Guys,

My daughter runs a riding stable and does a lot of heavy horse trailer towing with her 2001 Ford F350 dualie. I recently got her some new tires for the rear and the dealer put on 4 BF Goodrich Commercial Traction T/A’s, size 235/85R/16 E; the size as recommended on the door sticker. The problem is that these tires came from the dealer inflated to 80psi, the recommended maximum inflation. Since then, the truck has been handling strange; sort of “dancing” all over the road. My only explanation is that the combination of the T/A’s aggressive tread and the 80 pounds of air don’t put as much rubber in contact with the road and so it “dances” on the tips of the tread pattern. The dealer recommended lowering the pressure to 60psi as listed on the door sticker and seeing how that works.

My question: Is it a good idea to run these tires at 60psi when they’re designed for 80? And if this does make it handle better, what am I doing to the life of the tire? Wasn’t there a big problem a few years back with SUV tires running under inflated for a better ride with disastrous results?!

Maybe the commercial traction tire isn’t the right tire for this vehicle. When I do a search on the Goodrich website for recommendations for her vehicle… 2001 FORD F-350 Super Duty 4x2 Super Cab (DRW) (GVWR 11200) it says, “We're sorry. There are no BFGoodrich® tires that fit for your vehicle.” I’m hoping that’s a website problem 'cause she's out there on the road with 'em right now!

I don’t want this to be dangerous! I've notified the dealer that we want to exchange these tires for something more appropriate; he's suggesting the BFG Commercial Highway tread tire; he insists she needs a commercial tire because they're 10 ply. I know there are a lot of choices here, but assuming he can get other brands from his wholesaler, what should I ask him for? I'm sweetening the deal for him to take these tires back by ordering SIX of whatever we decide on; that way we can rotate them between front and rear and extend the life as much as possible.

So, what do you gentlemen recommend? I'm taking it in Monday to get them replaced.

Thanks in advance...

FJ

 

Pickup tires like you have bought don't need a full 80 PSI unless you are running at your
max GVW and this is true for single rear wheel trucks. It will not hurt to run 60 PSI on a Dually and I like BF Goodrich tires. Try 60 PSI like the dealer suggests and see if it helps.

 

80psi is a lot! to really tell how much air to put in for the load you normaly hold, load it up normaly, then find a straight section of pavement. Chalk a line across the tread of your tires and drive a few hundred feet. If the chalk is warn of in the middle of the tire let air out, if on the edges inflate more. My guess is 65 should be fine.

 

Whats your tongue weight? Don't forget you have 4 tires back there. You could easily go down to 50 psi with 4 tires and 1000 to 1500 pounds on the rear. If you have 6000 lbs in the bed then you need max air pressure to keep your tires cool and patch correct.

 

Thanks for the replies! As to tongue weight, it's a gooseneck trailer so the weight is carried in the middle of the box right above the dual wheels. I'll check all appropriate weights tomorrow and approach the dealer about making this right; we should have six new tires on this black Ford beauty by late Monday or Tuesday.

Thanks again,

FJ