Tire pressure?

[Pathman]

So what tire pressure do you all use while towing? Is the max pressure recommended?

[Texas Steve]

Look at the placard on the drivers front of your TT for a sticker showing the tire size and inflation for your rig. That will give you the proper air pressure for your loaded trailer. If you can not read the sticker, use the max pressure shown on the tire sidewall.

[Pathman]

Sorry, I meant on the tow vehicle. The door sticker in the truck only gives normal driving tire pressure.

[rhagfo]

Originally Posted by Pathman

Sorry, I meant on the tow vehicle. The door sticker in the truck only gives normal driving tire pressure.

Something applies, look at the tire loading sticker on the drivers door frame. The recommended pressure may not be the max for the tire. The case in point, the rear tires on our 2016 Ram DRW and likely Ford and GM recommend 65 psi on a tire with an 80 psi rating. That number is for full load on the axle of 9,750#, I am not there so run about 55 psi.

[wiredgeorge]

Originally Posted by Pathman

Sorry, I meant on the tow vehicle. The door sticker in the truck only gives normal driving tire pressure.

Put together a signature with year, make and model of your camper and same for your tow vehicle and perhaps answers to the question you pose will have some context. UserCP; upper left in black band on each page and make sure you save it.

[bsmith0404]

Really depends on how much weight I’m putting on the truck. For example, if I’m towing a travel trailer with 1,000 lb tongue weight, II don’t run as high of a psi as when I’m towning a 5th wheel with 2500 pin weight. The tires on your truck will make a difference too, how much are they rated to carry at max psi based on the sidewall info. Some will say always run max, but if you’re not carrying that much weight, running max psi will cause the tire to balloon in the center and won’t give you full tread patch contact which is not as safe for many conditions but especially when stopping. As was mentioned, if we knew what truck and trailer combo you had, it’d be easier for us to provide info, but it really comes down to knowing your complete setup including tire ratings.

[sourdough]

As wiredgeorge suggested in post 5, go to the user cp in the upper left corner of the page, fill in the signature with all the truck and trailer information then save. Folks can give a much better answer knowing what it is they are addressing. To that point;

You have initiated multiple threads asking details of truck/trailer weights and how they are calculated. This thread is about determining tire pressures; not for the trailer but for the "tow vehicle". In the section "about me" it shows you own a Winnebago Travato Class B motorhome - not a tow vehicle or trailer. What kind of situation are you trying to address?

[Pathman]

Ok so I have a sale pending on the Travato, I pick up my Cougar Half Ton next week, so Im trying to get as much insight as possible as to the details that may make or break towing a fifth wheel for the first time.

[sourdough]

Let's try to address the truck and trailer tires at once as that is what your first post seemed to ask.

The trailer will have the tire size and pressure recommended for the trailer on the left front corner of the trailer. They will be st225/75r15 LRE tires. I'm sure it will say to inflate them to 80psi (max pressure) which is what you run. The trailer has a gvw of 11k lbs. The tires are rated at 2830lbs giving you a total tire support of 11,320 lbs. Not enough capacity reserves IMO (I don't deduct pin weight as some calculations do) but good for starters.

Don't know the trim level of the Ram but I'm sure the recommended tire pressures will be 65psi front, 80psi rear (max) and indicated on the door sticker inside the driver door (same as my Ram 2500 was). Run the tires at recommended pressures indicated when loaded. When not towing and the bed is unloaded I air down the rear to 65psi leaving the front at 65 psi. Some folks air down a little lower than that but I don't.

[Pathman]

Ok, the trailer info makes sense, copy that.


The truck is a Laramie package. The door sticker states 60psi front, 65 rear. It doesn't make any mention of load/no-load, it just says cold pressure.

So I ask, do you guys run your tires at the same pressure that the door sticker indicates when towing, or do you air up to max sidewall stated pressure (80psi) when towing?

[bsmith0404]

Is the truck a 2500? I’ve never seen a 2500 with that low of tire pressure on the door sticker. Mine says 70 and 75, not a Ram, recommended 60 psi on a LRE tire just seems low to me.

[Pathman]

Yes Bs it’s a 2500. Here is the door sticker.

[Pathman]

Thanks all, I believe I have my answer.

[jsb5717]

My 2012 RAM says 60 front/75 Rear. That's where I run them. They are also E/80psi max tires.

[wiredgeorge]

John, this is good info except for when the owner of a 1/2 ton with P rated tires swaps those tire for LT. Then if the owner follows the payload placard settings, the LT tires' heavier load capacity won't be utilized. Am I wrong?

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

John, this is good info except for when the owner of a 1/2 ton with P rated tires swaps those tire for LT. Then if the owner follows the payload placard settings, the LT tires' heavier load capacity won't be utilized. Am I wrong?

George, that decal specifically addresses the tire size/type (LT 275 65R18 LRE) and on a half ton, it does the same (P255 70R18) and gives specific pressure requirements. If the owner changes tire size, then that label no longer applies and the owner is responsible for adjusting pressure to the appropriate settings for the new tires. I've never seen a "conversion chart for tire types/sizes/pressure recommendations" in any vehicle owner's manual...

I guess it's "uncharted territory" as far as the owner's manual and the tire/payload decal.

[travelin texans]

This topic ALWAYS gets WAY over complicated!
Use the pressures on the placard of your vehicle & quit overthinking it! If the tire looks low when you hook up the rv add air!
DONE!

[Pathman]

Originally Posted by travelin texans

This topic ALWAYS gets WAY over complicated!
Use the pressures on the placard of your vehicle & quit overthinking it! If the tire looks low when you hook up the rv add air!
DONE!

I know you’re speaking to everyone in general Texas, but I wasn’t overthinking it till the various responses started coming in!LOL

However, your response kinda puts me right back where I started, which is, so you leave the psi where it is, or raise it when towing?
I don’t think a visual inspection of tire pressure is the right way to go.

[Tireman9]

Originally Posted by travelin texans

This topic ALWAYS gets WAY over complicated!
Use the pressures on the placard of your vehicle & quit overthinking it! If the tire looks low when you hook up the rv add air!
DONE!

Yes. I have no idea why so many people think that the pressure on someone else's RV and tires is correct for their RV tires.
Would you try and use the same oil filter the person parked next to you in the campground used on their TV if you had different brand truck or different engine?


Our cars, trucks and RVs all come with a unique and specific "Certification" stickers on them that identify the GAWR (note I said Gross AXLE weight) and the OE tire size and Load Range tire and the inflation needed to support the GAWR (not the GVWR which is a different number and is not always the total of the GAWR.

I have covered the steps on proper inflation more than a dozen times on my RV Tire Safety blog. You can get more detailed answers than you need if you bother to read the blog. Unless you think the guy drinking beer on the next campsite know more about tires than I do as an actual Tire Design Engineer and court recognized Expert on RV tire failures.

[Pathman]

Originally Posted by Tireman9

Yes. I have no idea why so many people think that the pressure on someone else's RV and tires is correct for their RV tires.
Would you try and use the same oil filter the person parked next to you in the campground used on their TV if you had different brand truck or different engine?


Our cars, trucks and RVs all come with a unique and specific "Certification" stickers on them that identify the GAWR (note I said Gross AXLE weight) and the OE tire size and Load Range tire and the inflation needed to support the GAWR (not the GVWR which is a different number and is not always the total of the GAWR.

I have covered the steps on proper inflation more than a dozen times on my RV Tire Safety blog. You can get more detailed answers than you need if you bother to read the blog. Unless you think the guy drinking beer on the next campsite know more about tires than I do as an actual Tire Design Engineer and court recognized Expert on RV tire failures.

Well then, as a certified tire expert, can you please provide me (as the OP) a simple process for airing up/down my LRE truck tires with a max psi of 80#?

The advice and recommendations from many folks on here has been widely variable, so how is one to know who’s advice to adhere to?

In case you didn’t read all the posts from the start, my original question asked if it’s recommended to “air up” your tow vehicle tires when under load?

Before your post, my mind was set to simply follow the manufacturers placard and owners manual, which states 65PSI for all conditions towing or not.
But now you’ve thrown a wrench into that!LOL

What’s your advice given my question?

Thanks!