Ever since you mentioned the lower pressures you run in the front axles I decided to tweak with mine a bit and adjust a few things like sector adjustment on the steering gear box now. This is the best the truck has ran from steering now. It very stable and tracks well now with no sawing action now. So I wanted to say "Thank You" to Wild & Free because my truck is very enjoyable to drive now and doesn’t require all those crazy mods like steering box brace or 3rd gen track bar. All factory front end parts!

On long dirt/gravel I will drop the pressures for the reasons mentioned.... But those aren't trips where I look for mileage either. I have been known to drop as low as 40/20, but I also won't get above 25 mph for 7-10 days.

W&F, many of your washboard gravel roads in NoDak are way better roads to drive than the "hard roads"  I have to drive on here in northern Illannoy!!!  I've driven thousands (still not as many as you though) miles on NoDak gravel roads in all conditions.....................dry, wet, moist, frozen, snow covered, etc. is true, but I beg to differ a bit.

 

I'm with AH64ID here...........................I hate the way my truck drives with air pressure less than 65-70psi in the fronts.  I run the same pressures in the rears as I'm hitching and unhitching a trailer everyday, and I don't want to fart around with airing up and down all the time.  81,000+ on the OEM Michelin LTX AS's, 75,000+ on the Cooper Discoverer ATR's, and as of today I have 66,000+ miles on the Cooper Discoverer AT3's.  Should easily get 80,000 from the AT3's.

 

I got 125,000 miles off of the Michelin LTX M&S's on my '99.................and I'll be willing to bet that over half of those miles were towing miles!!!!  I could've gone another 20k on them probably!!

 

Both my '99 and my current '04.5, I keep the tires aired up to 70psi on all four corners.

Edited March 20, 201510 yr by dorkweed

At those pressures my pickups would be salvage units by 100K miles, total rattle traps by then and totally worn out chassis and bodies, driveline would be great but the rest wrapped around it wouldn't be good.

We have something on roads out west they don't have in the eastern part of the state where you run and that is scoria rock "The red orange shale like stone" very sharp and jagged and nothing as hard on tires as that, nothing like class 5 road gravel which varies a lot as well depending on the area it was mined and crushed out of, it makes a huge difference in road surfaces some is sandy some has more clay it goes on and on with the variables and 150+ miles from the area you run in to my area.

But then again the average speeds we drive on gravel is just as fast as the interstate seems like most days.  Can't say I rarely drive less than 55-60++ on gravel roads. Heck the actual posted speed limits on Gravel roads are usually 50-60 mph in my area anyhow which doesn't help, we got lots of ground to cover around here to get anywhere or get anything done.  Bout the only time I slow down is for the farmers grain semis running 70+ down the gravel coming at me.

 

The glass companies make an awesome living around here.

Most of my dirt road miles are at full pressure as I am generally loaded up. My front end lasted longer than most, and really wasnt too worn when replaced/upgraded at 86K miles. I am also several hundred lbs heavier on the front that most, due to the hitch, batteries, filters, etc. I scale at over 5K empty on the front axle.

Them bumper pull trailers raise heck on tires versus gooseneck or 5th wheel for sure! Been down that road,  I will personally never buy another bumper pull trailer of any sort ever again.

I got the pressures adjusted back down.  Still need to adjust the caster and see how it affects the ride quality.

 

I got a spreadsheet attached that uses Mikes formula to calculate tire pressure.  Nothing fancy, but it works.

 

Tire Pressure Calculator.xls

Them bumper pull trailers raise heck on tires versus gooseneck or 5th wheel for sure! Been down that road,  I will personally never buy another bumper pull trailer of any sort ever again.

How do you think it differs?

I looked into non bumper pull trailers, and they don't make GN toy haulers that would work. There are GN adapters, but they are hard on pin boxes and frames, and any associated warranty.

If I were to go with a 5er, and I am not sure the hitch woukd like some of the angles it would see, the cost of a 4 season TH is so absurd that it's not worth it. They cost too much and are not built very well, at least all of the ones I have seen.

Then there is the issue of turning, a GN/5er couldn't go many of the places I take my TT due to the pivot point.

I'm all bumper pull trailers and hasn't change tire wear for me at all either way. Loading the truck bed or loading the trailer. But so far the soft tire pressure tend to add to the traction level a bit more giving less slip on steep dirt road grades.

I'm talking about working rigs here not little utility trailers that carry the load almost 100% with no hitch weight. Take a 20' bumper trailer and the exact trailer as a gooseneck and throw a 12K load on it and see which one pulls harder. I guarantee your headlights are going to be aiming at the stars with a bumper pull which make it pull a lot harder as well and this type of load really raises hell on rear tires versus a gooseneck. Heck pulling my pontoon around @ freeway speeds there is not a lot of tongue weight but the torque applied to pull that resistance from the big barn back there causes a bit more tire slip than if there was more weight on the rear wheels. I really notice the accelerated rear tire wear in summer on the 1500 hemi versus the cummins while pulling the same load as the hemi is quite a bit lighter thus a bit more slippage.

 

John as far as you, I never figured out why folks need to drag everything they own around while camping or hunting.

 

You need to look into this type of stuff as an option and quit the worrying.  https://store.kuiu.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=1867 this is what camping and hunting is about.

John as far as you, I never figured out why folks need to drag everything they own around while camping or hunting.

I'm guessing you dont have a family to think about for things like this!

I've got 2 boys so it is a lot easier than girls but even so we pack more than I care to. I have yet to buy a camper for this reason, growing up in Wyoming my best friend and I would pack what we could carry and hike in and primitive camp in remote areas. We spent days at a time in the back cointry with little more than our tent, sleeping bags, break away fishing rods and a hatchet. This is really the only way I've ever known camping and is all we do as a family. There are some beautiful places in NY and the Alleghenies where you can still get off the grid. Even so, its a real challenge doing so as a family especially with young children who can't "carry their weight" so to speak. The wife is a good sport about it even though it was something she had never done before we met and would not be possible to do as a group if not for her willingness to help out.

As much fun and enjoyment as I get out of it, a TT looks better and better every year and is something that is in our near future.

Haha... Not sure how you think I camp, but far from everything we own. Generally enough to have something for the kids to do, and some whiskey. Few 4wheeler rides and its a fun weekend. Everything is boondocking for us. The #1 reason for a TT over a tent is winter/ring camping, with nights in the teens. A tent isn't nearly as fun with 3 kids under 10 when its 20° outside, or raining for 2-3 days.

The weight on the rear tires is going to be more with a GN than a BP of the same trailer GVW. A GN has 20-25% pin weight vs 10-15 TW. The BP will reduce the front axle weight, but not by enough to make the rear axle heavier with a BP than GN of equal GVW. GN trailers do ride the pickups airwaves better thou.

With a BP, you also have a totally "flat" floor in the trailer.

Your all a bunch of girls ... I roll around approx 32-35psi 

Yeah but you do it for traction of the sandy beaches...

Haha .... mostly roads these days .... but I do miss the beaches. Reminds me I need to bump up to 40 psi sometime now front end is done.

I've pulled A 23' TT @ about 6k lb and the 5er @ 8k lb and i'll take the 5er any day. I just didn't like the up n down bounce the travel trailer gave even with a load lever hitch.