2009 2WD Front GAWR / tire pressure help requested

[slowmover]

In a post by an automotive tire engineer (CapriRacer, screen name) on another forum I understand that tire pressure recommendations are likely best from this model year onwards per the OEMs. As this is the final year of 3rd Gen production it dovetails nicely with the second part of this request.

To wit:

1] I am in need of information from 2009 model year 2WD trucks in re the door placard, specifically, the axle weight ratings and any/all tire pressure information offered.

2] I would greatly appreciate a VIN number for the same year/spec truck as I need to replace the worn front coil springs on my 2004.0 truck.

As you may know there is a very lengthy list of coils for 2500/3500 trucks without accompanying year or spring rate info available. I am assuming that both tire pressure recommendations are higher as is coil spring rating on the final 3rd Gen 2WD. There may or may not be differences for transmission (mine is NV-5600).

The background to this is that I keep my truck loaded to 8k of a 9k GVWR, a load which will likely go higher. My travel trailer has a tongue weight in excess of 1k, and even with a weight-distributing hitch (Hensley) I anticipate that the axles will be near to gross once I finish balancing the load between both vehicles.

At this point I plan to replace the disappeared front axle bump stops with Timbren Aeon springs and may add the same to the rear. I haven't decided what to do on the Q of rear leafs at this junction. A slightly larger front anti-roll bar and new rear anti-roll bar are about to be installed. A rear axle locator is also planned. BILSTEIN shocks will be replaced with new. Tires are LTX M/S in stock size.

I neeed to dial in my WD hitch properly, as well as weigh each tire/wheel position independently to determine tow vehicle tire pressure. To that end I may need to adjust the hitch to 100% FALR (front axle load restoration) and the "best" springs up front may not be the exact stock replacement for mine. Conversely, "HD" aftermarket springs for the FA are not the best for my purposes as raising the front is counter-productive.

Still, and all, I haven't closed the door, so any recommendations are appreciated.

Thanks

Ross

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[MMeier]

Tire pressure is easy... just go by the max listed on the sidewall !

 

[slowmover]

Thx, but specific info needed.

 

[Prairie Dog]

If you are at 90% of your front ends weight rating then I would run the front tires at between 75~80 psi. Through trial and error I have found this formula gave me the best handling with a travel trailer and WDH setup.

 

[Prairie Dog]

If you are at 4000# or more on your front axle then I would run the front tires at between 75~80 psi. Through trial and error I have found this formula gave me the best handling with a travel trailer and WDH setup.

 

[slowmover]

Thanks for the replies. My request is not of generic type, though. Been using WD hitches for forty years.

I'll grant that my Steer Axle tire pressure may be right on up there once both vehicles are loaded and WD is applied. Still, DODGE has recommendations with which to work within. And that range, from empty to loaded, has to do with vehicle handling dynamics. One of the advantages of 2WD over 4WD is the independent front suspension plus rack & pinion steering. This a better-handling critter than a straight axle 4WD. In spades. But there are limits . and knowing where they are is part of the experimentation needed to get best performance.

On MY2004 the 2WD Steer Axle is limited to 4,750-lbs. I believe that this went up by/before MY2009. And that the rather low tire pressures recommended in MY2004 also went up. But there is such as thing as too much. Pickups are stable until they aren't. And the transition is abrupt. FAR too abrupt.

While I am skeptical at times about "tow ratings" I still like to know those numbers. Even more so would I like to to know the specific tire pressure range the DODGE engineers assigned the comparable model to mine in MY2009. The LR-E table is broader, the DODGE range narrower. Call them the starting and stopping points. After the FORD Explorer fiasco it took a while to iron out what was wanted in light trucks/SUVs, and then to test for it. MY2009 tire pressure recommendations are said to be the end result (If I may paraphrase CapriRacer). 4th Gen is a different creature.

My truck did over 120k 50/50 city/highway miles on the first tire set (as well as brakes, replaced both even though still had room to go), so the combo of the way the owner operates the vehicle, as well as respecting limits is the first step IMO. This truck was spec'd for fuel economy (signature) which is a shorthand for longest life at highest reliability doing the greatest work with lowest fuel burn. So far, so good. Have made it to nearly 200k in eleven years with $400 in repairs. Time to re-set the clock for the rest of truck life, not to wait for part/component failure. Front end is first and current springs are tired.

This is being painstaking on my part, granted. I've run these trucks in 1T configuration in oilfield hotshot in combined gross of over 30k down truly rough unpaved roads, not just this lighter duty RV service. I have made my living over a number of years driving big trucks, starting as a steelhauler (a job not for the faint-of-heart: I recently eyeballed and loaded a 53' flatbed with oilfield supplies -- eleven pallets -- and was within a few hundred pounds on Drives and Trailer Tandems while being a few hundred under the Bridge Law formula on the Steer. Surprised and pleased as I rarely drive this type load anymore. Meeting a legal requirement is one thing, it is having a combined rig that stops and handles the best it can is the point. Few things are scarier than a big truck that reacts differently going left or right. In the rain. With foolish four wheelers all around. Etc.)

Knowing the numbers is all part of the game. Load imbalances in TT & TV per individual wheel weight readings will also be addressed. As a full-timer moving to where opportunity may take me (oilfield at present) -- and looking to always buy premium tires on both vehicles -- these are the requirements as I see them. A numerical baseline from acquired numbers against recommended limits. (Which is also the best way to diagnose problems.)

5-lbs psi one way or the other -- one might say -- is what is at stake. I may find through trial & error that 65-psi is an excellent number given temps, handling, etc. And righteous according to DODGE. But which 5-psi is at the other end? 70 or 60? As others know, once we establish the numerical baseline in a towing setup (WD over the vehicle) then the resulting range of adjustment according to future load changes in tow vehicle and trailer are small, relatively. Knowing where I step over established lines is the background to this. The plan is nail it down according to Texas heat, altitude, travel speed, road surface conditions and load. Etc.

Thus, the request for MY2009 tire pressure range, GAWR, GCWR, etc, as well as the desire to acquire MY2009 OEM springs with a VIN (PM me).

Thanks,

Ross

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