Recommended Tire Pressure For Your Truck

One of the most frequent questions is: What air pressure should I use in my tires?¨ And our answer is always, well, it depends on your vehicle. As well as where and how you drive your vehicle.

Maintaining correct tire pressure is crucial, especially when driving a truck. If your tires have the correct pressure, it will help you optimize your tire performance and fuel economy.

This straightforward guide will give you all the details on the tire pressure for your truck and how to increase the life span of the tires with a TPMS sensor.

Understanding Tire Pressure For Trucks

Tire inflation is the basic principle of vehicle safety. People often forget about it or, even worse, choose to ignore it. If you think about it, wheels are the "feet" of your truck. Your tires are the "shoes" of those "feet." Meaning that it is vital for the driver's safety, as well as for the goods they transport, to have the correct tire pressure. 

Just wearing the incorrect shoes for different tasks can incur serious consequences. Having a properly inflated tire is the most crucial factor in tire care. You can find on the door jamb the pressure for the normal load for the vehicle and the greatest capacity of it.

Factors Affecting Tire Pressure

Correct tire air pressure is the most effective way to control truck tire wear and improve casing life and tire performance. Here we will list some factors that will influence your tire pressure.

Temperature

If we discuss how temperature affects your tires, you must know that heat is your worst enemy. Hot temperatures cause tire components to deteriorate and may even damage the steel cords. But cold temperatures can also affect your tire pressure.

Summer

Warm air makes the air inside your tires expand during summer. As a result, the tire pressure will go up every 10°F. You can have a more detailed look by reading this article. 

Don't take the air out of a hot tire! A truck tire can take several hours to revert to its original pressure. And you do not know where you are checking the tire pressure in the cycle. Check your vehicle tire pressure first thing in the morning after the tires have cooled down overnight.

Winter

When the temperature drops, the air inside the tires contracts. As a result, the air pressure in the tire loses pressure. Before you know it, your tires are underinflated. Double-check your tire pressure during winter months every three weeks.

Overinflation

If you overinflate your tires, it will cause traction problems. The tire footprint will be reduced. Steering response will be heightened and cause oversteer problems. As well as, the ride will turn out to be harsher than usual, as it will be stiffer. If you go over bumps, you will notice them since your tires will be stiff. 

Overinflation is the most common cause of blowouts and leading cause of vehicle rollovers. About tire wear, you will observe the center wear out much faster. This is so because the rubber will bulge in the middle, increasing the contact with the road.

Underinflation

Underinflation will cause the opposite. The tire sidewalls continuously flex and bulge, causing internal tire heat build-up. If this is the situation, your stability will be sluggish, and you will have low maneuverability in an emergency. Underinflated tires will, of course, also cause excessive tire wear.

Vehicles with underinflated tires will have reduced fuel economy since the engine works harder.

Recommended Tire Pressure

While traveling, each driver is responsible for maintaining their truck to prevent roadside breakdowns as much as possible. Checking and keeping on top of your truck's tire pressure is part of that. If you are ever in doubt about the optimum tire pressure for your truck, each tire has it printed for easy access.

The optimum tire pressure for each truck will vary depending on several critical factors, including the truck's weight. 

Weight

Be sure to weigh your vehicles, fully loaded, on a scale. Each axle, front and rear, and trailer must be weighed separately. Actual gross axle weights should be compared with the manufacturer's tire data book to determine the inflation pressure required.

The load carried by each front axle tire should be noted. If the maximum load-carrying capacity of the tire is below the actual scale weight, greater carrying capacity tires must be used. Either a higher load index (load range or ply rating) or a larger tire size.

A standard air pressure would be 55 front, 80 rear, 75 front, and rear, or like the example above, 50 front and 65 rear.

Manufacturer's Manual

Always check you are driving with the correct tire pressure. Checking them before a long trip is even more crucial. Start by locating the recommended tire pressure for your specific truck model. This information is usually found in your vehicle's owner's manual or on a sticker inside the driver's side door. 

If you don't have your own tire monitoring system, it is recommended that you purchase one if you do a lot of driving. 

TPMS For Your Truck

Having your own tire monitoring system makes it easy to check your tire pressure at any time. GUTA has developed a tire-pressure monitoring system (TPMS) that works with wheel sensors to alert the driver of low tire pressure. 

This device can monitor up to 10 tires sensing distances up to 36 feet. Making it the ideal gadget for your truck and keeping in-hand control over your tires. 

You have complete control if you just peep on the monitor. It displays your entire vehicle and will alert if there's a problem with the inflation pressure.  TPMS gives you an early warning to take corrective action.

GUTA offers different types of TPMS, which we recommend for trucks, either model M20 or GT107-02. These two models are ideal for trucks, huge ones. You can check the details by reading this article.

Manual Pressure Checks

Whether or not your car is equipped with TPMS, regular manual tire pressure checks are very important. Check your tire pressure manually and regularly using a quality pressure gauge.

Otherwise, you can also ask your mechanic to have a look at all your tires and make sure they are with the right amount of pressure. Especially during the summer or winter seasons.

Conclusion

Driving a truck conveys many responsibilities. From delivering goods from one location to another to ensuring safety for the driver and others. 

Proper tire pressure is one of the crucial factors in ensuring safety. Checking and maintaining the inflation pressure of your tires is also vital for maximum efficiency, and performance. 

Additionaly if you take into consideration over or underinflation, temperature, and weight you will be the safest truck driver on the road. 

Maintaining the proper pressure also ensures that your tires will last as long as intended, saving you money in the long run. Additionally, if you add a TPMS monitor, it will make it easier to check your pressure, plus giving you peace of mind guaranteed.