I guess I could pump the fronts up to 80 as well since when loaded I am pretty evenly distributed weight-wise front to back (4420 front, 4440 rear -CAT scale #s) with my current 5th wheel hooked up but the ride is harsh enough as it is. Also, that is basically recommended differential front to rear by the DCX.

 

I found out two trucks ago that 70# rear and 65# front works great for me. My last truck had 72000 on the original tires when I traded it and they still had 3/16" of tread left. I rotate them every 10000 miles. So far I am runing these pressures on my current truck and she is wearing evenly at 5700 miles. When I took delivery I thought the handling was a little sloppy, checked the pressure it had 55# all the way around. Bumped it up to current specs and it feels right now. I don't think the ride is bad either.

 

65 in the front at a minimum. Rear empty less than 50! 45 is good. There is no weight in the rear empty. 80 is for a MAX load!

The front with a CTD needs more air pressure than the rear unless you run at 50% or more load. I run 75 psi front with the plow.

I have the 2500 and with 65 psi in the front the tires squat a bit. More than the rears at 45 psi.

The turds at the lube shop put 40 front and 65 rear ... I made it only to the parking lot exit before I felt something horribly wrong. Talk about mush!

After showing the kids how the tires looked they finally "got it" and now understand the front needs more air pressure in the rear.

If you run empty most of the time why run anything over 50? Now if you load it up often it's a PITA to fill and drain over and over so leaving them a little hard is fine.

Keep an eye on the fronts. An under inflated front tire will wear FAST then you are on the hook for new skins way to early. Running 50 in the rear wore the centers out early since what I haul weighs very little. Light but big.

I have to admit the times I load up the truck with wood pellets (to heat my house) the 2500-3000 lbs sure makes it ride smoooooth! LOL it does add to your braking distance

 

Ive always put more in the front than the rear with all o f my trucks. But I also dont travel with a load that much.

 

70 front, 70 rear, I put 80% of my milage towing 6,000-8,000# trailers. Im getting good wear patterns, though when I run empty the rear is a bit "bouncy", but it is a PITA to change the rear tire pressure back and fourth between 50 and 70.

 

Like someone else stated, my tires had about 50#s of pressure all around when I took delivery. I have the standard tires. I immediately increased the pressure according to the specs on the door jamb sticker. I then hauled about 1200 lbs in the bed for 3000 miles at 70 - 80 MPH. About 60 miles of this trip was in 4-wheel drive on a gravel road at 35+ MPH. Everything was fine at the recommended pressures posted on the sticker. I only have 4500 miles on the truck right now. Wear appears to be even.

 

Low pressures ride softer and reduce milage. If under inflated tires wear fastest on the outer edges.

High pressures ride hard with light loads but increase milage due to less rolling resistence. With pressure matched to the load ride should be acceptable. If over inflated the tires wear fastest on the inner part of the tread. The best tire pressure for wear is directly related to the load on the tire.

Here is a field test to gauge how well the pressures in the tires match with the load you are hauling for maximum tire wear. For this test to work the tires have to be driven untill they warm to normal operating temperatures. Park on a level hard surface and mark accross the tread with chaulk. Drive forward till the chaulk starts to wear off. If it wears off evenly pressures are good. If it wears off fastest on the outside pressures are too low for the load. If it wears off fastest in the middle pressures are too high for the load.

This may work ok if you always haul the same load but if you do a mix of running empty and hauling med to heavy loads than average pressures that aren't exactly correct for either condition will produce the best overall wear. If you inflate to recommended pressures and check treadwear every 5000 miles and adjust up or down 5 lbs depending on the tread wear patterns observed you should get satisfactory milage out of your tires.

 

That's a pretty cool trick !!

 

a smooth gravel parking lot works too. I ran 82# front and 45# rear on the stock 235/85's. With these new tires I run 65# front and 42# rear