Unloaded Tire Pressure to Ease the Ride

[arwright]

I am getting ready to pick up my 3500 SRW and I hear it’s a rough ride when not under load, as expected. I also hear if I lower the tire pressure on the LT285/60R20E OWl On/Off road tires in the front and back it can help. As this will also be my everyday driver I am looking for advise on what front and back tire pressure I should use when not loaded to help the overall ride quality.

 

[texas.yankee]

On the 20" rims you are going to be limited to how much you can reduce the tire pressure since there is less sidewall to work with. I would not go below 10% of the rated pressure. YMMV

 

[Deleted member 80]

The low profile tires are definitely against you for ride quality/sidewall flex. Usually the tire mfr will have a chart by size for load vs psi to start with.

 

[arwright]

The low profile tires are definitely against you for ride quality/sidewall flex. Usually the tire mfr will have a chart by size for load vs psi to start with.

I just found this, which is what I believe you are referencing. I am guessing I need to start by taking my truck to a scale, find out my front and rear weights and pick a pressure near those weights on this chart.... While leaving some room for people, gas, etc.

 

[RancidLunchmeat]

The low profile tires are definitely against you for ride quality/sidewall flex. Usually the tire mfr will have a chart by size for load vs psi to start with.

Low profile tires are the worst automobile trend in the past ten years.

 

[Heckyl]

Low profile tires are the worst automobile trend in the past ten years.

Especially for trucks! That’s why I like 18 inch wheels on a truck, especially on a hd truck!

 

[Bighorn]

There are many opinions on what PSI to run your tires at vs. what you are using the for. I really think you should check them when you pick up the truck with a good quality gauge. When i got my 2019 in April I was not happy I rolled off the lot with one tire at 98, one at 69, and the other two between. I immediately put them at PSI the door sticker states. That alone improved the ride. I have since replaced the factory tires with larger tires and run them at 60 on the 20" rim for daily use. If i tow heavy, i bump them up some. i have a small air compressor in the front of my trailer to inflate my airbags and or the tires if needed.

 

[Daybreak]

There are many opinions on what PSI to run your tires at vs. what you are using the for. I really think you should check them when you pick up the truck with a good quality gauge. When i got my 2019 in April I was not happy I rolled off the lot with one tire at 98, one at 69, and the other two between. I immediately put them at PSI the door sticker states. That alone improved the ride. I have since replaced the factory tires with larger tires and run them at 60 on the 20" rim for daily use. If i tow heavy, i bump them up some. i have a small air compressor in the front of my trailer to inflate my airbags and or the tires if needed.

Howdy,
What tire and what size did you go with?

I need to get rid of these TransForce A/T highway tires. 285/60R20 here.

I have my front @ 55 psi and rear @60 psi

 

[KB RAM]

in the door on my 2500 the psi for fronts is listed at 65 and rear 70. this made a big difference in ride quality for me.

 

[Bighorn]

I am running 295/60/20 Nitto's on 20x9 Fuel wheels. I have them at about 60 most of the time. Have not had the light come on yet.ot much bigger than stock, but they sure look better in my opinion

 

[Daybreak]

Howdy,
Tell us more.
ok
295/60/20 tires are on.
You have mud flaps on.
Stock suspension?
Any clearance issues?
Any rubbing?
lift? level?

Finally someone with a tire size I am looking at. But with a stock suspension and no rubbing issues I hope.

 

[hutchman]

I have 285/75-18 on mine at 50 fr and 40 rear. If I towed anything, they would be higher. My TPMS light is on all the time....

 

[slimchance]

my 2500 rode a little rough before i installed the B&W Companion 5th whl hitch ... that 200#s seemed to soften the ride and i do not see any changes to fuel mpg .... so since this is an 8' bed with the hitch in i still have enough room for daily stuff and i run the 20" tires at 80 psi

 

[Don-T]

I have the TransForce A/T highway tires sized 285/60R20 and I run 65 in the front and 45 in the rear unloaded. I raise the pressure to 70 in front and 80 in the rear for towing my 5th wheel.

 

[RamGuy84]

I thought the ride was supposed to be significantly improved from the previous generation?

 

[archer75]

I run the same PSI loaded or unloaded. 60 in the front, 80 in the rear.

 

[MrMopar]

2019 PW...should be 60psi Front/65psi Rear.
Lowered to 50 PSI all around...still rides like crap. Light is ON...grrrrr
Swapping out tires next week to Nitto's

 

[Chriuus]

I had an excessive bounce on some stretches of interstate with the tires at 65 in the rears. I dropped to 50 and the bounce went away, but my mileage went down. I aired back up to 65 and put 200 lbs of sand in the bed to test it. No more bounce and same mpg as unloaded at 65, so I'll just keep some weight in the back. Seems to work well on the 2500 short bed with air ride.

 

[larrylmelton]

My new dually is jolting my fillings out.

I have received many different solutions for the same problem, including one gentleman who suggested that I simply man up and take my rough riding dually like a man. July 4th this year, I purchased a 2019 RAM 3500 HD Crew Cab 4x4 long bed dually. While I've own a couple of 1/2 ton pickups, this was my first 1 ton, my first dually, and my first 4x4. I've recently retired and my wife and I have visions of traveling the country via a 5th wheel.

Now I must say, I love the physical aspect of my truck. It has more bells and whistles than I know how to use, and it is truly a "manly" truck. However, since my towing will not be the bulk of my driving, I need a truck that is comfortable to drive unloaded. Now I know and expected that the truck would not ride like a passenger car, but I did not expect the gut wrenching ride that I get unload. It makes it difficult to speak and it can be painful. So what have I done to correct this?

I first contacted the service department at Demontrond Dodge in Conroe, Texas. After all, who better to understand your vehicle than the persons who repair it. Over several days, I spoke to 5 different people and I got 5 different opinions, including "I don't know". In other words, they didn't have a clue.

I read about reducing tire pressure. Since I received the truck with 80 psi all around, I thought if I lowered to the recommended psi on the door post, that would help. No, it didn't. I purchased and had installed what is called Sulastic Shackles. They are recommended by many on the internet and are reported to make a 1 ton truck ride like a 1/2 ton truck. Well, with my 1 ton truck, they make it ride like a … errr … well … a 1 ton tuck.

I'm now considering lowering my rears to 45-50 psi and the front to 70 psi. My concern is that I have the tire pressure monitoring system, which will send an audible alarm and graphic display if the sensors think the pressure is too low. I research the manual and I don't think this system can be shut off.

So, I'm asking all of you more experience truck owners, what can I do to gain a smoother ride without carrying a load?

 

[MrMopar]

My new dually is jolting my fillings out.

I have received many different solutions for the same problem, including one gentleman who suggested that I simply man up and take my rough riding dually like a man. July 4th this year, I purchased a 2019 RAM 3500 HD Crew Cab 4x4 long bed dually. While I've own a couple of 1/2 ton pickups, this was my first 1 ton, my first dually, and my first 4x4. I've recently retired and my wife and I have visions of traveling the country via a 5th wheel.

Now I must say, I love the physical aspect of my truck. It has more bells and whistles than I know how to use, and it is truly a "manly" truck. However, since my towing will not be the bulk of my driving, I need a truck that is comfortable to drive unloaded. Now I know and expected that the truck would not ride like a passenger car, but I did not expect the gut wrenching ride that I get unload. It makes it difficult to speak and it can be painful. So what have I done to correct this?

I first contacted the service department at Demontrond Dodge in Conroe, Texas. After all, who better to understand your vehicle than the persons who repair it. Over several days, I spoke to 5 different people and I got 5 different opinions, including "I don't know". In other words, they didn't have a clue.

I read about reducing tire pressure. Since I received the truck with 80 psi all around, I thought if I lowered to the recommended psi on the door post, that would help. No, it didn't. I purchased and had installed what is called Sulastic Shackles. They are recommended by many on the internet and are reported to make a 1 ton truck ride like a 1/2 ton truck. Well, with my 1 ton truck, they make it ride like a … errr … well … a 1 ton tuck.

I'm now considering lowering my rears to 45-50 psi and the front to 70 psi. My concern is that I have the tire pressure monitoring system, which will send an audible alarm and graphic display if the sensors think the pressure is too low. I research the manual and I don't think this system can be shut off.

So, I'm asking all of you more experience truck owners, what can I do to gain a smoother ride without carrying a load?

I have a 2019 Power Wagon, it too rides rough...lowering the PSI helped some but I have that irritating light on.
The tires are "D" rated and really shouild be "E" rated, changing out the tires soon.
FYI...no one seems to know if the TPMS threshold can be lowered.
There are no tuners or programmers available.
Grrrrrrrrrr