Dirttracker18

Correct

Sorry but you are incorrect and just spouting misinformation.

In fact, over inflated tires will cause poor handling, not better stability.

Tire pressure is based on the tires ability to handle weight. That is why different tires have a different max weight and max air pressure.

So no you should not simple just max out your tire pressure.

I do not mean to offend you but you are wrong and should not give out advice for something you do not fully understand.

uzikaduzi

to add to this... your stock rims and valve stems may not be sufficient to handle the max pressure if you've upgraded to a e rated tire.

Norotso

I have over 25k kms of towing in 5 seasons, I have alway run the max, 44 psi on a cold tire for towing and 65 psi cold on my TT. Only once have a had a blow out, on the TT, and it was the sidewall that failed on a GY.

On another note, depending on the year of your trailer, I would also suggest you get the axles aligned. All the turns and bumps can allow the axles over time to not run straight, which will lead to premature tire wear and or failure, cupping etc. I was really surprised at how much mine were out after 3 yrs of towing.

Wannafbody

I'd suggest E rated tires for towing. I normally run about 45 psi in the E rated tires on a 1/2 ton when towing. That has worked fine for 14 years with a 3000# trailer.

Dirttracker18

That may be true but it does not make it correct or safe. Many people go through life breaking the law and do not get caught, shall we all then break the law?

I will try to simplify this. Overinflation causes the tire to cup upwards, like driving on a ball. You are giving up tread and thus have less traction on the road. This give you that, driving on skates feeling.



Simply inflating to max pressures does not ensure you are over inflated but without knowing for certain, how do you know?

It is bad advice to just tell people to max out their air pressure when hauling a load. If you haul a TT for example it is a good idea to determine what the correct pressures for both the truck and TT.

As also noted, your tires, if not stock, may be able to handle a higher pressure than your wheels. Your max pressure may be far higher than needed based on the tires carrying capacity. There are too many variables to just go all out.

With that logic, why not buy an F350 to haul your single plave ATV trailer?

uzikaduzi

yeah with travel tires... air them up to what ever the max is always... with maxing your truck tires, you may never experience a blow out (it's much more common to have a blowout from under inflating) but if that happens to be too much air, you're wearing the center of your tread out faster and decreasing the amount of tread contacting the road which "could" effect handling.

on the stock or near stock tires, 44 pds likely isn't gonna be that big of a deal, but if you go with a higher rated tire and max them out (my e rated tires max out at 80 psi) you very well could have an issue with the rim and a lot of rubber style valve stems are not rated for that much pressure, in addition to more un even wear and decreased tread contact with the road

uzikaduzi

way better explanation than mine but trailer tires are different. unless you swaped them out with LT's you should run them at max psi... they are a crappy cheap option built to bridge the gap between passenger tires and LT's... many times they are actually rated below the gross weight for a trailer (because tongue weight in theory is always off the tire) and have a max speed of 65... with running them at the max payload and likely the max speed, having them under inflated by just a little can and does cause blowouts.

wintersucks

Don't forget your fire extingisher and triangles for the pickup.

smokeywren

Incorrect info. If you are running stock-size ST tires, then you probably need to run them at max PSI when wet and loaded on the road. Because OEMs usually install tires that have barely enough weight capacity to support the GAWR of the trailer axles. But if you replace the OEM trailer tires with ST tires that have more weight capacity, then you should go by the load/inflation table for that size tire.

ST tires have stiffer sidewalls, but otherwise they are similar construction to P-Series and LT tires. So you should inflate them per the TRA load/inflation table for that size tire, with maybe up to 10% more PSI than the table calls for.

The Tire and Rim Assn. (TRA) load/inflation tables for ST tires are hard to find if you're not a member of TRA. But Maxxis publishes an excerpt from the TRA table, so it is available to the public.
http://www.maxxis.com/trailer/traile...nflation-chart

For example, my 5er came with ST205/75R15C tires that had 1,830 pounds weight capacity @50 PSI. That's 7,320 max GAW. And my 5er had almost 7,320 GAW when wet and loaded for long trips. Result- Blowouts. So I replaced tires (and wheels) with ST225/75R15D that have 2540 weight capacity, or up to 10,160 pounds GAW @65 PSI. But my 5er had GAWR barely less than 1,830 pounds per tire. The load/inflation table said they required only 40 PSI to handle that weight, and at 50 PSI they would handle 2150 pounds per tire or 8600 pounds GAW. 8600 minus 7300 GAW = 1300 pounds safety margin, or about 18%. That's a good enough safety margin for me, so I run those trailer tires at about 50 PSI. Those tires now are several years old with probably 40,000 miles on them, and no more trailer tire problems.

Another example: My cargo trailer also came with ST205/75R15C tires. So I replaced tires (and wheels) with ST225/75R15E with 2,830 pounds weight capacity per tire @80 PSI, or over 11,000 pounds tire capacity for my trailer that has only 7,000 pounds GVWR. I run those tires at about 50 PSI too, which is probably too much PSI. But no tire problems on that trailer either. I recently returned from a 4,000+ miles trip to Oregon and back dragging that trailer, and not a hint of any trailer tire problems on that trip.

Norotso

That what these items are for: