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How much air (psi) should I have in trailer tires that have a max cold rating of 50 psi? I always thought you were supposed to inflate the tires to max rating while cold so I've run 50 psi in my trailer tires forever and without incident but I accidently put 77 psi in a tire yesterday and it exploded 10 miles from the house this morning. I bought a new tire from the tire center I've been using for 20+ years and they told me I should be running no more than 32-35 psi. Does that sound right? I lowered them to 40 psi and they look underinflated to me.
I also had them put new tires on my truck while I was there and they said that most truck tires should be inflated to no more than 35 psi and I should inflate to whatever the sticker in the door jamb says . (which is 35 psi) The tires have a max cold rating of 51 psi so why shouldn't I inflate to 51?
I've Googled until I'm cross eyed and get conflicting stories... some say inflate to max psi cold and others say inflate to the # on the door jamb no matter what the tires say... I'd like to get this right since I didn't get anywhere near the mileage I think I should have from my last few sets of tires.
I'm more confused than usual at this point.

I’ve always done the same. I run between 45-50 cold and never had any issues.

Aren’t those inflate numbers for Max Load.

I’m sure your running around unloaded so why over-inflate the tires?

I run my dual axle trailer tires between 35-40. They are rated up to 50.


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I also run around 35-40 pressure for both my truck and trailer for the same reason BBB mentioned. Tires can wear funny for all sorts of reasons, but over/underinflated tires can be one of them. I used to run a very light and small tailer at 50lbs and I noticed the center was wearing faster than the rest of the tire. Switching to 35lbs really seemed to help.

Again, I know tires can wear different for a million reasons, but the only variable I changed was pressure...same truck pulling it, same roads, same axle. I'm now on my second set of tires with that trailer and the wear is nice and even across the entire surface of the tread.

bbb wrote: ↑June 2nd, 2021, 2:31 pm Aren’t those inflate numbers for Max Load.

I’m sure your running around unloaded so why over-inflate the tires?

I run my dual axle trailer tires between 35-40. They are rated up to 50.

Actually I'm probably "loaded" more times than not. and there's a boat behind the truck probably 75% of the time it leaves the yard.
I was wrong about the trailer tire pressure,,, (must have been thinking of the single axle trailer tires) since the max tire psi on the dual axle is 65 lbs not 50 as I thought so I may be safe running 50 psi in those tires.. The new truck tires have a max rating of 51 psi cold so I've got 40 psi in those.
Not sure the psi is right in either case but hopefully it's close.

Trailer tire pressures should be calculated on load and vehicle tires should follow manufacturer's recommendations.
Trailer tires should be inflated to the max cold rating for the load they are rated for. If you are loading the tires to their maximum load capacity, let's say they are rated for 500 pounds at 50 psi, then 50 psi is recommended. If you are loading the tires at 400 pounds each (two tires at 400 pounds = 800 pounds total load) then 40psi should be sufficient.
Truck and car tires are a different story. If you have stock tire and wheel assemblies on the vehicle, THE DOOR JAMB LABLE SHOULD INFORMATION SHOULD BE USED. Your tires are part of your suspension system and engineers have calculated handling and safety conditions of the vehicle with that tire and wheel assembly over various loads, temperature and driving situations, and the inflation rating is optimum for a wide range of those conditions.
The maximum inflation rating on the sidewall of the tire has a warning that states the vehicle manufacturer's recommendation should be followed. That maximum rating is if the tire is loaded to it's maximum weight capacity then it should be inflated to the maximum pressure. Vehicle tires are rarely loaded to their maximum weight capacity.

I load my to Max cold air on trailer tires. I would also recommend going for Load C tires to Load D, when I did it made a much better ride and better for the tires. Load D tires 65lbs.

leonreno wrote: ↑June 3rd, 2021, 2:24 pm I load my to Max cold air on trailer tires. I would also recommend going for Load C tires to Load D, when I did it made a much better ride and better for the tires. Load D tires 65lbs.

So you put 65 psi in your trailer tires when they're cold? That sounds like a lot and then there's the pressure increase as they get hot. Mine are rated for 65 but look about right at 50 and I'm thinking that leaves room for the expansion.
I still can't understand using the psi listed on the label on the door jamb unless you have the exact same size, and brand tires that came on the vehicle. . I don't and although the replacement tires are the same size as the original tires, the make, wear rating, mileage and max cold psi are different. If you went from 4 ply tires to 6 or even 10, I doubt the tires would use the psi listed on the door jamb.
Thanks for all the replies. I've decided there's no perfect answer.

look on side wall of tire manufacture spec of tire they give you the tire pressure

MIKE REELMAN wrote: ↑June 3rd, 2021, 7:50 pm look on side wall of tire manufacture spec of tire they give you the tire pressure

That's the max load psi. It will differ from what's on the door jamb label and the reason it's not clear how much pressure you should put in the tires.

My response was for trailer tires as that was what the OP was about, so no door jamb info. The max pressure on the side walls states 65psi cold, I figure the manufacture realizes what cold means and that the pressure will increase when it gets warm.

leonreno wrote: ↑June 4th, 2021, 2:18 pm My response was for trailer tires as that was what the OP was about, so no door jamb info. The max pressure on the side walls states 65psi cold, I figure the manufacture realizes what cold means and that the pressure will increase when it gets warm.

You may have misread the OP. I asked about both trailer and tow vehicle pressures but I understood your reply was about trailer tires. You said "trailer" in your post and other than heavy equipment, I doubt there are many vehicles that require 65 psi in their tires. I too ran the max rated psi printed on the sidewall for my trailer tires rated at 50 psi but I'm running just 50 psi in the tires rated for 65 max psi because 65 psi seems like a lot of pressure. I don't know the answer and suspect there is no "set" answer for all but I tend to agree with running the max psi or a little below max on trailer tires but not on a truck or tow vehicle when the data sticker calls for a lot less.

Juan wrote: ↑June 4th, 2021, 2:55 pm

leonreno wrote: ↑June 4th, 2021, 2:18 pm My response was for trailer tires as that was what the OP was about, so no door jamb info. The max pressure on the side walls states 65psi cold, I figure the manufacture realizes what cold means and that the pressure will increase when it gets warm.

You may have misread the OP. I asked about both trailer and tow vehicle pressures but I understood your reply was about trailer tires. You said "trailer" in your post and other than heavy equipment, I doubt there are many vehicles that require 65 psi in their tires. I too ran the max rated psi printed on the sidewall for my trailer tires rated at 50 psi but I'm running just 50 psi in the tires rated for 65 max psi because 65 psi seems like a lot of pressure. I don't know the answer and suspect there is no "set" answer for all but I tend to agree with running the max psi or a little below max on trailer tires but not on a truck or tow vehicle when the data sticker calls for a lot less.

You’re right, missed the part about the truck. Mine states 39psi, which is what I usually run though I do lower the back tires a little when it stays unloaded.

65 psi for the trailer tires did seem high but it’s also a small 13” tire that with four of them is rated to support around 6800 lbs.

I do know that Goodyear has a load chart for there Endurance trailer tires, that states the psi for specific loads.