2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Tire rotation on a 3500

[Pit Bull]

How many miles between tire rotations on your 3500 4x4? I have the stock Goodyears, don't want them to last forever but don't want to trash them to soon or the wife will complain



PS How many miles did you get out of the factory balance?



I run unloaded 99% of the time.

 

[TORQUE THIS]

I do mine every 7k miles. I have a 2wd. I still have the stock Goodyear's on mine. About 32k on the truck now. I figure by 37k, I'll need new sneakers.



I have never had handling problems after rotating also!



I keep 60psi in the front, and 40psi in the rears. Seems to work out the best for me.

 

[JohnMcIntyre]

Don't forget the spare!

Currently got 31k+ miles on the ODO, rotating all 7 tires ncluding the spare at 10k intervals. Only difference for me is that at first 10k interval, I traded the factory 16s for Rickson 19. 5s and so far, just two rotations as per the factory recommendations. So factory balance got me to 10k with pretty much even wear all round, since then however, wear is almost non-existent :-laf .

Mostly running empty or lightly loaded with 20% of the last 20k miles hauling my Lance slide-in camper around Europe: the all-up weight on the CAT scales was dead on 12,500 pounds.

 

[pwr2tow]

I have the factory Michelin tires and rotate every 12,000-15,000 miles, which is approximately once a year.



Last spring 2002 when it was time to rotate tires I decided I would do a little experiment and only rotated the drivers side tires leaving the passenger side as they were. With almost 20,000 miles on the passenger side without rotating I can visually see no difference between the drivers side and passenger side tires. None of these tires have been balanced either since the factory.



My truck has almost 52,000 miles on the original factory tires. I run 70 PSI in the front and 60 PSI in the rear, winter decreased to 45 PSI in the rear. This winter left everything the same as summer pressures and have had no traction difficulties.



I know this doesn't apply to all tires but mine seem to be o. k. with this service interval.



Ron

 

[Pit Bull]

Thanks, I think I will shoot for 7-10K depending how they wear. If I can get 40K out of them that would be great. Then I can install the Michelin XPS Tractions and the wife won't know what happened

 

[GAmes]

I rotated the original Goodyears every 11,000 to 12,000 miles and had to buy six new ones at 49,872. It was costing me $25 each time because I don't have access to a lift and putting a 7000 lb truck on jackstands on a gravel driveway wouldn't be good for my heart. I didn't rotate my Michelins ever and had to replace the rears at 110, 580 and at 128,000+ I think the fronts will last me another 10,000. I run 60 psi in the fronts and 45 in the rear when towing a 13,000 lb 5er, 40 when empty. My view is don't waste your time and money on rotation.

 

[illflem]

I second GAmes opinion. I don't rotate my 3500 at all, just replace the fronts about 10-15 later than the rears. I've found you don't really gain enough to make it worthwhile.

Rotate my 2500 every 5k.

 

[pwr2tow]

I third GAmes opinion, I don't plan on rotateing mine any more so we will see what happens.



Ron

 

[Pit Bull]

OK I'm game for the no rotation. But what do you do if you get one tire wearing funny? Just get it rebalanced and put it back where it was?

 

[dan_gilson]

I rotate on every oil change. Typically 5K miles.



If you do not rotate frequently enough you will get uneven wear between the front and back. Also the fronts will round over and the backs will square the sholders.



I have the original tires on and they now have 75k miles on them. My Rickson's should be here tomorrow. And would you know it. I got a flat today. It could not have lasted just 1 more day?



You might also want to also want to think about rotating in the spare. It will give you extra milage on the set but it will also improve you safety. The problem with not running on the spare is that the rubber tends to dry out. The oils in the rubber are designed to work through the tire as it is flexed from rolling. If the tire drys out it will fail abruptly. And that really sucks if you have had a problem. Switched to the spare and it blows.



Also, keep the spare at max PSI. That way if you have to change to it (and you are loaded) it will be at the correct inflation. Carry a gauge and you can always reduce on the road if you are running lighter.

 

[JohnMcIntyre]

Smart move

Originally posted by dan_gilson

My Rickson's should be here tomorrow.

Hey Dan, good choice on the new rims and your comments on roatating the spare will apply equally well too.

My 225/70Rs on 19. 5 rims with Yokohama TY303 rubber has proven an excellent combination.



JMc

01 3500, loaded & modified... .

 

[jmeehan]

Brake inspection

Rotating tires is a good time to inspect your brakes. Even if you don't rotate tires every couple oil changes is a good time to eye ball pads and discs, the one time you find a caliper stuck will be worth the effort.

 

[pathaymond]

I dont waste my time or money on rotation it simply does not effect My tire longevity. I have not had the best of luck with tire shops and prefer to not allow them to touch my truck any more than has to be done either a flat or the need for new tires is what lets me allow them to touch my truck. I figure the less those monkeys use there impact guns on my studs and rims the better. Other guys I know with 3500 4 by 4 swear rotation helps them. Its a matter of your trucks front end situation I guess.

 

[dan_gilson]

Although I can agree with you feeling about having other people work on my vehicle. I do my own oil changes and tire rotations. I can get the rotation done while I am waiting for all the oil to drain. It can be done with some basic tools. I just happen to have air and 2 floor jacks. So it is a little faster for me. All you really need is a breaker bar, torque wrench, a good floor jack, jack stands, wheel blocks and a semi-level place.



Finding a good shop is a problem. I have been working with the same tire shop for about the last 25 years. They have fixed a number of problems that dealers could not.



Most of the problems with over torque have been solved by using torque sticks. Basically what happens is you calibrate the impact wrench to a set torque. Typically this is near the maximum for the gun. A torque stick is basically a long thin extension which limits the torque from the gun. By varing the length and width you can obtain most of the common lug torques.



Using the torque stick does have some variance from lug to lug. But you can even get that from a torque wrench if the operator does not know what they are doing.



A good shop will allow you to watch what they are doing. They should also use a torque wrench if you request although they may charge you a $1 or so extra a wheel for the added time.



Asking a lot of questions up front I have found is a good thing. A good shop will not have a problem with this. Be prepared, you may have to spend some extra time in case they are busy. I would rather spend the time up front than to have to keep bring things back. This is what really drives be crazy with Dodge service. They keep making me come back to because they do have the part or did not do it right the 1st time.



Sorry, I am starting to ramble... .

 

[pathaymond]

I do have my own shop and plenty of air and tools I do all my oil service etc. I just do not care to fool with tire rotation. I used to let one tire shop do rotation for me but I am now working in a diff area. Point here is this I get just as much out of a un rotated set as a rotated set so I say why bother wasting time doing nothing. But thats just my view others may have much diff results.

I say Rotation ON MY truck is a huge waste of good energy.

Patrick

 

[dan_gilson]

OK, I can understand. There are certain types of driving that would lend to equal wear, such as long open and straight road conditions.



I do a bunch of city driving and would tear the sholders off the front's if I did not rotate them. It also tends to wear the center off the rears. I tend to keep them a little higher than the load that I carry requires.



So a rotation balenaces these out. for me.



But if you really don't need it then don't do it. Kinda like "if it's not broke don't fix it".



I would like to point out that I do other inspection when I do the rotation like brake wear and seal leakage. You may want to at least put them into your maintenance schedule. 'Just a suggestion.

 

[pathaymond]

No problem.

You have to understand my tires only last 20K at best so I get a look at everything every 6 months easy. I drive many a gravel road that takes a huge toll on my tires But thats what I am paid to do so a new set twice a year suits me fine. of course the other mentioned components are checked then as well and replaced or repaired as needed.

Patrick

 

[Pit Bull]

Re: No problem.

Originally posted by pathaymond

You have to understand my tires only last 20K at best so I get a look at everything every 6 months easy. I drive many a gravel road that takes a huge toll on my tires But thats what I am paid to do so a new set twice a year suits me fine. of course the other mentioned components are checked then as well and replaced or repaired as needed.

Patrick

What tires have you used on your truck? Sounds like you should know the good from the bad based on your usage. Which ones wore better?

 

[BillGotthelf]

I have found on my 96 3500 4x4 no matter what the tire I get them to last around 35,000 miles. I tow heavy and do rotate every 5,000 miles. I do not know if this helps the tires last any longer but it does give me an oportunity to check the brakes. Also the tires seem to need to be balance and the front tires wear wierd all the time.

 

[monkfarm]

I have never rotated my tires. I got 45000 out of my first Michelins, and I have 40000 on my second identical set. It looks like I will get at least 45000 out of this set also. I always max out the air pressure (60 lbs? i believe) on front and rear. I have a lead foot and never baby my baby around the sharp hillbilly curves around here.

I think I will try a set of balancers (centramatics) this time. I put a set on my Peterbilt on the steers (was having major out of round problems) and they seem to work real well. I do have a little bit of abnormal wear at 40000 miles on the dodge