What pressure should I run when towing a 5th wheel? Total weight of 5th wheel is about 12k pounds. I have stock Michelin tires.

Thanks for opinions and advice.

 

I run 80 PSI in all my tires. That means both the truck and trailer. Just keep good tires on them. I have not had a single tire problem. I went on a 13,000 mile trip last year, with no problems.

 

I use 80 psi rear with my 11200 gvwr 5er with 2200 lbs of pin weight and 65 front as no weight is added to my front axles. And of course the 5er get 80 psi max 365 days a year.

 

As long as you are talking about a single rear wheel truck, I'd run the rears at 80 psi.

Hitch weight is probably around 2000-2200 pounds, plus the weight of the hitch and whatever and whoever else you are hauling.

For the trailer tires, several brands recommend running at the max psi listed on the sidewalls (varies by weight capacity). Since I've been doing that I haven't had another one explode.

 

Stock03
When you say 'stock Michelins' are they LTX 265/70r/17 A/S ....that's what I had on mine. Ran 80# front & rear all the time..32,500 miles even wear & only rotated them once. I agree with Jeff in TD about the trailer tires, max psi listed on sidewall on my 5'vr is 110#...been running at that psi for 18 months...lots of tread left, even wear and no problems so far.

 

we run all are trucks and trailers by what is printed on the sidewall. they made the tire and seem to know what it requires in my opinion

 

If you talk to a tire guy and/or read the sidewall, the pressure you see is the maximum allowed for the maximum weight. Not necessarily the optimum pressure to run.

 

If you keep your tires @ 80 psi,they'll usually wear uneven the center will wear b4 the outside,when I'm empty I run 55 in the back & 65 front,when towing around 72 in the back & 65 in the front

 

Sewman, that was old bias ply tires that swelled in the middle. Radials don,t bulge in the middle unless they are oversize for the rim width. That is why I never use oversize tires.

 

I don't find that to be true at all. Radials will wear out the center just like bias tires. My buddies '99 is doing it with the stock sized 245's on it. I checked the air pressure and he had 80 PSI in them. I would bet he will only get about half the mileage he would have otherwise. Don't believe me, talk to a tire guy. It may be true they could be less prone to do it though.

 

90% of the time i run a lot of weight on all the trucks so we run them at the max pressure for the weight. plus we seem to get a lot more miles out of the tires.

 

That's why the max pressure works for you.

 

I know when i was hauling RVs full time, when I was loaded i would have the rear tires to 70-80psi,, but after I dropped the trailer off, I would drop the air pressure in the back tires to 50 psi, as with running back to Indianna empty and 1700 plus miles empty my stock 245/75/16s would wear the middles out way to fast. I did keep 60 psi in the front tires all the time

This was on my 1996 2500 i did that

 

I have 235,85x16, radials ,10ply on my truck & the stated pressure works for them.

 

Radials will over-wear in the centers, just as sewman says, running 80 psi unloaded all the time.