Hey guys,

This situation doesn't even apply to me, but I heard some advice from a mechanic that you can lower the pressure in your tires in a large truck like a 250 to make the ride more comfortable.

He was a sorta professional mechanic, so I'm inclined to trust his advice. He said to fun them at about 50 psi, instead of the manufacturers suggested 65 psi when not hauling or towing a heavy load.

Is that safe? Will running the tires lower cause other problems? What do you guys and girls think?

Plenty of folks run lower air while not towing or hauling heavy loads. Fifty pounds is fine.

wow, is 65 really normal? I just bought an F150, but I haven't read about the tires yet. they show about 40 on the display. so the tires on an F250 are made to handle that kind of pressure? I'm new to the truck scene, so just surprised....

Try running at 80 psi (load range E tires), breaks your neck!

Does anybody remember the Firestone/Ford debacle? Trucks were flipping because people weren't running enough pressure in their tires. I'd rather be beat to hell with a rough truck than to have a blow out due to too low of air pressure.

I have found that on 3/4 to 1 ton srw diesels that 50 psi in the rear and 60-65 psi in the fronts is a good number.

Not only will it ride smoother, but if you put 80 psi in them and don't have it loaded heavy all the time the middle of the tires will wear out quickly and you will get poor life out of your tires.

The same is true for 1/2 tons running P-tires. My 1500 crew cab says max 44 psi on the tires, I run 40 psi in the fronts and about 35-37 in the rear to get the best wear out of them, and they will handle loads like towing the boat etc. just fine at that level as well. Now if your going to throw a pallet of sod in the bed then you need to air them up.

Depends on the tires. I have load range Ds on my Tacoma and the supplemental door sticker reads 46 psi. Same truck with stock tires the door sticker reads 29 & 32. They are BFG ATs and I am just about to turn 70k on . They will make 75k easily. Other than hwy lots of rough range roads that have chewed up the edges of the tread. I am going with load range Es or 10 ply next time because that is all that is available in the size and brand I want. Most if not all F250s have 10 plys. Max pressure on them is 80 but that does not mean that is what you have to run.

I had a 1993 F350 CC SWR 7.3 that I ran 35psi in the rears (front was kept at 60psi). I did this one like that for over 125,000 miles

Find a load inflation table for your size tires. Get a weight for the rear axle empty. Read the table and you will have your answer. If you do this I think you will be surprised at how low you can keep the rears when empty. To get a kind of close guess on the empty rear axle weight. Take the rear GAWR and then subtract the payload (close not perfect).

My 2002 F350 CC DWR 7.3 I kept the rears at 35psi (inside tires) and 30psi (outsides). I also drove this one around 125,000 miles.

If you can tolerate the addtional wear and the stupid orange light on your dash, then yes it will soften the ride some. I can't stand the fact that the new dodge sensors can't be reprogrammed so you have an alert light on the dash at all times. So needless to say I'm running 80 in mine.
(3/4 ton)

My truck door panel calls for 78psi front and back, I run 60 unless I'm hauling.

Does your tire pressure sensor have a fuse you could pull like DRL's, or is it linked in with the "convenience" leg that would also kill the dome lights, windows, locks, cruise, etc.?

Hmm good question, would have to look. Had several folks tell me it just wasn't possible. I hope it is. Would like to drop mine some and see what changes

I have a 2500 Dodge with the 5.9l cummins. I have always ran 48-50psi in the rear and 58psi in the front unless I am hauling a heavy load. Even when pulling my boat I do not change the pressure. It is noticeably smoother than 70psi but still plenty rough! Trucks tire psi recommended ratings are for loaded trucks. When you have no weight in the bed max psi is not needed and actually causes premature wear to your tires. My last set of load range E Nitto ATs I got 73k miles out of them with this air pressure and rotation every 6-8k miles. Because the front of my truck is so heavy higher air pressure is needed up front vs out back when unloaded. The key is making sure the tire is wearing evenly across.