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[RC] Tire Pressure and Weight - Patti KuvikHi Teri - For a long time, I relied on a "reputable" tire place when I got replacement tires for my truck. But I didn't like the way the sidewalls looked under load, so I did some learning and found they had been selling me "D" load rated tires when I should have been using "E" rated tires. They grudgingly upgraded my tires to the proper load rating when I yelled about them putting my life and horses in jeopardy. The "C", "D" and "E" refer to the load rating for the tire, the heavier the load, the higher rating you need. The "C", "D" or "E" will be on the side of the tire, either shown as "Load Rating" or it will be the letter at the end of the tire number. You're always safer going higher (from a C to a D or E). The first number on your tires should read LT for "light truck" - if it's a "P" then they are passenger car, not truck tires. (Many tires listed for F-150's and some listed for Ram 1500 are "P" tires, even for a 1/2 ton truck, I'd go with "LT" tires.) Discount Tire's website has an easy to read tire info section (for those of us that need this info simplified) - start with "how to read tire size". http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/infoHome.dos There is a plate inside the the driver door opening that has the truck mfg's tire recommendation for tire size, load rating and inflation. The new tires you got should have the same numbers and letters on them (unless you went up a size, which can be OK, but have someone who understands tires but is not selling them to you check this for you). Also on the plate is the GAWR (Gross Axle Weight Rating). This is higher for the rear axle than the front. Each tire must have a "maximum" load rating that is at least half this (this is the numbers on the tire that say something similar to "Max load 1234 lbs at 50 psi"). For example, my rear GAWR is 6830 lbs, front is 4850 lbs. My tires are "Max load 3415 lbs at 80 psi" inflation (half of 6830). So these tires are acceptable for the max weight I might be putting on the rear axle (a proportion of the truck weight, the tongue weight of the trailer, plus any "stuff" - water tanks, etc. I might put in the bed of the truck). Your new tires, at 1850 lbs, will only support a rear axle weight of 3700lbs. The rear GAWR for a basic F-150 is 3500 lbs (Dodge Ram 1500 is 3900 lbs). So, depending on your truck, these tires may be under rated. It's the air pressure, not the tire itself, that supports the truck and trailer. I've never had a truck tire (even the "C" tires on my F-150) use less than 65psi. Hope my "non-techie" explanation helps. Patti Kuvik Vail AZ From: "Teri Hunter" <teri@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Subject: [RC] Tire Pressure and Weight I am going to apologize at the start but I really need to know this = question. I just bought 4 new tires for my truck. I told the tire = people exactly what I was hauling and how much the trailer weighed. = They put the tires on and told me these would be more than I would need. = If my tires say 50psi, when I am hauling my gooseneck should it be = filled to 50psi or should it be less? Also, the tires say 1850 weight = limit, is that x 4 for four tires which would mean 7400? Thanks for your help =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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