, and when pulling the trailer, I run 80 psi in the rear and 65 in the front. When empty (90% of the time) I drop the rears to 65 psi. I carefully watch my tire wear, because when empty, running at 80 psi causes wear in the middle of the tires. I also do the "chalk test"...spread some blue or white chalk powder in the street and run over it...then check your tires to see if the chalk is evenly spread across the entire tread. Under inflated will show more chalk on the outside tread, overinflated will show more chalk in the middle. Running 80 psi on a dually on the rears when empty may work on your truck, but on mine it puts way too much wear on the middle treads...not to mention the ride gets totally bouncy. With the trailer attached, I raise up to 80 psi, and get good chalk across the entire tread, plus a nice, solid ride.
Posted 2009-08-18 11:48 PM (#109621 - in reply to #109587) Subject: RE: Tire Inflation
Expert
Posts: 1205 Location: Danielsville Georgia
80 is MAX psi FULLY loaded in a single rear wheel truck.At 80 in the rear empty besides rapid center tire wear you'll lose your kidneys.Remember a dually spreads the load over four tires and usually even with a somewhat large LQ only needs 65 rear tops.My 3 horse Exiss with three horses I'm running 55 in the rear of my dually.Fronts you do not need to exceed the MAX psi on the door for FRONT tires.Most of the weight hauled is in the REAR.My fronts on my 03 Dodge diesel dually only calls for a MAX of 65.Running them at 80 psi is one jarring ride.Hard on front end parts as well as the passengers.I have had tire stores and a Dodge tech air ALL my tires to 80 psi and I was furious.One guy could NOT grasp the concept of FOUR on the rear and how the load is spread etc.and he was RUNNING the tire store.The other was a Dodge tech in a dealer.Yes you can run too little but you can also over do it also.
Posted 2009-08-19 6:19 AM (#109626 - in reply to #109587) Subject: RE: Tire Inflation
Expert
Posts: 1205 Location: Danielsville Georgia
You can leave it at the tow inflations but it will ride stiffer. As well as shorting the tire life.A dually rides stiff anyway. Ours isn't used as a daily driver, it's either hooked to the trailer or loaded with feed,bedding,lumber,etc,so I don't change it. BUT the PROPER way is inflate and deflate depending on load and usage.There are tools to make doing such easier and to do both rears at the same time etc.ON my single rear wheel trucks in the past I was always up to 80 rear hooked and 65 rear unhooked.
Posted 2009-08-19 7:57 AM (#109630 - in reply to #109587) Subject: RE: Tire Inflation
Expert
Posts: 5870 Location: western PA
You have to know how much loaded usage your truck endures. Is it run more often empty than loaded? Or is it solely a work truck? If it is a daily driver, and occasionally used for towing, I would say reduce the air tire pressures to your truck's manufacturer's specs when not towing. If it is mainly used for towing, leave the pressures at 80 psi. Either way is a compromise.
It takes many miles to wear the center out of over inflated tires, so an occasional non towing side trip, isn't going to instantly wear your center thread. A tire run at its maximum pressure will have less rolling resistance, generate less heat, and is less likely to experience a sidewall blow out caused by thread delaminations.
It is worse to run a tire under inflated when you're towing. That's a tire killer, and can lead to major safety issues.
Our truck is mainly used for towing and carrying loads. It is not used for daily transportation. It has "E" range tires. Both of our horse trailers are fitted with "E" range LT truck tires as well. They all are aired to 80 psi year round, and we experience no uneven wear and excellent thread life.
Posted 2009-08-19 8:37 AM (#109638 - in reply to #109587) Subject: RE: Tire Inflation
Expert
Posts: 1205 Location: Danielsville Georgia
I have seen MANY left at that 80 psi rear and some that did that in the fronts get a FRACTION the tire life if driven that way unloaded.PLUS it makes for one jarring ride.The three Dodge trucks with diesel I hve owned NONE said to run fully inflated FRONT.Max on all three be it 16 or 17 inch load range E has called for 65 front max and UP TO 80 psi rear FULLY loaded.I did use my dually for a daily driver for a while.I ran rears at 50psi then and others have told me they dropped theirs to 45 REAR because of the wear/ride issue.
Posted 2009-08-19 9:15 AM (#109643 - in reply to #109587) Subject: RE: Tire Inflation
Location: Where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain...
I have been able to run 60,000 mile tires to 70,000+ miles by running the max in the tire. Nice even tire wear. Rotated the tires every 6,000 to 8,000 mile range. Front to the inside rear, inside rear to outside rear, and outside rear to the front. Kept the tires balanced... I guess I am lucky that the centers aren't wearing out.
Posted 2009-08-19 9:19 AM (#109644 - in reply to #109587) Subject: RE: Tire Inflation
Elite Veteran
Posts: 1069 Location: MI.
I dropped them all to 70. I drive the truck about 3 times a week empty. We haul maybe 2-4 times a month. I'm going to have to remind myself to inflate the rears before we hook up......another thing on my check list.
Posted 2009-08-19 10:34 AM (#109650 - in reply to #109587) Subject: RE: Tire Inflation
Expert
Posts: 1205 Location: Danielsville Georgia
I have two friends that are both real picky about inflation on their diesel trucks and over several trucks have gotten 90k plus out of differant brands of tires on a regular basis.Dosen't seem to matter if Michelins,Generals,Coopers etc.Its all relevant.
Posted 2009-08-19 10:38 AM (#109651 - in reply to #109587) Subject: RE: Tire Inflation
Expert
Posts: 3802 Location: Rocky Mount N.C.
Gone, you may be OK at 70 psi.... Just depends on how much weight you got on the pin.... Wish all these trucks had a built in scale, wouldn't that be neat!!!
Tire Inflation
