Air pressure on your tow rig

Clubbs said:
60 up front 80 in the rear, otherwise my fancy tire light comes on. Dad's 2013 ram has a light load and heavy load tpms setting but my 2018 doesn't. Oh well seems to ride fine and got 65k out of the flaken at3's running it that way.

Trailer tires are always at max. Still lose some trailer tires every so often...
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So far my trailer tire problems have ended since I went to a good set of maxxis trailer tires.Actual trailer tires not passenger car tires or cheap china trailer tires.
 
Clubbs said:
60 up front 80 in the rear, otherwise my fancy tire light comes on. Dad's 2013 ram has a light load and heavy load tpms setting but my 2018 doesn't. Oh well seems to ride fine and got 65k out of the flaken at3's running it that way.

Trailer tires are always at max. Still lose some trailer tires every so often...
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I believe AlphaOBD will let you fix that. From what I can tell, it's fairly inexpensive and also has a myriad of other functions it will let you change, add, modify, etc. Even ABS stuff and programming keys.
 
Croatan_Kid said:
I believe AlphaOBD will let you fix that. From what I can tell, it's fairly inexpensive and also has a myriad of other functions it will let you change, add, modify, etc. Even ABS stuff and programming keys.
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This is what I've researched. Now that I'm out of warranty I'll probably look into this more.
 
With HD trucks and E (max 80psi) tires I run unloaded about 50-55 front and 60-65 rear. When towing anything signficant (usually my 18' dovetail and the Nissan) I boost the front to 65 and the rears to about 75. For the few years I had a half-ton with P-metric tires I just ran them at 44psi (max sidewall) when towing. Since I use weight distribution and I air up the front tires since they carry more load when towing that way. The trailer has tires rated for 65 max, I usually leave them around 50 because added all together the four tires can carry much more weight than the trailer is rated for at max inflation.

I disagree with the general sentiment to leave trailer tires at maximum pressure all the time as that will promote center wear in the tread anytime they are not carrying enough load to flatten them out. This is true of car/truck tires as well. I think it is important to check the tires and pressures every time you tow the trailer and during any long trips to ensure that low inflation pressure will not blow the sidewalls out. That failure show in pictures above was an under-inflation failure of the sidewall. I had the same happen when a rear tire on my trailer picked up a nail going to Harlan one trip a few years ago. I did not see tire getting low and had not stopped for a couple hours. It grenaded and blew the outer tread right off the carcass. I keep meaning to look into the trailer tire pressure systems but have too many other things ahead of them in line for discretionary expenditures.
 
So y’all are really changing your air pressure based on what you’re doing with the truck?

Mine stays at 80. I’m sure I would get a much better ride if I aired down when not towing but I just ain’t that worried about it. That’s just one more thing I’d have to remember to do before towing, and I also don’t have an air compressor. My truck might get driven once a week sometimes less. It is pretty much always hauling something.

The one time I drove it to Hot Springs and we rode up to Max Patch I should have aired down. Lord that gravel road beat us to death in my truck.
 
Croatan_Kid said:
I believe AlphaOBD will let you fix that. From what I can tell, it's fairly inexpensive and also has a myriad of other functions it will let you change, add, modify, etc. Even ABS stuff and programming keys.
Click to expand...

Used alfaobd to change my tpms threshold and correct the speedometer for the bigger tires. Would recommend.

Duane
 
Yeah, it's a scanner/OBD tool. Pretty certain it doesn't care what's written in the ECM for tuning.
 
77GreenMachine said:
So y’all are really changing your air pressure based on what you’re doing with the truck?

Mine stays at 80. I’m sure I would get a much better ride if I aired down when not towing but I just ain’t that worried about it. That’s just one more thing I’d have to remember to do before towing, and I also don’t have an air compressor. My truck might get driven once a week sometimes less. It is pretty much always hauling something.

The one time I drove it to Hot Springs and we rode up to Max Patch I should have aired down. Lord that gravel road beat us to death in my truck.
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Same, but I think I keep my F250 at 65-70 at all times, too much work to constantly change it
 
77GreenMachine said:
So y’all are really changing your air pressure based on what you’re doing with the truck?

Mine stays at 80. I’m sure I would get a much better ride if I aired down when not towing but I just ain’t that worried about it. That’s just one more thing I’d have to remember to do before towing, and I also don’t have an air compressor. My truck might get driven once a week sometimes less. It is pretty much always hauling something.

The one time I drove it to Hot Springs and we rode up to Max Patch I should have aired down. Lord that gravel road beat us to death in my truck.
Click to expand...

I do but have a 5HP 60 gallon compressor in the garage with a long air hose so I can do this really quickly and easily. Understood that not everyone has that luxury.
 
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