Truck tires

[NMRandy]

Originally Posted by Northern Lights

My 2005 F350 has Transforce HT tires.
The fronts have even wear equally across the tires but need replaced at 90% gone. We pull a 5th wheel. The rears have plenty of tread left. The tires are the same age?
The door decal calls for 60 pounds in the front & 80 pounds in the rear. I suppose the 60 lbs in the front is for a smoother ride. But, what does 60lbs 24/7/365 in an 80 lbs tire do to tire wear?

I'm really pleased with the rear wear on the Transforce, but even with equal wear out across the fronts is another story.

If the tire wears in the center, too much air pressure, if it wears on the inside AND outside edges, too low of pressure. If they wear on inside OR outside edge, alignment. If they wear choppy, shocks.

Do you drive this a lot with no load? If so, the front of the truck is heavier than the rear, so it will wear the fronts faster.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by NMRandy

Wow!! What tire was that? I have had several sets of Open Country AT's and AT2's and have never had to rebalance them for the life of the tire, and they don't take very much weight to balance. Are they lining up the dot for the valve stem? Even so the balance shouldn't change unless you have extreme tire wear, and that would be an alignment issue. Maybe they just don't work well with Ford or Ram's suspension. I have GM stuff.

Those were Open Country AT IIs as I recall. Same tires on both trucks, both Rams. The comments from the appraisal guy were about the tires on a 2003 Ram 1500 Off Road 4x4.

[Northern Lights]

Originally Posted by NMRandy

If the tire wears in the center, too much air pressure, if it wears on the inside AND outside edges, too low of pressure. If they wear on inside OR outside edge, alignment. If they wear choppy, shocks.

Do you drive this a lot with no load? If so, the front of the truck is heavier than the rear, so it will wear the fronts faster.

**********
There is total even wear on the front. No side, center or uneven wear. We use the 5th wheel 3-4X yearly. Otherwise no load. Any idea why Ford recommends 60 lbs in the front with 89lb ties?

[NMRandy]

Originally Posted by Northern Lights

**********
There is total even wear on the front. No side, center or uneven wear. We use the 5th wheel 3-4X yearly. Otherwise no load. Any idea why Ford recommends 60 lbs in the front with 89lb ties?

Your front axle has a lower weight rating, If you run max pressure in the front it will likely start wearing the center of the tires, and ride rougher. I would guess the rears are worn more in the center, due to the truck being unloaded most of the time.

If I do a long trip in the truck unloaded, (which is rare) , I drop the pressure to 60 psi in all 4 tires. I run 70 psi cold in the front, and 80 psi cold in the rear when loaded. Note that if you have a tire pressure monitor, or check them after driving, the pressure will rise several psi. I have seen over 100psi on both the trailer and the truck on a hot day after towing for over an hour.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by NMRandy

Your front axle has a lower weight rating, If you run max pressure in the front it will likely start wearing the center of the tires, and ride rougher. I would guess the rears are worn more in the center, due to the truck being unloaded most of the time.

If I do a long trip in the truck unloaded, (which is rare) , I drop the pressure to 60 psi in all 4 tires. I run 70 psi cold in the front, and 80 psi cold in the rear when loaded. Note that if you have a tire pressure monitor, or check them after driving, the pressure will rise several psi. I have seen over 100psi on both the trailer and the truck on a hot day after towing for over an hour.

As a "disclaimer", I'd suggest that other members who might read this would not necessarily want to follow this "pressure advice" blindly....

If you have a diesel engine then you'll have significantly more weight (up to 800 or more pounds) on the front axle than if you have a gas engine truck which is significantly lighter than a diesel.

Some tires, depending on type, are not equipped to handle 60 or 70 PSI. P metric tires typically "top out at either 44 or 51 PSI. Then there's the "weight of other items on the truck". As an example, someone with a "heavy duty aftermarket front bumper, bullguard bumper, a winch or a snow plow may find that even with LT tires that can be operated at 60 PSI, that may not be enough air pressure to safely operate the vehicle at highway speeds.

The "blanket recommendations" that don't account for individual differences in type of driving, weight of vehicle, weight of cargo (in the truck in addition to the trailer tongue/pin weight) all must be considered before "airing down or airing up" tires.

While the above tire pressures may work well for the member who posted them, they may subject another member to unsafe tire pressures.

So, follow any tire pressure advice based on vehicle manufacturer's recommendations and adjust based on individual truck weight/cargo weight, because your situation may be "significantly different" from another member's situation.

[NMRandy]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

As a "disclaimer", I'd suggest that other members who might read this would not necessarily want to follow this "pressure advice" blindly....

If you have a diesel engine then you'll have significantly more weight (up to 800 or more pounds) on the front axle than if you have a gas engine truck which is significantly lighter than a diesel.

Some tires, depending on type, are not equipped to handle 60 or 70 PSI. P metric tires typically "top out at either 44 or 51 PSI. Then there's the "weight of other items on the truck". As an example, someone with a "heavy duty aftermarket front bumper, bullguard bumper, a winch or a snow plow may find that even with LT tires that can be operated at 60 PSI, that may not be enough air pressure to safely operate the vehicle at highway speeds.

The "blanket recommendations" that don't account for individual differences in type of driving, weight of vehicle, weight of cargo (in the truck in addition to the trailer tongue/pin weight) all must be considered before "airing down or airing up" tires.

While the above tire pressures may work well for the member who posted them, they may subject another member to unsafe tire pressures.

So, follow any tire pressure advice based on vehicle manufacturer's recommendations and adjust based on individual truck weight/cargo weight, because your situation may be "significantly different" from another member's situation.

I only stated what I do .. I am not "making recommendations"

The OP stated the F350 had a 60 psi and a 80psi recommendation on the door sticker, which means the truck should have "E" load tires.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by NMRandy

I only stated what I do .. I am not "making recommendations"

The OP stated the F250 had a 60 psi and a 80psi recommendation on the door sticker, which means the truck should have "E" load tires.

If that had been "stated in a PM to that member" then only that member would be reading the comments about what you do......

It wasn't. It was stated in a public post, read by a number of members who may not equate the "60 psi and 80 psi recommendation on a door sticker that means it should have "E" load tires". For some, it could mean a recommendation to increase their "P rated tires" to 60 and 80 PSI......

It's all about "clarity"

[NMRandy]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

If that had been "stated in a PM to that member" then only that member would be reading the comments about what you do......

It wasn't. It was stated in a public post, read by a number of members who may not equate the "60 psi and 80 psi recommendation on a door sticker that means it should have "E" load tires". For some, it could mean a recommendation to increase their "P rated tires" to 60 and 80 PSI......

It's all about "clarity"

10-4

I don't really see someone being dumb enough to do that .. but in today's world ... I guess anything is possible

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by NMRandy

10-4

I don't really see someone being dumb enough to do that .. but in today's world ... I guess anything is possible

We have people putting 16" LT tires on 12K GVW trailers, we have people towing 10,500 GVW trailers with 2.7L EcoBoost engines in half ton trucks, we have people towing triple axle toyhaulers with 3/4 ton trucks... I could go on, so yes, "anything is possible".....

There was a time when vehicle owner's manuals included instructions on how to adjust the valve clearance on engines... Now, there's a "WARNING" not to drink the battery electrolyte.