Pretty simple question, 90% of the time I'm driving, I am without a load.
Without a load (stock size tires 265) what's a good recommended psi?
50 front & back?
I know that with a load you want the recommended door sticker psi of 80.

Reason I ask is the truck still has the slicker stock tires on it & would like any extra bite for the slick winter.
New tires in a few months.

Thanks in advance!

 

You could even go a bit lower like 45psi. No sense having a rough ride when not carrying weight. I run 35s on my rig. Empty I run around with 30 psi and I max them out at 65 when I load my big camper.

 

Thanks for that info!
All be dropping them down to 35 for the timing being.

 

Whoaaaaaa on the 35psi there, especially if you're running OEM sized 80psi-max E-rated tires on 17s or 18s. Eberlestock is likely saying he runs 35psi is either D-rated tires, or wider E-rated tires that have a 65-psi max on the sidewall. You don't want to under inflate a tire, a blowout is a bad deal on a 7000# truck, especially in the front.

You can find load index tables on the internet that should tell you the load capacity of a tire at a given inflation pressure based on the rating of the tire. Examples:
http://static1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/...+inflation.pdf
How to Determine Tire Load Ratings - Article - Work Truck



I read a paper that gave a minimum pressure "rule of thumb" of the ratio of load to load index times max psi:
For example, my BFG Rugged Trail 265/70R17 121 tire is rated to 3195# and 80psi max. My truck weights 8300#, 4800# in the front, 3500# on the rear, per a CAT scale ticket.

Front axle (per tire, so axle weight is cut in half):
( 2400 / 3195 ) * 80 = 60psi minimum

Rear axle:
( 1750 / 3195 ) * 80 = 43psi minimum

This would be a more conservative estimate, since the load index tables don't tend to be perfectly linear. An example given in the first link above is that a 121 Load Index "E-Rated" tire at 50% of max PSI the tire is rated for 64% of it's max load, not the 50% that the math problem above gives you. There is also the consideration that running any tire below 50% is essentially running it "flat", and that can cause damage to the carcass.

If you have 20" rims and 65psi-max E-Rated tires, 35psi might not be too low, but I'd still try to find a load index table for that type/rating of tire instead of guessing.