What tire pressure for 35's in snow.

[tedbull]

Hello, I am driving my 1969 Highboy up to my work 45 miles up to stevens pass to pick up a snowmobile to bring home. Last time I drove in the snow my truck did OK in 4x4 going about 50 on the hiway. My question is what is a good tire pressure to run my 35" mud terrains at. I need something low enough for grip but high enough for highway driving and hauling a 500 pound snomobile. Thanks.

[Wes]

that's a tough question, I would start at 40-45 and go down from there, probably stop at 30 in the rear and 35ish in front. If your sliding a couple pounds down at time. The weight of the snowmobile is not so much of worry, 500 pounds in these fords isn't even a work out. Good luck and have a safe trip.

[mlheppl]

I would stay with your normal tire pressure. Traction won't be much of an issue when you get the weight of the snow mobile in the back of your truck. From my experience, you'd have to let more air out than what is recommended by the tire mfgr to get a noticeable difference on the traction in the snow. When you do this, you're going to heat up your sidewalls when driving at highway speeds. This could lead to premature tire failure down the road.

[jeepermc]

What pressure do you normally run? It looks like you have 16" wheels? You should be absolutely fine at anything above 25 psi.....I normally run my 36" buckshots on my Highboy at about 30# for all around use....When we had all the snow at Christmas in 08 or 09 around here I dropped it to about 20 for all around driving for a little more traction......

[averagef250]

I run all my tires at max all the time. I never know when I'll need to swerve around a moron on the freeway or haul a trailer with 5K tongue weight. I get the best mileage that way and I can't stand a mushy flat-tire ride. I know some people like it that way. A friend owns a tire store, knows everything you could ever want to know about tires and he runs the goodyear silent armors on his duramax at 35 PSI. I had to drive it somewhere for him a few months back and was taking 45 MPH country road curves at 35 MPH. He loves it that way, says it "rides better". Whatever floats your boat.

In the big '09 snow I was happy in my old '71 F-250 with 35" BFG muds at 50 PSI.

[jeepermc]

I prefer to run mine where the tires wear the best.. But I know...Obama says to make sure our tires are inflated for the best mileage to save the environment... But I didn't vote for so I don't have to listen....

[speed bump]

Generally I run 10 plys at 40+ PSI.

[jeepermc]

Generally I run 10 plys at 40+ PSI.

That's fair...Every tire wears differently and the wheel plays a big factor in that. I run 315/75/16 10 ply rated toyo mud terrains on my 97 F-350 powerstroke. I run them on the stock 7" wheel. It works but is not ideal....the tires should be on at least an 8" wheel for proper wear...normal pressure for this truck unloaded would be about 50-60 in front and 40-50 in the rear on stock type tires, but because I have a wide tire on a narrow wheel I run them at about 30 in front and 25 in the rear. If I ran them at max pressure all the time I'd wear out the center of the tire in about 10K miles...Not to mention I'd probably bleed from the kidneys..They wear ok at this pressure though the centers will probably still wear faster than the outside and handle just fine... If I'm hauling something any distance they get a few more pounds of air... Now...the stock tires I can run at max pressure of 80 and get better mileage and the tires wear just fine....They are rock hard and handle the dry weather fine but suck trying to stop/start/corner in the wet without sliding all over the place....Air pressure plays a big part in how your truck drives and handles...there is no "one size fits all"..

[lightdrinker]

i have been wheeling and jeeping for a very long time in the PNW and one thing of importance above most is tire pressure, it's the differance in making it and getting stuck. it all depends on what kind of road your on, the amount of snow and how fast your going. if your driving in 6"+ of snow you shouldn't be going more than 50mph. in those conditions i would run @ 20psi with one sled in the back, if your pulling a big trailer with 3+ sleds than probly 30psi. if you carry oba (on board air) than you can air down to 15-10psi or less when you go off the road to the staging area if need be if its not a well traveled trail or forest road. i have driven 40+ miles @ 55mph with 35's at about 15psi without any problem, you just have to be smart about it and keep the side wall roll in mind, ie don't hotrod. if its just you and your truck in deep snow i would suggest running at 10-8psi, i know that sound really low but you would be suprised where it can get you without a hickup.