Tire Pressure?
My tires say the max pressure is 44.
What does this mean, and what would you do?
I occasionally fill the bed with gravel, mulch and junk, but I never tow anything.
I don't have the brand of tire at hand, but they are stock size.
1) Do not exceed maximum inflation.
2) If you do haul a heavy load, increase the pressure upto maximum to at least give the tires their max capacity.
3) VERY IMPORTANT... Read the sidewall to find out what weight is the maximum you can handle with those tires. Now you need to do some guestimation. If for example the tires say the maximum load is 2,000#s(typical big car tire) at max inflation then theoretically your truck with load can weigh about 8,000#s. I don't know your model year and you don't have details, but in general a F250 Heavy/Super Duty with full tanks and passengers weighs well over 7,000#s. You can check at a public scale. Subtract the KNOWN weight of the truck and passengers and fuel from the max rating of the tires and that is what you can safely haul.
3A) The problem now is whatever load you put in the bed has to be below the total capacity of the tires. More accurately the weight per axle has to be below the capacity of the two tires on that axle. The weights per axle can be different depending on your truck and how you load it.
3B) If you exceed the tire rating, your risk of blow out goes up significantly.
4) I forget the exact terms but a full scoop of mulch weighs around 1,400#s and up depending on type and whether it has been raining. A scoop of gravel could well be way over capacity.
You need real truck tires if you plan to haul heavy loads for more than a few blocks.
I have popped trailer tires when overloaded about 50% in just a few miles, no fun.
Good Luck,
Jim Henderson
Bill







