Tires And Pressure Work Trucks

oldrivers

ok, ive reasearched this alot and i keep getting different views so i was wondering if anyone knows for sure or has any real expierience, my work truck about 5500 lbs has load range D tires 315/75 /16 and call for 50 psi cold i was wondering if its ok to run them at say 35 psi safely while not carrying a load. i was thinking of possibly going to a 15 inch rim where i can get tires calling for 35 psi cold . im just looking for a little softer ride and dont carry alot of weight anymore. and since i dont need mudders for muddy jobsites anymore i was looking at a good all terrain tire for my daily driving. does your truck drive like crap and have you found a tire that made a differenc in ride. how about shocks did you mess with those and find better ones than the factory . not really the right forum but there are alot of truck drivers on here.

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Teetorbilt

On 17" rims I buy Falcon road tires, good gas mileage and hard ride. A full set mounted and balanced should run you under $400. I also don't have to worry much about mud&snow.

For max use, the pressure should be adjusted to the load. There are no tables for this that I can find. I also carry more weight to the right, the nature of those of us that use vans. I'm STILL working on this. The process is very slow.

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woodchuck2

I am currently running 10 ply, 265/16's, Cooper Discovery M/S tires on the truck. I tow with it all the time and the truck carries alot of weight too so keep the tires up to 80psi. Right now the truck sits in my driveway with at least 5k lbs in the bed and the plow on the front.
My avatar shows my truck with my enclosed trailer loaded with about 1500-2k of tongue weight and 30 bundles of shingles in the bed.

bwalley

You need to follow the vehicle manufacturer's guidelines in regards to tire pressure, there will be a tag inside the door jamb.

If they call for 50 psi, that is what you need to run.

They spend millions of dollars on R&D to make these decisions, they know more about this than a bunch of contractors.

A W Smith

don't under inflate your tires for a softer ride, Low pressure causes the outside of the tread to prematurely wear, too high a pressure causes the center to wear prematurely. You will burn them up, get poor gas mileage, and worst case, have a blowout, run tires specified in the vehicle plate or documentation PERIOD! For a work truck insist on "LT" from your tire dealer even if they offer another tire of same size and tread,

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s. donato

i have Pirelli scorpion tires on my truck. they are very good compared to the stock tires that came with my truck. cornering is no problem anymore. they are considered a high performance truck tire. i will buy another set in a heartbeat. have 35k miles on them and they still got plenty of tread. i believe they require 41psi - they feel fine on road maybe alittle stiff offroad but i take it easy.

i drive a v8 doge dakota with tools. i never off road any more. the most dirt my truck sees is dirt roads and driving into an occational grass yard. honestly i don't see the need for big oversized tires on work trucks. i spend more time on the highway then anywhere else.

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Tom M

I have these scorpian tires and they are almost bald with under 31,000 miles. I was quoted no less than $800.00 from 4 places. The tires were from the dealer and ride at 75psi (door jamb) I thought they wore out fast because they rode on high pressure. Like rocks. I dont even lug around heavy weight with it.

s. donato

tom you and i probably drive very different ;-) seriously i will probably get new tires before the end of the year. they have 35k on them and i put 15-20k on my truck each year, so i am sure they will need to be replaced this year. it could just be that since i got them 90% of my mileage is on the hwy.

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stp57

My Sprinter Cargo van calls for 65/80 front to back on the stock Michilin's. I've always kept them at 55/70 instead & I've got over 60K miles on them with even wear.
Steve

woodchuck2

X2 , my truck states 80psi for maximum towing capacity and that is why i run the tires that hard. As stated the door jamb will tell you what the correct pressure should be.

tgeb

I tend to agree, follow the manufacturer's recommendation.

With the exception of wear pattern. If I see that I am wearing the center of the tread out I will lower the pressure so the tread wears flat. Make sure to rotate tires periodically.

As far as shocks, I found Bilstein shocks give a good ride and last quite a while. But they ain't cheap.

http://www.bilstein.com/index1.php

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TBFGhost

I have always enjoyed these....my current truck came with some off brand tires that are now worn down, they will be replaced with these once again

http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/specs...t-a-ko/44.html

Joedog

Run a chalk test on your tread to find the ideal pressure to run for your set-up. I have a one ton powerstroke that usually carries an additional 1500+ lbs of tools. I also haul up to 12 to 15k, my tires of choice are toyo mt, or mickey thompson mt...315/75/16...E range. I keep them at 65lbs atleast. I try to run pretty aggressive tires because i prefer to be over prepared for a situation i might run into...better to have it and not need it.

WarnerConstInc.

My 2500 gmc suburban 99, calls for 55 and 80 front and back. Oh, I got Bilstiens at all corners, rides like I am driving in marshmallow fluff.

IHI

OP did'nt ask about manufacturer this or that, he wanted to know if it'd be alright to run lower psi for a softer ride, and the simple answer is YES. All my big trucks have E range tires and want 80psi, i only keep the F350 set at that since it sees the majority of towing duty, plus plow/salter duties in the winter, the rest of them are at 55psi and it makes a huge improvement in ride quality.

Personally i would'nt go below 50psi depending on how tall your sidwalls are. all these trucks with 20"+ rims, they can have them. I know the lower tire profile makes for better hwy handling even when towing since sidewall flex is no longer an issue, but i prefer a taller sidewall since it helps absorb the inital pothole impact without eating rims, and gives me a bigger ooops factor when we're in the grime of new construct or muddy projects and there's rocks and such under the soft top soil, lots cheaper to replace a $200 tire than a $400 rim that gets chewed up...but that's just me, i dont expect a work truck to ride like a cadillac and just accept that fact, if i wanted a plush ride i'da bought a 1/2T.

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dougger222

You don't want to run under the recommended air pressure as your tires will wear out faster.

I run 255/85/16's on the DRW with Dunlops at 67 psi, two psi over due on the fronts due to excesses wear on the sides of the tires.
Run 295/75/16's on the SRW with Nitto Terra Graplers at the recommended air pressure.
Run 265/75/16's on the SUV with Dueler Ravo E loads at the recommended tire pressure.

The Nitto's have been great tires but doubt they will go the distance like the BFG All Terrians did. Got 70K and 80K miles out of two sets. The Ravo's are junk but have good traction. The Dunlops are just cheap all terrain tires when you gotta buy six every couple years you don't want to spend a fortune!