OK guys about to go on 3000 mile journey and I have 1500-1600 in the bed and towing 6000 lbs , Just put on a putnam V but I am worried about the tires they are BFG at D's that are good for 3300 @ 50 PSI , but the factory rims are the old steel narrow ones and the tires wear in the middle @ 50 psi , just worried about not all of the tire hitting the pavement and causeing extra stress ????? I don't know my tongue weight yet ( still some things to go in trailer) but I will try to keep it at 600 lbs , so that will be aprox 2200 lbs on the rear of the truck. Am I good to go.????

 

I run 3k lbs Plus ( in the bed, Truck camper, 6400 rear axle load ) on 3360lb rated tires ( 285/'D's)
so far, About 20K miles loaded, No indication of tire problems..
the side load of a swaying trailer may add some additional tire stress
...reasonable speed may be in order.
Placing the bed load as forward as possible will help with the rear axle weight.

I do check the tires for inflation and overheat when traveling.
Small ( cheap ) laser thermometer ( china tool outlet )

May want to weigh the rig loaded to be sure of the tongue weight

Note: I do clean the rims & inspect them when I do a tire rotation,
as I have noted some incidents here on the forum,of cracked Alum rims.

 

Thats what I,m worried about , the alum rims are wider , I have them on my 02 and the 285s on them sit flat at max psi. The older steel ones are narrower maybe 7 inch wide ???? and the tires don't make full contact with the road.Worried about sidewall stress with 2300 lbs on the bed.

 

i posted this in the load range g thread i think it would help you as well ...


i have always set my pressures by the tire wear. take a large ( carpenters type) crayon or grease pencil and draw a line across the tread. drive a couple of hundred yards on flat smooth pavement. if the middle of the line wears away then too much pressure if the edges go away then not enough. repeat until you get an even amount of wear across the entire tread patch. i have done this with all of my vehicles and tend to get better than average tire life. just remember to write it down. you can also do this to the truck empty and when pulling the trailer to make the necessary adjustments for the load you carry.


your tire when inflated to the max of 50 psi on an unloaded truck should only hit in the middle. when loaded to the max it should flatten out to the correct contact patch. i used to see alot of this with guys and their lifted trucks on huge "swamper style" tires ... lots of tread around the edge but bald as a baby's butt in the middle. tire sidewall and vehicle door jamb ratings are only an average and a place to start. i have never gotten flat wear on a set of truck tires running the same psi in front and rear tires when empty.

 

Don't forget the torque wrench to check the wheel nuts en route. If they come lose the best that can happen is the wheel studs get wrecked and the rims get square holes. The worst is you lose the wheel.