What tire pressures are you using when towing?

[ChuckQue]

Alright folks, did a bit of searching and didn’t find the answer I was looking for.

I know when I am towing our 35’ trailer with our truck I bump my air pressure up on the tires considerably, with rear getting the most.

I’m getting ready to pull a small teardrop trailer I rented with the JLURD. I usually have my tires set to 30PSI cold front and rear (35” Falken AT3W E range on beadlocks). I’m a bit unsure of what I should try with the trailer. I was considering 36lbs rear 34lbs front cold. Any thoughts? Dry weight for the trailer is approximately 1750lbs, tongue is 120lbs. Obviously dry is lighter than loaded.

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[calemasters]

I keep my "cold" tire pressure at 37 psi. For towing and when not towing.

 

[ChuckQue]

I keep my "cold" tire pressure at 37 psi. For towing and not towing.

What tires and size are you on? I can’t run that high of pressure with this setup or it gets twitchy. I should probably be closer to 28PSI cold for full contact patch, truthfully…

 

[Reinen]

Just do a chalk test while towing. That will give you the exact PSI you should be using.

 

[GATORB8]

What tires and size are you on? I can’t run that high of pressure with this setup or it gets twitchy. I should probably be closer to 28PSI cold for full contact patch, truthfully…

You're already running plenty of load capacity at 30:

I kept ours at our regular pressure towing the one I built, probably a little heavier than the one you are renting. Handled well for the first 4k miles.

You've got a drop hitch that gets low enough, right?

 

[ChuckQue]

You're already running plenty of load capacity at 30:

I kept ours at our regular pressure towing the one I built, probably a little heavier than the one you are renting. Handled well for the first 4k miles.

You've got a drop hitch that gets low enough, right?

Ok, I’ll drop pressure down and see how it feels.

Drop hitch I don’t have, however, the rental place says they have a large collection of various configurations and will give me what I need. They rent to all sorts from road trippers to off roaders so they claim they will have me covered.

 

[GATORB8]

Ok, I’ll drop pressure down and see how it feels.

Drop hitch I don’t have, however, the rental place says they have a large collection of various configurations and will give me what I need. They rent to all sorts from road trippers to off roaders so they claim they will have me covered.

Good, that quoted tongue weight seems low at 6%. May help with the ride to load forward of the axle and get it up in the 10-15% range.

When you're looking at the hitch, consider your spare tire to trailer clearance if it has a short tongue.

 

[calemasters]

What tires and size are you on? I can’t run that high of pressure with this setup or it gets twitchy. I should probably be closer to 28PSI cold for full contact patch, truthfully…

I have Falken Wildpeak AT 3W. 3PMS. 4 ply. Load Range E. Max inflation pressure is 65 psi. Size: 315/70R17.

 

[Old Jeeper]

Alright folks, did a bit of searching and didn’t find the answer I was looking for.

I know when I am towing our 35’ trailer with our truck I bump my air pressure up on the tires considerably, with rear getting the most.

I’m getting ready to pull a small teardrop trailer I rented with the JLURD. I usually have my tires set to 30PSI cold front and rear (35” Falken AT3W E range on beadlocks). I’m a bit unsure of what I should try with the trailer. I was considering 36lbs rear 34lbs front cold. Any thoughts? Dry weight for the trailer is approximately 1750lbs, tongue is 120lbs. Obviously dry is lighter than loaded.

I run 35x12:50x17 GY Duramax tires (NOTE, BEST driving tires I have ever had on Hard Top).

I run them at 32 cold, towing or not.

I suggest this: Take a pic of you current rear tires hot. Stand over and low down and take a pic of the sidewall bulge. Now hook up your trailer and drive around the block or so and take another pic of the tire, if the bulge has increased add 2 lbs.

TIP: Every single time you stop for fuel, bathroom break, gas what ever and you are towing, do a full walk around and look at the bulge on your tires and inspect you tread.

I will guarantee you if you do this every time you will discover an issue that can lead to catastrophic results. Sure over the years I have discovered nails in tread, sidewall, tread cracked, tread with worn spots, hub cap missing and other issues. Just doing that over the years has resulted in PREVENTION of bad stuff down the road, rather than a catastrophic result...

 

[ChuckQue]

I run 35x12:50x17 GY Duramax tires (NOTE, BEST driving tires I have ever had on Hard Top).

I run them at 32 cold, towing or not.

I suggest this: Take a pic of you current rear tires hot. Stand over and low down and take a pic of the sidewall bulge. Now hook up your trailer and drive around the block or so and take another pic of the tire, if the bulge has increased add 2 lbs.

TIP: Every single time you stop for fuel, bathroom break, gas what ever and you are towing, do a full walk around and look at the bulge on your tires and inspect you tread.

I will guarantee you if you do this every time you will discover an issue that can lead to catastrophic results. Sure over the years I have discovered nails in tread, sidewall, tread cracked, tread with worn spots, hub cap missing and other issues. Just doing that over the years has resulted in PREVENTION of bad stuff down the road, rather than a catastrophic result...

Great advice Don, I appreciate it sir!

 

[JustinB]

I have aftermarket 35" tires and keep the pressure at 32psi cold all the way around. I also haul quite a bit, with ~350lb of tongue weight. When hauling I increase only the rear tires to ~36psi cold. When the tires heat up during the drive, they all increase about 4psi.

The more weight you add behind the rear axle [the rear axle being the fulcrum] the less weight you'll have on the front tires, therefore less traction. 'Firming up' via inflating the front tires, though it promotes better gas mileage, further exacerbates front-end traction. If anything, I should drop the front psi a pound or 2, though I don't.

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