Tires?

[routlaw]

Do you folks increase the tire pressure at least in the rear while towing and if so by how much? I have always done this albeit not scientifically and there seems to be no end to the amount of conflicting information about this on the internet. Some people swear the front tires need to be increased also, but this makes no logical sense to me. Thus far I have increased my rears from the recommended 35 psi to 40-45 psi but leave the fronts at their normal rating. 

Finally my current set of tires have been on my F150 for 9 years now and still not worn out and visually look fine, with probably another 10-15,000 miles left on them. I figure I should replace now before camping and touring season starts up. I currently have the Michelin LTX M/S on, but considering the Cooper Discover AT3 AS4's. Anyone have experience with either or have another suggestion.

Thanks a bunch.

[dewdev]

Not necessaryily an answer to your tire pressure question, but my RAM truck tire pressure name plate indicates front: 55 psi and rear 45 psi.

I assume you have checked your name plate. Does your owner's manual say anything about tire pressure towing a trailer? Check with the Ford dealer on your first question.

When I buy new tires, I have always bought the Michelin tires. I like their ride and mileage life. Have never used the Cooper tires.

[Steph and Dud B]

The cold tire pressure listed on your door sticker should be calibrated to your GVW and rated axle weights, so there's no need to go over that unless your manual says otherwise. On my dually, I actually lower my rear tires slightly below the sticker pressure in the off-season - when I'm not towing or carrying cargo. I put them back up to the sticker pressure in the spring. If I don't do that they wear in the center of the tread from overinflation over the winter.

[Mike and Carol]

I used to raise the pressure in the rear tires, but don’t anymore.  I’ve never raised the pressure in the tires on my current truck.  I’ve got about 15K miles towing so far and have noticed no unusual pressure changes while driving and towing.

I also had the Michelin LTX tires on a previous truck and liked them a lot.  I’m getting ready to change out the tires on my 2500 and am sure I will go with the Cooper AT3 XLT.  I put them on my trailer last January and I like them.  Why not have the truck and trailer match? 🤪. Mike

[routlaw]

My door sticker for tire inflation states 35 psi front and back for normal use, but there is a nebulous area in the manual hinting at raising tire pressure when towing but doesn't state anything specific in terms of PSI. Like others comments here I have mostly bought Michelins too and the ones I currently have are really nice and quiet and smooth riding, however probably not the best for running around in the backroads of Utah and other areas of the SW where we like to travel to as often as possible thus the interest in the highly rated Cooper AT3's. FWIW I have used Coopers on other vehicles with excellent results but not the AT3's.

Thanks for the feedback.

[Ralph Mawyer]

Re: AT Tires...give a good look at Toyo AT3s.

[topgun2]

If the pressure in your tires raises much more than 10 degrees above ambient air temperature it is time to consider adding air.  However, you must take into consideration things like road surface (black asphalt is hotter than white concrete on a summer day), and, is the tire in direct sunlight.  Remember, for most general highway driving it is the heat in a tire that causes most damage to the internal structure of the tire.

Bill

[Geronimo John]

On 2/28/2022 at 1:37 PM, topgun2 said:

Remember, for most general highway driving it is the heat in a tire that causes most damage to the internal structure of the tire.

Four thoughts:

A.  Topgun2's statement is spot on.  There is not much we can do about the heat in our tires except changing our driving habits as the road surface varies.  That said, there are a substantial number of blowouts due to heat related to under-inflation causing sidewall flex and that causing blowouts.  So, general consensus is that within the tire pressure range, it is better to be a bit high than lower.  

B.  Knowing the impact of your trailer and all loads in and on the TV is important.  Get this by weighing your TV and trailer, each fully loaded.  Also weigh your TV with just normal day to day loads.  With these numbers, check the tire pressure guide from your tire MFG.  Adjust accordingly. And keep Thought "A" in mind.

C.  It took me a long time to understand how much tire pressure changes between "Cold" and hot conditions.  I often thought I had a slow leak or a bad air pressure gauge during morning checks.  So I recommend checking tire pressure early in the morning while the sun has not yet had much of a chance to mess with the tires.  Once you have set them, don't worry about them during the heat of the day.  As a young man while towing across Texas, I checked them at the gas station in El Paseo in 105 degrees.  I made that mistake of lowering the TP to "Cold" pressure.  The result was two blown trailer tires about 90 miles from nowhere.  Sidewall flex heat generated from under inflation.... Once again, see Thought "A" above.

D.  Get a TPMS for your trailer and TV.  They can give you advance warning that can easily warn of a slow leak or underinflation before it becomes a mess.

I highly recommend the below air compressor and tire pressure gauge.  I  also use the below TPMS and have had good service.  It however is a bear to program and reprogram.  I bought my TPMS in 2018.  Hopefully by now there are more user friendly ones.  So, I recommend looking to the OTT Forum for more current TPMS recommendations.  Bottom line is for this topic, for sure buy quality.  

 

                                                          ESSENTIAL TIRE MAINTENANCE TOOLS

Dewalt 20V Air Compressor                                          TPMS                                     JACO Air Pressure Gauge

                 

 

NOTE:  Every Jaco product is designed, manufactured, and supported in the U.S.A.   Jaco has been manufacturing in Franklin Massachusetts for more than 45 years.  Their tire pressure gauge is calibrated accurate to ANSI B40.1 standards.   

 

 

 

 

Edited December 8, 2022 by Geronimo John
minor corrections for readability.

[Rivernerd]

On 11/12/2022 at 12:19 PM, Geronimo John said:

I  also use the below TPMS and have had good service.  It however is a bear to program and reprogram. 

The Tire Minder TPMS system we recently purchased for the Elite II we picked up on November 10, 2022 was relatively easy to program.  It performed well during our 2000+mile journey back to Idaho.

With ambient temps ranging from the teens to the 50's F, we noted about a 3-PSI pressure increase from 50 PSI "cold" to 53 PSI "hot" as the tires warmed while on the road.  It will be interesting to see what happens when towing in warmer temps, next spring.

[dewdev]

I use the TireTracker TPMS system. Using the instruction manual, I found it very easy to program.

My TV already had its own TPMS system so I added only the Ollie to the TireTracker system. For those without a TPMS on their TV, the TireTracker system has enough capability to add both the TV and the Ollie.

[Rivernerd]

1 hour ago, dewdev said:

My TV already had its own TPMS system so I added only the Ollie to the TireTracker system. For those without a TPMS on their TV, the TireTracker system has enough capability to add both the TV and the Ollie.

The Tire Minder also has the ability to monitor both the tow vehicle and all four tires on the trailer.  You just need to buy enough TPMS sensors for all 8 wheels.

[topgun2]

3 hours ago, Rivernerd said:

to monitor both the tow vehicle and all four tires on the trailer.  You just need to buy enough TPMS sensors for all 8 wheels.

Don't forget an extra 2 sensors - 1 for the Ollie spare tire and one for the tow vehicle spare tire!

Bill

[John and Debbie]

45 minutes ago, topgun2 said:

Don't forget an extra 2 sensors - 1 for the Ollie spare tire and one for the tow vehicle spare tire!

Bill

Bill, I have the ViAir air compressor which I plan to have with me.  Initially I thought to get a couple extra for the spare tires, but if I should ever need to put the spare tire on, I figured that I could air up those spares and swap out the Tpms on the new tire.  I think the batteries in those sensors only last a year.  Might want to get eight batteries.

John

[topgun2]

1 hour ago, John Welte said:

if I should ever need to put the spare tire on, I figured that I could air up those spares and swap out the Tpms on the new tire.

True - but - 

Actually for both the Ollie and for my Tow vehicle, the spare tire is a real pita to check the tire pressure.  The extra sensors allow for checking these two tires without the hassle of actually getting to the tire stem.

Bill

[John and Debbie]

25 minutes ago, topgun2 said:

True - but - 

Actually for both the Ollie and for my Tow vehicle, the spare tire is a real pita to check the tire pressure.  The extra sensors allow for checking these two tires without the hassle of actually getting to the tire stem.

Bill

How often do you have to change out the batteries on your tpms?  Our TST lasts a year according to the packaging directions.

I wrote to Matt today.

John

[topgun2]

I have an EEZTire TPMS like GJ above but since most of the more popular brands of these work in a similar fashion, I doubt that there are significant differences.  I've found that I get about 2 years out of a set of batteries. However, when I have Twist stored I take the sensors off the tires, and, remove the batteries.

I'm sure that Matt will be happy to hear from you.

Bill

[John and Debbie]

3 hours ago, topgun2 said:

I have an EEZTire TPMS like GJ above but since most of the more popular brands of these work in a similar fashion, I doubt that there are significant differences.  I've found that I get about 2 years out of a set of batteries. However, when I have Twist stored I take the sensors off the tires, and, remove the batteries.

I'm sure that Matt will be happy to hear from you.

Bill

Good idea about just removing the sensors and batteries.

John

[Geronimo John]

On 12/7/2022 at 5:51 AM, dewdev said:

My TV already had its own TPMS system so I added only the Ollie to the TireTracker system. For those without a TPMS on their TV, the TireTracker system has enough capability to add both the TV and the Ollie.

It sure would be grand if Ford had a software upgrade for our "slightly used" F-150's to allow the onboard TPMS to be extended to our four OE2 tires.  

[Geronimo John]

John and Bill:

Ditto on end of season disassembly and battery removal.  Doing so and keeping the batteries inside a warmer location I think is good for the sensors and batteries.

I believe that their battery life is dependent upon miles used, time in service, and temperature stored when not in use.  In our case, we are averaging with zero battery failures 2+ seasons averaging 6800 miles per  season.  

Would be interesting to know what your average battery use parameters are.   

[GAP]

On 2/28/2022 at 1:45 PM, routlaw said:

Do you folks increase the tire pressure at least in the rear while towing and if so by how much? I have always done this albeit not scientifically and there seems to be no end to the amount of conflicting information about this on the internet. Some people swear the front tires need to be increased also, but this makes no logical sense to me. Thus far I have increased my rears from the recommended 35 psi to 40-45 psi but leave the fronts at their normal rating. 

Finally my current set of tires have been on my F150 for 9 years now and still not worn out and visually look fine, with probably another 10-15,000 miles left on them. I figure I should replace now before camping and touring season starts up. I currently have the Michelin LTX M/S on, but considering the Cooper Discover AT3 AS4's. Anyone have experience with either or have another suggestion.

Thanks a bunch.

I've experimented with this quite a bit.  Non scientific but I can absolutely feel a difference between my tires with different air pressure.  As I use the Anderson weight distribution hitch, I run the same pressure in all tires.  Name plate on the door suggests 35lbs.  Max pressure, as printed on sidewall, is 55.  I have tried towing with everything in between and found that 45-50 is the sweet spot.  At 35, feels to mushy and looses responsiveness.  At 55 feels a bit sharp and gives a chattery ride.    

[Geronimo John]

On 12/7/2022 at 10:32 AM, topgun2 said:

Don't forget an extra 2 sensors - 1 for the Ollie spare tire and one for the tow vehicle spare tire!

I recall that putting our TPMS on spares was not an effective tire monitoring approach.  Unless the tire is turning, it will not for most system report a pressure.  If Ollie has a deflation, when I mount the spare, I transfer the sensor to the spare.

That said, having spare sensors IS a good idea.  So point well taken, just for our system, a different reason.

GJ

[Patriot]

On 12/7/2022 at 6:36 PM, John Welte said:

How often do you have to change out the batteries on your tpms?  Our TST lasts a year according to the packaging directions.

I wrote to Matt today.

John

John,
I have the TST TPMS and I replace the batteries in the sensors once per year. I also remove all batteries on any Ollie remotes when we winterize. Just replace with fresh in the Spring. Old batteries can weep and become a mess if left too long in any device. 

Patriot🇺🇸

[Patriot]

1 hour ago, Geronimo John said:

I recall that putting our TPMS on spares was not an effective tire monitoring approach.  Unless the tire is turning, it will not for most system report a pressure.  If Ollie has a deflation, when I mount the spare, I transfer the sensor to the spare.

That said, having spare sensors IS a good idea.  So point well taken, just for our system, a different reason.

GJ

The TST TPMS we use monitors the tire pressure and tire heat and does not require the tire to be in rotation for a reading.
It also works fine on the stationary spare.

Patriot 🇺🇸

[Geronimo John]

9 hours ago, Patriot said:

The TST TPMS we use monitors the tire pressure and tire heat and does not require the tire to be in rotation for a reading.
It also works fine on the stationary spare.

That's a significant advantage of your TSP TPMS!  Something to verify before purchasing a TPMS for sure.  

[Patriot]

10 minutes ago, Geronimo John said:

That's a significant advantage of your TSP TPMS!  Something to verify before purchasing a TPMS for sure.  

The devil is in all the details for sure. 👍🏻