What tire pressures are you guys running? On a 5.4L 12-passenger van it just seems like 60 and 80 psi is too much. The E rated tires are hard as concrete with that much pressure in the rear. Without any passengers or load I think it would be more comfortable to let out a bit of air. I'm gonna try 55psi up front and 65 in the rear. Whatchu think?

 

68psi front, 72psi rear on 265-75-16 BFG AT E-load range all the time, towing heavy or traveling lite...
slight center tread wear, but I'm too lazy to up/down the pressure all the time for towing.
they have just about 40,000 miles and just half way worn.

 

I'm running Michelin LTX 245/75-R16's E rated on an E250 that weighs 7800# as a daily driver. I run 70 psi in all four which isn't that uncomfortable. I'm far more concerned with sidewall temperatures and handling under extreme manuevers when another errant driver tries driving me off the road.

A bit of comfort is fine but it can't be that bad with the 12 passenger van-----maybe just to me it seems too easy to forget to adjust TP when its time to load the people on board.

 

Toyo Open Countrys on my 92 e350 HD club wagon and i'm running 65, might go up to 70, been meaning to read up. I don't really think the safety/handling penalty of running less pressure is worth the risk, these vans ride pretty great anyway in my opinion, even on e rated tires.

 

Very little worry about rollovers here. The RSC works great.
At 60psi My tires don't get hot and traction is better. Tire wear should be more even too. More PSI does not mean safer. An over inflated tire has less contact with the road and bounces more on rough roads. I'll only go 70+ psi if I'm loaded or towing.

 

Cool, if they aren't getting hot, you are fine i'd say. Just to clarify, i wasn't really meaning more pressure is safer, just that less than recommended psi is not as safe, mine are rated up to 80 i think, but the guy who mounted them put 65 in, so i've just left it alone since it rides fine to me. Especially pulling my 30' TT on long trips, i'll be checking temps and adjusting my setup accordingly. Cheers!

 

Yeah, all E rated tires should be rated for up to 85 psi.

I just think that if 80 psi is what a fully loaded 15 passenger van should have in its tires, then an empty 12 passenger van should have a bit less pressure, right? Most of the time my van is empty or almost empty. My 3 kids each weigh less than 60 lbs each.

Tire pressure is important. Just make sure your psi matches the load you are carrying. Nuff said.

 

I run 80 psi as it cuts down on premature wear of the tires, if you want a smoother ride and don't mind replacing your tires early, go ahead, I've owned vans for years, all are subject to this, but Ford is more so as the I-beam design is bullet proof, but known for tire wear on their own. I monitor my tires religiously, I push them for everything they'll get, vans are heavy, the front remains unaffected by load as it is the front, bearing the load of the engine, the rear is where you can adjust it.

 

I live close to my workplace, so I only drive about 10k miles a year. If my tires last 5 years I'm happy. Having maximum traction, and a smooth ride is most important to me.

 

if your ride is that bad, try a new set of shocks, makes a huge difference!
when it comes to pressure, as RC said, match to your load. i have the bad habit of overloading things, so i keep all my tires up to their ratings. my van is the only rig i've ever owned that i haven't directly and excessively overloaded, sits around 7800-8k on average, and is comfortable at 80psi all around with new shocks. before i changed my shocks, i would frequently slam my toolboxes side-to-side for moderate irregularities in the road, now with new shocks it takes those same roads quietly and much smoother.

 

My van has new Bilstein shocks. It's nice when loaded with people but when empty it's a bit stiff. But keep in mind I've been driving a 2005 Tacoma for the last 5 years, so I'm used to a smoother ride.

What pressures do the Excursion guys run?

 

The Excursion weighs about the same as my van. Ford recommends 45/55 psi.
Interesting.

After searching, it looks like most Excursion guys run around 60psi.

Don't knock it till you try it.