Just purchased used 8.5' x 10' sled trailer with 12" rims. Max tire pressure stated on sidewall is 80lbs. I know this would be required if you
were loading trailer to max gvwr, but trailer weight & 2 600lb sleds
are far below gvwr. What pressure to use?

No snow in Sudbury Ontario area :(

That seems really high. My tires say the max is 44 psi. Do they look low if you pump them up to 45?

Mine say 35.

Joe

I run mine at max pressure on the tire if you run them soft they will
de-laminate and blow, I use load range C tires also, better tire more plys. When I raced I drove all over michigan and Indiana and went through a few sets of tires, buy the best ones you can. :)

:withstupid: I agree totally!

I have been old to run them at the max pressure all the time. Mine are always at 50psi. SWRules

Apps,
I look at it the same way you're thinking, just because it's capable of holding that kind of pressure IF YOU NEED TO,
doesn't mean you have to. When you start trying to match the pressure to the load, you do need to pay attention, but are rewarded by a much better ride. I'm betting 30 - 35 lbs would work fine for what you are talking about as long as the tires don't look low. You can confirm by doing something I've been doing for quite a while anyway. Stop after the first 15 or 20 miles on the road and put the back of your hand on the SIDEWALL of the tire, and feel the bearing hubs. Both should be cold to maybe luke warm, unless you are running some kind of brakes. They will cause the hubs to be pretty warm right after stopping. Excessive temp either place is cause for immediate attention. Tires running hot are low on air, and are an accident looking for a place to happen. Bearings running hot, same deal. They need lube immediately.

AL

My tires say 70 PSI and that's whats in them. The dork at Discount Tire only put in 35 "cause thats all thats needed." How can he make that call if he doesn't know what I'm haulin? My tires say Maximum load 980 lbs @ 70 PSI. Call the tire manufacturer. You can loose at least 100 lbs of carrying capacity for every 5 PSI below the max you run the tires. I have studied this in depth for my job, however for motor homes tires, and have found that unless you are looking for a smoother ride with an empty load, run the max allowed.

Also, if you check your air pressure after running the tires and they are warmed up, you should fill them to 90 PSI if the max is 80. As it says on the tire that the max is "Cold" pressure. A hot tire with 90 PSI will drop to about 80 after it cools down. Thus, the "Cold" pressure indicated.

Just my .02.

;)

Run the max recommended on the sidewall. Don't even think of reducing the pressure because you are not at max load. Heat is what kills these tires and it is not worth the risk of fooling around. This kind of reminds me of the Ford Explorer / Firestone problem (I bet Ford wishes they followed the recomendations that were stamped on the tires and not made up their own).

to da max, IMO. The triler manufactures always cheap out on the tires because we all priceshop. Bet you gas, gear,sled, snowpack that trailer and take it down and scale it you'd find the tire rating barely adaquate. Add that to 75mph runs to the snow and you got hot tires.

So, following the logic above, you should run whatever it says on the sidewall, I should look there for correct inflation pressures on my car/truck? Not.

If I replace my 4 ply rated 35 psi max tires with 8 ply rated
60 psi max tires of the same size, I should go from 35 psi to 60 psi running the same load? No, I don't agree.

Yes, if you want to keep it brain dead simple, you will never have to worry about blowing a tire run at maximum
inflation due to overheating....unless it's overloaded.

AL

The Ford Exploder is a good example of what happens when any tire is underinflated. Lowering the pressure on ANY tire beyond the mfgs recomended pressure(even by just a few pounds) is nothing short of foolish and certainly dangerous. Plus underinflated tires waste gas and wear faster.

Rick.