tire pressure front/rear

[Beaky]

we have been running 60/60 psi on the KO2's on our 2006 RB350 SMB. We have noticed the rear rides a little low so I looked at some tire calculator sites and they recommend more pressure in the rears then the fronts based on axle weights front and rear. An E350 typically weighs around 4500/5900 fully loaded which comes out to 49/64. I have never run an uneven pressure setup before, does this sound right? thnx

[kbeefy]

Yes, weight dictates pressure.
Run across some scales loaded and see what your F/R weights are, then adjust pressures to match.


Another trick a friend used to do for oversized tires was to adjust by contact patch.


He would overinflate the tires and then wet a portion of the tread and roll the vehicle forward on clean concrete.


By looking at the track transferred onto the concrete you can see how much of the tread is making contact with the ground. He would lower the air pressure and repeat until he got a full tread pattern.

[arctictraveller]

Try this, https://tirepressure.org/

[REF]

It is very typical for F/R tire pressures to differ, especially with a buildout, I usually run 55/60 unless I’m towing or off road in which case I’ll bump up or down accordingly.
It also really depends on conditions, vehicle weight, what tire your running and if you’ve upsized, running an E rated, A/T or M/T tire, in which case you can pretty much ignore the door sticker completely.
I will also air down a bit if I find the paved road conditions I’m driving on for an extended period in less than ideal condition, letting out tire pressure to give me a bit softer ride and bump back up for smoother extended highway drives

[Beaky]

thnx, going to try 50 /60

[MarinBlaine]

We have a 2WD EB50, running Michelin defender LTX M/S. For years I ran 50F and 60R. After a random service a shop had inflated the rear to 70 and we both noticed better handling and a great deal more stability, so we now run 55F and 70R. 3 years later we are very pleased. YMMV.

[jrobe]

Based on our vans front and rear weights, the correct pressure for our Michelin tires is 70 psi in back and 50 psi in front. If you don't have weights, you are really just guessing.

[soloalpinist]

Scales are about +30 miles away from me. And when I went there they need an operator and could my van could not get weighed. So, I guess. I put 60 in the front and 65 in the rear on E rated tires and works pretty good on the highway and awful off road. Lower to 45 in the front and 50 in the rear when off road and it is smoother, but not comfortable. Guessing my loaded van weighs about 11K lbs. Have 2014 Sportsmobile West 4X4 conversion, E350 EB, V10.

[Twoxentrix]

Originally Posted by soloalpinist

So, I guess. I put 60 in the front and 65 in the rear on E rated tires and works pretty good on the highway and awful off road. Lower to 45 in the front and 50 in the rear when off road and it is smoother, but not comfortable. Guessing my loaded van weighs about 11K lbs. Have 2014 Sportsmobile West 4X4 conversion, E350 EB, V10.

It's just more $'s, But might consider rear air bags (they do help dampen my 'jolts' on the rear), some well tuned Shocks, and for the big ruts Sumos do a good job preventing your chin from hitting the steering wheel...OR, just slow down far enough where you can just barely breath & taste the dust.

[kbeefy]

In Oregon and Washington all the 'closed' weigh stations on the highway have active readouts. I go across them often just to see how much my trailer weighs.


I also happen to have a scale on my property as part of a decommissioned grain storage facility, I should try to get it working again.