5.0 TA tow vehicle tire pressure

[Ronn]

I am wondering what opinions and advice others have concerning the tow vehicle's tire pressures when towing a 5.0TA. Thanks, Ronn

 

[davidmurphy02]

The answer to that question will be specific to your truck and what tires you have on it - there's a wide range of tire types, weight ratings, and max inflation pressure.

In general the tire pressure recommended by the truck manufacturer, and posted on the door frame sticker, will be on the low side. Trucks tend to ride smoother with lower tire pressure. When we are towing our 5.0TA I air up the back tires closer to the maximum cold pressure indicated on the tire - they are at their full rated weight capacity when they are at that max pressure. I have not noticed a significant difference in the smoothness of the ride with more pressure in the rear tires while towing.

Things are different if you are using heavy LT load range E tires on your truck. They often have very high max pressure ratings, as much as 80 psi, and are capable of carrying more weight than you need. If you inflate LT tires up to their max pressure you will get a noticeably rough ride.

 

[padlin]

I go by the sticker on the door jamb, 60 & 65, and I have E rated tires.

 

[cpaharley2008]

Interestingly though are the trailer tires. My first 3 Escapes had 50 psi tires, the new one has 65 psi tires....

 

[Brian B-P]

The manufacturer's recommended inflation pressure is certainly the right starting point, and for most people the only pressure to use. It will be high enough to handle the rated axle load, and how far above that depends on the manufacturer's chosen compromise between handling, ride, and fuel economy.

There may may not be a benefit of going higher.

 

[Ronn]

[/B]

The manufacturer's recommended inflation pressure is certainly the right starting point, and for most people the only pressure to use. It will be high enough to handle the rated axle load, and how far above that depends on the manufacturer's chosen compromise between handling, ride, and fuel economy.

There may may not be a benefit of going higher.

Hi Brian, do you mean the vehicle manufacture's recommended tire pressure?

Thanks, Ronn

 

[Brian B-P]

Hi Brian, do you mean the vehicle manufacture's recommended tire pressure?

Yes, the vehicle manufacturer. The tire manufacturer does not publish recommended inflation pressure, only the minimum inflation pressure for various loads, and the maximum inflation pressure.

 

[Brian B-P]

... they are at their full rated weight capacity when they are at that max pressure.

Although more pressure in general means more capacity, standard load range "P" type tires (which are commonly used on pickup trucks) typically reach their maximum load capacity at about 35 PSI, but can be inflated to 44 PSI.

 

[Brian B-P]

There may may not be a benefit of going higher.

This was supposed to be
There may or may not be a benefit to going higher.

 

[marsman]

I have a 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew with a Michelin Defender 275 55 R20 tires. According to the manufacturers label, recommended max payload is 1782 pounds (I seem to travel with about 1500 pounds total including cargo, people and trailer), recommended tire pressure is 35psi. On the tires the maximum recommended pressure is 44psi.

Can anyone tell me what they think I should be running in my tow vehicle tire pressure when towing my 5.0TA? My thoughts are to slightly overinflate my tires to a cold pressure of about 38 pounds,,,,comments?

Should mention that i am generally travelling from Canada (cold to very cold) to southern States where it is considerably warmer; assume this should be taken into account?

 

[Brian B-P]

I have a 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew with a Michelin Defender 275 55 R20 tires. According to the manufacturers label, recommended max payload is 1782 pounds (I seem to travel with about 1500 pounds total including cargo, people and trailer), recommended tire pressure is 35psi. On the tires the maximum recommended pressure is 44psi.

The payload and maximum tire inflation pressure are not recommendations - they are limits.

In the Michelin Canada product listings only the DEFENDER® LTX™ MS™ matches the name and size.

This tire follows the European tire standards for general-purpose tires, and would have higher load capacity with higher pressure, up to the maximum inflation pressure. Note: this is not made to light truck (LT) tire standards, despite the name. The 44 PSI limit is a bit unusual for this type of tire.

Ford says to use 35 PSI for some combination of load capacity, handling, and rolling resistance; they don't say to use higher because it isn't needed, and isn't optimal for the balance of ride and handling in typical use.

Can anyone tell me what they think I should be running in my tow vehicle tire pressure when towing my 5.0TA? My thoughts are to slightly overinflate my tires to a cold pressure of about 38 pounds,,,,comments?

If it makes the truck more stable when towing you might choose a higher pressure (still under 44 PSI cold). I do this on my van, when it is towing with tires that allow higher inflation pressure than the vehicle manufacturer specifies (also 35 PSI in my case).

Should mention that i am generally travelling from Canada (cold to very cold) to southern States where it is considerably warmer; assume this should be taken into account?

Just adjust inflation to the same chosen value each day before starting to drive.

 

[Tin]

Personally i would not tow a 5.0 TA with "Passenger tires". If you every have a chance to physically compare the two you will understand. YMMV

 

[Brian B-P]

Personally i would not tow a 5.0 TA with "Passenger tires". If you every have a chance to physically compare the two you will understand. YMMV

Most pickup trucks come from the factory on "P" type or standard Euro tires - few have LT ("light truck") or commercial tires. They are all suitable for the duty that the truck can handle.

 

[John in Santa Cruz]

Most pickup trucks come from the factory on "P" type or standard Euro tires - few have LT ("light truck") or commercial tires. They are all suitable for the duty that the truck can handle.

I swapped the passenger class XL tires that came on my Tacoma for LT tires and it was way less sketchy near max loads.

the tire maximum load rating is at the tires maximum pressure, and LT tire generally have higher pressure and load ratings, but you should run the pressure recommended by the vehicle unless you are running a different size tire, then you need to find the pressure load table which most tire manufactures dont make readily available, I think Toyo's table is out, and this is pretty generic, a given size tire needs a certain pressure at a specified load, and the tire construction determines that tires maximum pressure.

I ran load range E BF Goodrich All Terrain KO2's on my Tacoma that came with 'P' series tires, and I stuck close the the original tire pressures. the KO2s were load range E, so could handle like 65 or 75 PSI but the Tacomas weigh was totally happy on like 40 ls or something (all these numbers are imaginary, based on guesses of what I used years ago). When I got into serious dirt with that Tacoma I'd run them as soft as 20 psi and wished I had bead lockers so I could run 8 psi.

my f250 requires load range E tires, heh. i forget the correct pressures, but they are like 45 front, 60 rear, ro something under max load. When I asked my local tire shop for a set of BFG A/T KO2s, they told me theres two versions in my size, the regular ones, and a 'heavy duty' version. on superduty class trucks, the regular ones are more likely to chunk chips out of the tread blocks. the tire shop called the heavy duty ones the 'commercial truck version'. The regular ones have the superiod 3 Peak Mountain Snowflake snow tire rating, while the heavy duty version just are M+S. I opted for the 'commercial' version since i foresaw a lot more highway miles than dirt or snow miles.

the heavy duty version of the BF Goodrich All Terrain KO2's are only available in a few sizes.

 

[Brian B-P]

the tire maximum load rating is at the tires maximum pressure, and LT tire generally have higher pressure and load ratings...

Yes, all types of tires come on various pressure and resulting load ratings. Standard load (SL) and extra load (XL) "passenger" tires correspond to Load Range B and C light truck, trailer, and commercial tires. Higher pressures (and loads) are not available in "passenger" tires because no one wants hard skinny tires in a passenger vehicle... but all an Escape needs is the 50 PSI and corresponding load capacity of a Load Range C or XL tire.

 

[marsman]

Personally i would not tow a 5.0 TA with "Passenger tires". If you every have a chance to physically compare the two you will understand. YMMV

I did a lot of research on these tires before purchase and there is a lot of discussion on various forums including the airstream forum; they are a popular tire because of there quiet ride and their durability. On Motor Trends article "Top-7 Tires for Towing Heavy Loads" published on Jan 27, 2020 they say:

"The Michelin Defender LTX M/S is a great tire for nearly every driving condition (it does exceptionally well in wet weather). It features Michelin's Evertread compound, and an additional steel belt for increased durability and stability when towing (trailers up to 13,000 pounds). Defender Series tires are typically super quiet and provide cabin occupants with a very smooth ride on the highway."

I've only towed the 5TA twice now with these new tires for a total of about 1500 miles, once it was on a very very windy day and they seem to run really well, very stable ride and no swaying. Also must take into account that the pin weight on an Escape 5 is only about 800-900 lbs and my total paylaod weight when towing is generally about 200lbs less than max rated.

Additionally, the difference in noise from the stock Firestones to these is remarkable. I'm just asking opinions on inflation settings.

 

[John in Santa Cruz]

I did a lot of research on these tires before purchase and there is a lot of discussion on various forums including the airstream forum; they are a popular tire because of there quiet ride and their durability. On Motor Trends article "Top-7 Tires for Towing Heavy Loads" published on Jan 27, 2020 they say:

"The Michelin Defender LTX M/S is a great tire for nearly every driving condition (it does exceptionally well in wet weather). It features Michelin's Evertread compound, and an additional steel belt for increased durability and stability when towing (trailers up to 13,000 pounds). Defender Series tires are typically super quiet and provide cabin occupants with a very smooth ride on the highway."

I've only towed the 5TA twice now with these new tires for a total of about 1500 miles, once it was on a very very windy day and they seem to run really well, very stable ride and no swaying. Also must take into account that the pin weight on an Escape 5 is only about 800-900 lbs and my total paylaod weight when towing is generally about 200lbs less than max rated.

Additionally, the difference in noise from the stock Firestones to these is remarkable. I'm just asking opinions on inflation settings.

if they are the same size as the stock tires for the tow vehicle, inflate them as the vehicle suggests for maximum load when you're towing.

alternately, load your rig for travel, and bring it to a truck scale. they will give you
1) front axle only
2) front + rear axle - must be <= GVWR
3) front + rear + trailer axle(s) - must be <= GCWR

so take 2-1 and thats your rear axle weight. now look up your tire load rating here, https://www.toyotires.com/media/3729/application_of_load_inflation_tables_20200723.pdf and see what air pressure is recommended for the axle weights divided by two (for two wheels).

example: 1) 3500 lbs 2) 7500 lbs.
so your front wheels are 1750 lbs each
so 2-1 is 4000 lbs, so your rear wheels are 2000 lbs each.

skip to the end of that doc, there's several dense tables, first (page 34) is for standard load passenger ISO tires, 2nd (page 36) is for extra load (XL) passenger ISO tires.

if you are using a passenger XL tire with a load rating of 108 (last table in doc), you could run 32 PSI front, 38 PSI rear.

 

[marsman]

Thanks John, I can do that next time I run out to the dump; I'll use their scale. Very helpful. Cheers