Tire pressure

[Meadows11]

Without getting too detailed, how much do you increase your tire pressure when towing? And is that all four tires? Thank you.

 

[muckinfuss]

I use the load index table from the tire manufacturer based on the weight of what I'm towing. When not towing, I reduce to the recommended for the gross weight of the truck....again, it depends on the tires. P rated tires will have a different table than LT's. Anything else is just guessing.

 

[Russc25]

I use pressure appropriate for load and conditions.

You mean the tow vehicle I'm guessing but what do you have? What kind of tires are on it? What pressure do you have them at when not towing?

Lacking any real information, I'll point you to the owners manual and/or manufacturer's documentation for the tires.

 

[CAG-JAY]

Without getting too detailed, how much do you increase your tire pressure when towing? And is that all four tires? Thank you.

The pressures listed on the pillar of your tow vehicle is the recommended tire pressure to run at all times. Those numbers take into consideration all factors for the vehicle. Over inflating can cause some serious issues when towing and under inflating will likely cause excessive tire wear possible heat issues and blowouts.

They put those numbers there for a reason.


Tire pressure questions here will bring about 10 pages of answers from a bunch of use who are not experts. Why not ask your local Discount Tire or the location you purchased them from but you are going to get the "we air to recommended pressures in all cases".

 

[Shokyle1]

I leave mine right where the weight sticker inside the door pillar says towing or not.

 

[GraphiteDriver]

I have the Goodyear Endurance tires. After the trailer is fully loaded, and before we hit the road, I set the cold pressure to what it says on the side of the tire (80psi recommended for max carrying weight in my case). That's it.

 

[JudyK-JAY22rb]

I have the Goodyear Endurance tires. After the trailer is fully loaded, and before we hit the road, I set the cold pressure to what it says on the side of the tire (80psi recommended for max carrying weight in my case). That's it.

My Goodyear Endurance are 65 psi as stated on side of tire. Today, while driving down the highway in the extreme heat, they are all up to 75psi. I don't mess with the numbers on the tire. Cold pressure always 65 psi.

 

[Riich]

Without getting too detailed, how much do you increase your tire pressure when towing? And is that all four tires? Thank you.

I don't increase the pressures, I set them to the max as listed in the tire sidewalls. Yep, lots of people will disagree with that method but to each their own. I'm just answering your question.

 

[Kevin Cooper]

For those who run max pressure on the sidewall, I have a couple comments. If your vehicle has the amount of weight listed as max weight on the side of the tire, then you should absolutely be running max pressure. If you have less than max load, you should be running less psi. The sticker number inside your RV is based on your RV weight including CCC.
Example. Our Alante came with Goodyear tires rated at 4540 max weight. And 110psi. 4540x6 tires is 27,240 total capacity at 110 psi. The maximum weight of the RV is 18,000 pounds. Not tires, springs. The sticker inside says 82PSI.
So, what’s the point? If you under inflate your tires, your sidewalls flex too much, friction is higher, and you will destroy the tires. Blowout. So, overinflated is safer right? No, over inflation causes the center of the tread to lift the sides of the tread. So early wear in the center, less traction, less control, more bouncing, and higher probability of broken belts if you hit a pot hole. Not my words, manufacturers words. If you upgrade a tire that says 85psi to a tire that says 110psi, would you also increase the pressure to 110? I would hope not. So, the best way to set your pressure is get the information for your exact tires, weigh your rig, and calculate your pressure. That is what the RV manufacturer does before they stick those stickers in your RV, based on an assumed weight. If you calculate it, you may need lower psi because of less weight.
Best wishes to all!

 

[jadatis]

Without getting too detailed, how much do you increase your tire pressure when towing? And is that all four tires? Thank you.

This " pigheaded Dutch selfdeclared tyre-pressure specialist " must controll himself not to into detail to much.

No only rear tires need higher pressure if you tow on a towbar at the back of the car, when a 5thwh restingpoint more to the front, but then even staight over the rear axle. So then front dont even need higher pressure, because not more weight on front axle.

 

[Kevin Cooper]

This " pigheaded Dutch selfdeclared tyre-pressure specialist " must controll himself not to into detail to much.

No only rear tires need higher pressure if you tow on a towbar at the back of the car, when a 5thwh restingpoint more to the front, but then even staight over the rear axle. So then front dont even need higher pressure, because not more weight on front axle.

Did you possibly read ALL comments and think that a comment can address other comments instead of the original? I.E. Max pressure is NOT the best choice.
Have a great day.

 

[craigav]

Did you possibly read ALL comments and think that a comment can address other comments instead of the original? I.E. Max pressure is NOT the best choice.
Have a great day.

I agree and will also add that the door pillar recommendations are also not the best choice for all circumstances. For example my 2500HD Duramax states 55 front and 80 rear, the 80 rear is so the tires can support the maximum rated load however I go months at a time without more than ~100 lbs in the bed of the truck. With that in mind and in particular with nothing in the bed of the truck, I suspect the front axle is supporting more weight than the rear axle and for that reason I often run 55 in both the front and rear tires and only inflate to 80 in the rear when I plan to carry a heavy load. While that is a hassle, the ride is much improved especially when driving on rough roads in turns where the 80 psi will often allow the rear to bounce and slide some in the curve. For sure the ride is much worse with 80 in the rear and no weight in the bed of the truck. ~CA

 

[jadatis]

Did you possibly read ALL comments and think that a comment can address other comments instead of the original? I.E. Max pressure is NOT the best choice.
Have a great day.

But topicstarter did not wanted to go into details.

But OK, every vehicle is different in weight and weightdivision, and how loaded
So only way to be certain the pressures are right, is weighing per axle, better even weighing per axle-end, in the loading you go on trip. So also the towed vehicle coupled and eventual WDH set.
Then calculate with 10% reserve added if per axle, and 5% if per axle-end heavyest side, and look back the pressure for that in officiall list , or let me make a list for you with build in reserve, given per axle or axle end , whatever you want so you dont have to do pre- or after-calculations yourselves.

The one that wrote 6 tires x maxload, forgets that dualload axle behind has lower maxload , and tirecapacity might not be so devided that optimal tirecapacity can be used on one axle, so this brings down the 21000 lbs total , he mentioned.

Is thus what you want?

 

[Riich]

So it appears we are discussing TV tires, not the towable. My 1/2 ton GMC has Goodyear tires that have a maximum cold pressure of 44#. The door post has 35# listed, front and rear. I tried running 35#. When I ran at 35# I was not near as stable going down the road as compared to when I had 44# in the tires. I keep them at 44#. It works great for me, I just need to dodge the pressure police. But they only seem to exist in forums, not on the road, so I'm good.

 

[Parcany]

My 02.cents. Go to a tire dealer and get the straight skinny from them. If they have been in business for any length of time they will know. Not saying that the info you got here is wrong but everybody has their own way of doing things.

 

[Kevin Cooper]

So it appears we are discussing TV tires, not the towable. My 1/2 ton GMC has Goodyear tires that have a maximum cold pressure of 44#. The door post has 35# listed, front and rear. I tried running 35#. When I ran at 35# I was not near as stable going down the road as compared to when I had 44# in the tires. I keep them at 44#. It works great for me, I just need to dodge the pressure police. But they only seem to exist in forums, not on the road, so I'm good.

Put some LT tires on your 1/2 ton truck. Some say 110 psi. Now what do you pressurize them at?

 

[GraphiteDriver]

I misread the beginning post; I was thinking TT tires. For the tow vehicle, I just follow the door sticker. For the trailer, I've upgraded the wheels & tires, so the sticker there no longer applies.

 

[Jagiven]

Trailer tires, I run max rated psi.

TV, I start with the oem recommend pressure. But I can tell you, not all tires that with the same specifications handle the same. My last TV, i replaced the tires with a different brand same spec. They had a softer side wall. I played with the pressures until I found something I liked (I noted the pressure and how things handled during the trip and repeatedfor a frew trips). For those tires, on that tv, 5 psi increase in the front and 10 psi in the back, and Ithe rig felt good going down the road.

My current TV, still has oem tires and I just run the oem recommend pressures.

 

[Riich]

Put some LT tires on your 1/2 ton truck. Some say 110 psi. Now what do you pressurize them at?

I'm happy with the tires I have.

 

[Kevin Cooper]

I'm happy with the tires I have.

So no answer.