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Inflate to sidewall! ... oh wait

D

drnickriviera

Platinum Member
So I got a load of stump grindings in the back of my F-150. Back end is sagging, tires are pancaking. I doubt the load is more than 1500lbs. So I look in the manual to see what they say about tire pressure carrying a load as the door sticker only list 1 cold tire pressure, 34psi. Manual says inflate up to max sidewall pressure for maximum load. Ok, look at the tires, max load 2601 lbs @ 35 psi. huh? 35psi that cant be right on my high load trailer and truck tires we are in the 40's and 50's. So I try to find the actual load rating letter on the tires, nothing, then I see the tire size, P265... humm passenger rated tires. Is this common practice or did the PO just try to save some money?

Truck is 5200lbs curb, so I should still be way below max load, but I need to go 400 miles. What speed should I travel? Sub 65? makes no difference?
 
Speed doesn't matter too much but 1500lbs is likely the payload limit. I'd be careful. My uncle uses helper springs (airbags) on his Silverado 1500 when carrying loads like that it still rides low.
 
I guess I was mainly concerned about the amount of sidewall flex and overheating. Higher speed = more heat? I'll probably just putt putt at 60 and stop at the rest stops to check on them. I think i'm being conservative at 1500, I was able to shovel it with a manure fork, so it is pretty light material. Unfortunately I only put 2k miles on this truck in 6 months, so it will be long gone before I need new tires. I'm surprised a shop put those on if they have LT tires on it before
 
I'd drive as I normally would, factoring in stopping distance as noted above. Some get squirrely with a lot of weight, so make sure you're familiar with the handling before you go too fast.

P vs LT is customer preference, usually based on price. The way many people use trucks, passenger tires are sufficient. I wouldn't expect a shop to contradict a customer's choice.
 
You can put more than max sidewall in if you have a heavy load. DOn't over do it, but 5 PSI isn't going to hurt and it may prevent some of the sidewall flex that you are worried about.

My 2012 F-150 Max sidewall is 44 PSI... I run them at 35 PSI normally as indicated unless I have the trailer hooked up.
 
WackyDan said:
You can put more than max sidewall in if you have a heavy load. DOn't over do it, but 5 PSI isn't going to hurt and it may prevent some of the sidewall flex that you are worried about.

My 2012 F-150 Max sidewall is 44 PSI... I run them at 35 PSI normally as indicated unless I have the trailer hooked up.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't inflate past manufacturer specs, especially on a long road trip where you're looking at working the tire hard for hundreds of miles.
 
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