Increase tire pressure when towing?

007matman · July 26, 2017

Wondering if any of you increase your tire pressure when towing.

I have a 2010 Escalade ESV that we are using to tow our 7400lb travel trailer from Georgia to South Dakota and back. I'm noticing that the tires are wearing on the edges more than normal and they've lost some of the sharpness to the edge of the tire.

I've seen a few posts where they say you should increase to max tire pressure rating but that seems high given outside temperatures. What do you all think? That would mean going from 35psi to 44psi. Most of the posts that I saw were referring to large trucks of 3/4 ton or more.

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66nova · July 27, 2017

I always increase my tire pressure when towing. Softer tire will develop more heat and more likely to have a blowout.

sdeeter19555 · July 27, 2017

Will also help with tire squirm...

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swathdiver · July 27, 2017

Definitely increase your air pressure as it increases the load rating of the tires. I bet you're over the GCWR and a couple other ratings towing that much weight.

Swimmer8366 · July 27, 2017

I increase mine towing anything. Also run 10 ply mud tires so psi can be much greater than that of a normal tire. Normally run my tires 50-55 not loaded and 60-65 loaded also have a Max psi of 80 on these tires I have ran them at 70 when towing lots of weight. Like when i put two cars on.

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Mike GMC · July 27, 2017

Judging by the pressures you quote, you have P passenger tires. For towing that much weight you shodo probably be using LT light truck tires with a D or E load rating. For P rated, you probably do need max pressure for that much weight.

sdeeter19555 · July 31, 2017

Judging by the pressures you quote, you have P passenger tires. For towing that much weight you shodo probably be using LT light truck tires with a D or E load rating. For P rated, you probably do need max pressure for that much weight.

Just something to consider, the load capacity of the modern P-series tires are substantially more than they were a few years ago...I just rented an F150 that had P-series tires rated within a couple hundred pounds of my E-rated LTs.

Surprised me...as I was remembering the low ratings they had a few years ago.

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ifixedit · August 1, 2017

I sell commercial truck tires for a living. The only way to be sure is check the sidewall of the tires. Each tire size (and it's given load range rating) will be stated on the sidewall showing the max weight capacity per tire in lbs. at a given air pressure of 'X' psi. Based on the 44 psi it certainly sounds like what you have are not at least 10 ply 'LT' tires (they generally indicate around 80 psi @ max weight). For what you're towing and the long distance traveling, especially with the summer temps and high speed operation, I would surely recommend for that kind of weight in an already heavy vehicle as it is that you go with the LT tire if the tires you have on now don't show sufficient numbers for what you are doing. It's fairly typical on SUV's to not see the higher ply rated tires for ride reasons, but then you are limited to what you can tow.

It is true that you should raise your air pressure to the stated 44 psi if you are maxing the tires out. The 44 psi is a cold reading when the tires are cool such as when the truck has sat overnight as an example. The tires will heat up as you drive and additional pressure will build in the tire as they reach and are running at operating temperature, the engineers factor this into the tire design. However, generally speaking, if a tire wears faster on the outer ribs vs. the center, the tire is being run (at operating temperature) under inflated, if it wears faster in the middle of the tread it is being run (at operating temperature) over inflated, but this will also depend some on the tread pattern design and some can be tricky to determine if over or under inflated. Some tread pattern designs will display both the outer ribs and center rib that is wearing faster than the second row of lugs as an example, if this is the case this is also an indication of over inflation.

Bottom line, you're probably pushing the tires you have now to the limit and they are very likely not rated to 'safely' carry the weight of the vehicle, the load inside the vehicle (full tank of fuel, occupants, cargo, etc.,), plus the load of the trailer at highway speeds of 70+ MPH. Unless you can verify max load (weight per tire) capacity and it's in the safe zone with some room to spare, I wouldn't take the chance with what you have on now.

007matman · August 1, 2017

TireRack says that it's an LT tire but there are all sorts of numbersand letters on the specs page.

Can you look at this and tell me I'd I'm good?

https://m.tirerack.com/tires/Spec.jsp?tireMake=Bridgestone&tireModel=Dueler+H%2FL+Alenza&partnum=845HR2HLALNZV2

All of this is very confusing.

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repairman54 · August 1, 2017

If you had a LT tire then LT would be part of the size numbers. You have a P tire, the first letter in the size denotes that.

I've got 20's on my Tahoe and when I got the truck it had worn edges as it was at the "recommended" 32 psi. which is a sign of under inflation.

As far as tire capacity you have to figure your tongue weight as that's what is pushing down on your truck. Total trailer weight is what's push / pulling on the hitch not pushing down or loading the truck. .

I assume your using a weight distributing hitch with a 7500lb trailer. Hitch specs and tow capacities are in the owners manual and that's the final word for your truck.

I'd go up to 38 psi cold and use the old school method of chalk across the tread to look for it wearing off evenly.

007matman · August 1, 2017

If you had a LT tire then LT would be part of the size numbers. You have a P tire, the first letter in the size denotes that.

I've got 20's on my Tahoe and when I got the truck it had worn edges as it was at the "recommended" 32 psi. which is a sign of under inflation.

As far as tire capacity you have to figure your tongue weight as that's what is pushing down on your truck. Total trailer weight is what's push / pulling on the hitch not pushing down or loading the truck. .

I assume your using a weight distributing hitch with a 7500lb trailer. Hitch specs and tow capacities are in the owners manual and that's the final word for your truck.

I'd go up to 38 psi cold and use the old school method of chalk across the tread to look for it wearing off evenly.

Yeah, I'm not finding any LT tires in that size.

I'll take a look at the chalk test.

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swathdiver · August 2, 2017

TireRack says that it's an LT tire but there are all sorts of numbersand letters on the specs page.

Can you look at this and tell me I'd I'm good?

https://m.tirerack.com/tires/Spec.jsp?tireMake=Bridgestone&tireModel=Dueler+H%2FL+Alenza&partnum=845HR2HLALNZV2

That link is for a passenger car tire, two tires are barely over the axle capacity at full inflation. If my memory is right, 22" wheels limited one to 5,000lbs tow weight anyway. Would surely be a rough ride, the sidewall height is what takes the weight and gives a nice ride or a poor ride.

intheburbs · August 2, 2017

Sorry to sound like a nag, but that's too much trailer for your truck. Your payload rating is about 1450 lbs. A 7400-lb trailer is going to have a tongue weight of almost 1100 lbs. That leaves your available payload for you, your passengers and gear at a little less than 400 lbs. I hope you have small/short passengers.

And I can guarantee you're overloading the rear axle, which, IMHO, is the weakest part of the powertrain.

I upgraded to a 3/4-ton truck because I was towing a 7,000-lb trailer, and I grenaded the rear end of my half-ton Burb. While on vacation. In the middle of nowhere. With my entire family. Try to tell three kids why we're spending 4 days in Mitchell, SD instead of Rushmore and Yellowstone. Look at the corn palace, kids!

calgator73 · August 2, 2017

Wondering if any of you increase your tire pressure when towing.

I have a 2010 Escalade ESV that we are using to tow our 7400lb travel trailer from Georgia to South Dakota and back. I'm noticing that the tires are wearing on the edges more than normal and they've lost some of the sharpness to the edge of the tire.

I've seen a few posts where they say you should increase to max tire pressure rating but that seems high given outside temperatures. What do you all think? That would mean going from 35psi to 44psi. Most of the posts that I saw were referring to large trucks of 3/4 ton or more.

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The factory tire pressures (driver's door) are good up to your gvwr. My bet is you're over weight. Stepping down to a smaller diameter rim with the same overall diameter tire will likely result in better load handling characteristics.

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007matman · August 2, 2017

Truck has a 7800lb tow capacity. That's with 22" rims. No, they do not limit me to 5000 lb. I've checked in that.

I've also checked my axle weights (fully loaded with kids, baggage, and everything else). And I'm approaching the max, but not over. The 7400lb weight that I mentioned was a conservative (AKA over) number. It was actually around 7200.

Max toungue weight is 1000lb with the weight distribution kit I have and it's close to 900 TW on the scales.

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