Ram 1500 - Correct tire inflation psi?

I have a 2005 Ram 1500, 4x4, standard cab short bed. I have LT245/17" sized tires on it, General Grabber TR. Load Range D. Says max PSI 65 cold

I cannot find what the recommended inflation pressure is for this. I'm going to be moving across the country with it, carrying two people and several hundred pounds of cargo. The door sticker says 35psi.. but that was for the factory style tires (20" aluminum rims). I think those were basically car tires, but I may be mistaken

Any recommendations? Thanks!

Go with the vehicle manufacturers recommendation.

my door sticker on my 06 ram 2500 with lt265/17E is 60 front with 45 back on light loads and 60 front 70 back on max load

thanks for the info

I am thinking that the tire on the truck now is larger than original so like you said the tires and rims were different. Don't try to run 35 psi in those tires, ever and you know that.

I highly recommend that you run them at 65psi during your move and on long highway trips. Then when you get where your going with less load you could easily take 15psi out to help the truck ride better around town. But not under load and on long highway trips.

thanks!

http://www.firestonecompleteautocare.com...le.submodel=SLT

http://www.firestonecompleteautocare.com...le.submodel=SLT

neither one shows your tire size

Holy bad advice in this thread.

All of it.

My wife had an 05 Ram 1500 SLT, 2wd, with those sized tires. Inflation pressure was 35psi on the door jamb, I think someone missed seeing that size on the Firestone site, it's there.

Owner's manual should have it too, for all factory installed sizes. To save you the search they are all 35 psi.

Give some good advice. What you got?

With the tire changes you made, it is a judgement call.
IMO, with a good load in the truck (350 lbs of people, 500 lbs in the bed) I would run 40 psi in the front and 50 psi in the rear tires on the highway trips. It doesn't need that much, and 35 psi would be OK, but that is my recommendation. With only driver and no cargo, 35 psi should be fine.

I run recommended pressure if it has the original tires but once they have been changed, I base the pressure I run depending on the max rating on the sidewall of the replacement tire.

I put 32psi in tire that is 35 max.
44 max gets 40psi.
51 max gets 45psi which is what I currently have on my 2000 Neon.
Why should I run 32psi on a tire that is 51psi max? I'll take the MPG a higher PSI provides over a softer low pressure ride.

Probably a waste of time, but:

Whatever is on the door sticker goes out the window when you take the factory tires off, and you sure as hell don't run the "max" pressure unless you are loaded to the max. Are you carrying 7200 pounds on this trip? Mine are stamped 3200 each x 4 minus the weight of the truck, and that's what I would have to be hauling to go to 65 pounds.

Go by the bulge of the tire and the wear pattern, every tire is different.

My Michelins are "D" rated on my 5600 lb QuadCab I settled on 46 front, 44 rear. Lots of long distance trips with 800 pounds in the back at those pressures as well.

Only time I ever put 60 in the back is when I'm towing a 7000 pound trailer.

For those who are certain to argue with me, here: 161,000 miles on these tires, see any problems?

Seems no one understands that the size he has on his truck right now is a factory installed size. Factory recommended pressures apply.

If that's the case, then why does the tire say 65# max at max load?

The OP is moving with a loaded vehicle, over pressure sure is better than under pressure that's for sure on the highway. I wonder what he has been running up until now? If the tire says 65#, then why would you be afraid to run 65#?

I have trailered over 250K miles in the last 25 years with my trailer tires over filled by 10# from what the sidewall says on 5 different trailers and no tire trouble. I have wore out many trailer tires and none have failed, my experience. Only trailer tires should be over filled if you are going to drive 65MPH+ on the highway.

I stand by what I recommended as I maintain many vehicles for a living not all driven by me. And I would run the same pressure in all tires.

The listing on the tire refers solely to the tire's maximum capacity, which can very well exceed the truck's maximum capacity

The listing on the truck is a determination by the vehicle manufacturer of the proper pressure to safely carry the rated load of the truck while allowing for proper wear of the tire.

Too little pressure wears the outsides of the tread, too much wears the center of the tread. Both decrease traction.

More air increases the tires ability to carry a load, less air decreases it. However, pumping up the pressure doesn't allow the truck to carry more load.

I appreciate the activity here. The back and forth is exactly what was going on in my mind. Symmetry

Anyway, as mentioned, 35psi is on the door. I didn't find it in the manual, but it's probably there somewhere.

The factory tires were passenger car tires.. the P275 20s. I ran them at car-ish pressures (30-32) and the centers still wore out first. So, I probably should have kept them around 28 as that usage was commuting and not hauling.

Using that as a baseline, I'd expect the LT tires would behave no differently. It's not like they react differently to air pressure. I have them at 35psi right now. As a rough guess, I'd say about a 1000 lbs of cargo including passengers. maybe between 6000 and 6200 total weight. It's only 1200 miles to my destination. (I'm sure it will feel like a million at the end)

At that PSI the sidewall looks fine. definitely does not look underinflated. I suppose a higher PSI would help keep us awake over the supposed 20 hour trip, but I'd rather try to not adversely wear out the centers. I suppose if I believe anything bad is going on, I can just air up at a gas station

Thanks for the effort.

Seems to me if you wore out the center they may have been more then 32 psi. The tire pressure on the door are for cold tires.

Hmmm those are 17 inch off road wheels...

You betcha, probably one of the best looking wheels ever for the 2nd Gens. They even look pretty cool on a 2wd.

How's that Off-Road of yours been holding up? Just over 235,000 on mine and my replacement trans seems to be holding up.