I'm running stock (215-85-16) tires on my 05 dually. I carry a camper in the summer and the rear axle wt is 6300 lbs and I pressure the rears at 65 lbs. Empty, the rear axle weight is 3200 lbs. I was running 60 lbs when empty. The ride was harsh and the centres of the rears are starting to wear. I lowered the rears to 50 lbs and the ride is much nicer. I run the fronts at 65 with the camper on and 60 empty. Is 65 lbs on the rear too much to spread the weight over the 4 tires (1600 lbs per tire) with the camper on, and is 50 lbs enough when running empty (800 lbs per tire)? My camper weighs 3500 lbs loaded.
Thanks in Advance,
Ken

I run a caulk mark across the tread to see how it wears? Then adjust from there.

I have in front of me the Goodyear inflation tables for light truck metric tires. I use this chart to air my tires up correctly so to make sure that the tires are not over or under inflated and also to achieve max. tire life along with smoothest ride possible.
You state that when loaded your rear axle weighs in at 6,300lbs. So when I devide that by 4 tires I come up with 1,575lbs per rear tire. Looking at the chart under LT215/85-16 and also looking in the (D) dual column, the chart puts you at 43lbs per tire loaded.
We have very simular rear axle weight loads. My rear axle with my 5ver hitched up is 6,120lbs devided by 4 is 1,530lbs per tire. I also run 43lbs. per tire in the rear duals.
Now with my 5ver loaded my front axle weighs in at 4,540lbs devided by 2 equals 2,270lbs per tire. Looking at the inflation tables under (S) single tire the chart states 63lbs per tire.
I run 65lbs in the front tires whether I'm loaded or not. Now for the rear duals when I'm unloaded and for you also at 3,200lbs axle weight or 800lbs per tire the chart doesn't go down to that light of weight. The lowest PSI under the dual column is 35psi at 1360lbs per tire. Again we have 800lbs per tire so I run 32lbs per tire in the duals when unloaded. The truck rides very well and the tires wear very evenly also.

Go to the Goodyear site and print you a copy of the inflation tables so you can have the proper tire inflation that the tire manufactures recommend for the weight that the tires are supporting. Hope this helps.

You didn't say whether you had "D" or "E" load range tires. The max. load infl. pres. for the "D" range tires is 65 psi. 80 psi. on the "E" range. I keep 65 in my '07 3500 dually even when I'm not carrying my camper which weighs about 5,600 lbs. more or less depending how much beer I'm carrying. The tires might wear in the center of the tread, but they'll run much cooler and overall I'm not convinced they'll last any longer by reducing the air press. and having them run hotter. Just my $.02

What ever max rating on side of tire 80 for E rated tires
Use Pressure pro so do not have to check

I run 75 all the way around..

Im running 65 up front and 70's in the rear all the time. Its too much of a pita changing pressures 10 times a day. Yea their wearing a lil uneven back their but hey,you have to replace them 4 at a time anyways and Ive gotten 65k out of them so far.

What ever max rating on side of tire 80 for E rated tires
Use Pressure pro so do not have to check


Forgive me for being so dumb. But what is presure pro?
Thanks Ron:)

I have in front of me the Goodyear inflation tables for light truck metric tires. I use this chart to air my tires up correctly so to make sure that the tires are not over or under inflated and also to achieve max. tire life along with smoothest ride possible.
You state that when loaded your rear axle weighs in at 6,300lbs. So when I devide that by 4 tires I come up with 1,575lbs per rear tire. Looking at the chart under LT215/85-16 and also looking in the (D) dual column, the chart puts you at 43lbs per tire loaded.
We have very simular rear axle weight loads. My rear axle with my 5ver hitched up is 6,120lbs devided by 4 is 1,530lbs per tire. I also run 43lbs. per tire in the rear duals.
Now with my 5ver loaded my front axle weighs in at 4,540lbs devided by 2 equals 2,270lbs per tire. Looking at the inflation tables under (S) single tire the chart states 63lbs per tire.
I run 65lbs in the front tires whether I'm loaded or not. Now for the rear duals when I'm unloaded and for you also at 3,200lbs axle weight or 800lbs per tire the chart doesn't go down to that light of weight. The lowest PSI under the dual column is 35psi at 1360lbs per tire. Again we have 800lbs per tire so I run 32lbs per tire in the duals when unloaded. The truck rides very well and the tires wear very evenly also.

Go to the Goodyear site and print you a copy of the inflation tables so you can have the proper tire inflation that the tire manufactures recommend for the weight that the tires are supporting. Hope this helps.

YGBSM! I think this is a little overkill. I run 65 psi all around like the manufacturer recommends on the door sill. When I put that 2380 pounds of pin weight on my hitch, I don't want an under-inflated, heat-building tire on the back of my truck that could end up ala the Explorer/Firestone debacle.

YGBSM! I think this is a little overkill. I run 65 psi all around like the manufacturer recommends on the door sill. When I put that 2380 pounds of pin weight on my hitch, I don't want an under-inflated, heat-building tire on the back of my truck that could end up ala the Explorer/Firestone debacle.

YGBSM. You base your statement around the fact that the truck manufacturer recommends 65lbs on the door sill. Where's the validity at in that statement? If your truck has D rated tires then 65lbs of air would be the max. pressure per tire at a determined weight load. If you have E rated tires then 80lbs of air would be the max at a determined weight load and so on. As I have stated this is the so called max weight but you can lower the air pressure if there is not alot of weight on the tires. This is still safe and will also acheive a better quality ride. One way to do this would be to weigh the vehicles rear axle on a set of scales to see how much weight the tires are supporting when loaded and unloaded. Thats why the tire manufacturers take the time to print a chart so that their custormers can have the knowledge to optimize the ride quality of the tire and still be safe.
I drive my dually as a daily driver and 80% of the time it's unloaded. I don't know about your truck but mine rides very rough with 65-80lbs of air in the duals. So airing down to 32 or 35lbs per tire in the rear makes the truck ride so much smoother crossing R.R.tracks, ect. during that 80% of the time. I wouldn't believe that I am underinflated because I base my knowledge from the tire manufacturer chart and the unloaded weight of my truck. I just exercise the option to deflate my tires when unloaded and I don't consider it a overkill for the ride quality I receive.
Now on the other hand when I am preparing to go on a trip with my 5ver I inflate the rear duals to their proper state (43lbs) to handle the weight they are supporting along with checking the 5ver tires, lights, brakes, trucks oil level and so on. It's all part of the process that I execute before I tow. Again at 43lbs in the rear duals they are not underinflated.
I guess to make a long story short it all comes down to personal prefference and I personally think that 65lbs in my rear duals are somewhat of an overkill.;)

boy that just sounds to low to me. I run 75 when running the 5er 2900 on the pin, scaled @ 16980 i had a tire go down @ one ponit had 50 psi and that skin was way hotter that the other 3... as for the front 70 psi and in the winter 75 because my v plow is so heavy.. all of my past three duallys i was able to get 60 k out of the stock rubber.

Well, I have E rated tires and the manufacturer recommends 65. My old Dodge ('96) called for 80 in the rear and 50 in the front while loaded, and 50/50 when not. I thought that the tire manufactuer and the truck manufacturer agree on the specifications and pressures for the tires. I agree that loads are indeed different--my pin weight is 2380 pounds. But that weight is at a static, one G situation. What is the load when I hit a bump? While the load is going up, there is less weight on the tires, when that load comes back down, there is more load on the tires. What is the compromise? I compromise by going with the manufacturer's recommendation for tire pressure.

I run a caulk mark across the tread to see how it wears? Then adjust from there.

Care to elaborate a little more on this ?
Do you mean Chalk or Caulk ?
Do you put it on and ride down the road ? Seems like that would sling Caulk all over the side of the truck.

Just curious about this ...

The load range E Goodyears that came from the factory lasted 50K; I replaced them with another set of Goodyears.

I kept them inflated at 80psi 24/7. 90% of the time I am hauling a 4K slide-in camper. I chose not to be bothered with changing the pressure when empty.

2002 D/A extended cab dually.

I have a fairly constant load in my bed (---"built-ins" under the tonneau topper) and I run 50 psi in the duals until I hook up the trailer - at which time I go to 55 psi. The trailer tongue load is 950 lbs and I use an equalizer hitch. Search the Goodyear chart carefully and you'll find that, regardless of load, they don't recommend less than 45 psi. Right now, I am at 57,000 miles and I show almost perfect wear across the duals. My axle weight, empty, is 3,960 lbs and, when loaded, 4,900 lbs. At 50 psi my theoretical capacity is 7060, and at 55 psi it is 7460 - according to the Goodyear chart - so capacity and actual weights don't really compare. I'm also running a replacement set of rear springs (GM approved) that reduce my rear axle capacity by 2,000 lbs, while lowering the rear end of the truck about 4.25 inches. The softer springs are out of respect for the 30' Airstream trailer we tow, and my wife's comfort. The dually rides like a Cadillac when loaded - and it's fairly docile when light too!

I certainly did not buy my truck for the "ride"....It's a 1-ton Dually not a Cadillac. I run 75psi in the front and 65psi in the rears all the time. The door panel calls for 70psi front and 65psi rear. I guess it really comes down to what your comfortable with and what is safe. I am running Bridgestone Revo's in the stock Load E 215's.

80 psi is all ive ever ran in mine, even when towing my 14K lb. 5'r. Tires have always worn absolutely PERFECTLY. 100K on the clock, and ive never even had the front end aligned.

Care to elaborate a little more on this ?
Do you mean Chalk or Caulk ?
Do you put it on and ride down the road ? Seems like that would sling Caulk all over the side of the truck.

Just curious about this ...
He means chalk. A line across the width of the tread will show you if you are running on the centers. Once you put a line on them drive in a straight line and observe. If the line is gone in the center and remains on the edges, let some air out and try again.

I'm not an expert on this but be careful when you start to inflate around the 80psi range . As your E rated tires will handle the pressure you may not have a Rim that can handle this pressure , in fact many of them have a max rating of 65 psi . I found this out on my toy hauler tire and rim match-up the previous owner put E-rated tires on a D rated rim .They did work I just never put that much psi in them - kept around 65 max .

Weigh - and then inflate according to the tire charts - Goodyear, Michelin - or whatever. IMHO, the door sticker assumes that the truck is being loaded to the max and it provides a finite point for legal purposes. The front axle capacity of my 2003 Dually is 4,800 lbs and, at 70 psi (---door sticker pressure) the tires are rated 2,430/ea or a net 4,860 lbs. The scale weight for my front axle, when loaded, is 4,200 lbs and, when empty, 4,400 lbs (---yes, towing on the ball does "unload" the front axle in spite of using equalizer bars. It would "unload" even more without the bars.) I keep the inflation at 65 psi, which provides a net of 4,670 lbs and a better ride. To inflate to 75 or 80 psi would do nothing more than provide a more harsh ride - since the manufacturers axle capacity does not change. The same scenario pertains to the rear axle capacity (8,550 lbs) where the duals, at 65 psi provide a net capacity of 8,600 lbs. Note that the vehicles net capacity is 11,400 lbs - not the 13,400 lbs implied by adding the front and rear axle capacities. The bed capacity, relative to a pickup truck camper or 5th wheel, is 3,368 lbs. If I eliminate the built-ins I carry, the scale weight of my rear axle would probably be about 3,500 lbs - therefore, 3,500 + 3,368 = 6,868 lbs + 4,400 lbs (front axle scale weight) = 11,268 lbs - or 132 lbs below max vehicle capacity. That leaves room for a good-looking blonde if my wife would let me have one! That said, the 55 psi I inflate the duals to when loaded yields a 7460 lb capacity. There's much to be said for the dynamics of asymetrical loading, skidding, and the like - but certainly the actual scale weight and design capacity of the the front axle is far more intimate than that of the rear axle. In other words, IMHO, I have a far greater margin of safety on my rear axle than on my front axle.

With further respect to safety, I would just as soon rely on the tire manufacturer's recommendations as I would the truck manufacturer's.

I started out to tow a 5th wheel but I never found one that I was happy with that was within the truck's capacity. Truth be known, IMHO, there are many 5ers out there that far exceed the TV's capacity - and, as for truck campers, I never found one that I could haul. We switched to a 30' Airstream (8,400 lbs loaded and 990 lbs on the ball) and I replaced the truck's rear springs to soften the ride. I've been happy as heck with this setup and I wouldn't trade the stability of the dually for anything!

I run 65 in the front and 60 in the rear all the time m/t or loaded

80 psi is all ive ever ran in mine, even when towing my 14K lb. 5'r. Tires have always worn absolutely PERFECTLY. 100K on the clock, and ive never even had the front end aligned.
This sounds like me. I'm always loaded, 80psi, and have driven a dually since 1981. All GMC, 1981 (350), 1985 (454) and now '06 LBZ
I have had an occasional alignment over the years, probably more because I figured it's what you're supposed to do, rather than actually needing it.
The '85 had close to 300,000 miles on it...not bad for that weak GM front end, wouldn't you say?
I might add that after the stock tires gave out at around 25,000 miles, I always ran what I considered the best tires money can buy, Michelin XPS Rib. Always got at least 60,000 miles, sometimes more, on those fully inflated, loaded down tires.