TIRES ?

[MCGEE]

Hey guy's great forum & info, hey i thought i had it figured but friends telling me that i need more than just E load range tires to pull my 10.2 dw 5r trailor, trk is 05 2500 chevy xtd cab srw 4x diesel, trailor should not be more than 13k loaded, i live in the snow and need a/t tires, been using bfg's & duratrac, will these be ok or what else can i do, thanks again, mcgee

[caissiel]

I have used nothing more then load E tires on my truck for towing. Ford says to air to 75 PSI and when the 5th is hooked the tire pressures are 80PSI.

Tires do wear faster with load on so I rotate them everytime I change the oil. I have onw
e BFG rugged trail that is 7 years old and I can not wear it compare to my Bridgestones.

My next set will surely be BFG Rugged trail again.

[Midniteoyl]

Whats your rear axle weight loaded and ready for towing? That will tell you.

But, I tend to agree with the above - E range should be plenty.

[wingnut60]

MCGEE,
did your friends explain how to get more than LR E tires for your truck?
Joe

[Ray,IN]

Load range E, 16" tires will safely carry all the weight your 3/4T pickup can safely handle. I ran a Dodge CTD, 3/4T towing a 10,500# 5er for about 8 years. The truck always handled fine and tires wore evenly because I kept them at 80psi when towing. If I tried to reduce air pressure on the rears the truck could get squirrely in cross-winds and cornering at highway speeds.
You should not attempt to run higher load range tires on your truck even though they are available, without also buying matching rims. If you want a higher LR tire you must change rims and buy 19.5" MDT tires. They have the same OD as 235/85R16 tires. They are LR "J" tires, however, your truck still has the same rear axle maximum. The approx. cost of changing to 19.5" tires and rims is close to $3,000 for new stuff.

If you want to do some reading, Goodyear says this about tires and rims: http://www.goodyear.com/truck/pdf/da...dInflation.pdf

[JIMNLIN]

16" LT E tires come in load capacities from 2680 lbs up to 3800 lbs depending on size. So not all LT E have enough capacity for your truck.

Your 2500 needs at least a 3042 lb rated LT E tire as your truck has a 6084 rear axle rating. Front axle ratings are less.

Some folks use a LT D load range on their 2500 trucks for a softer ride. D load range tires may have 3042 lb of capacity but may not have the sidewall stiffness/heavier plies of the E tire.
The D tire will usually exhibit carcass roll with say a tall heavy truck camper or a max axle load or a heavy trailer pushing the trucks rear around on a curvy road.
For a heavy 5th wheel I would prefer LT E with the higher pressures for the stiffer sidewalls.

[MCGEE]

Once again you guy's are a wealth of information, understand now that i can use my stock tire size in e rating and meet the weight of the rear axle ability and should be good, what do you think of the idea some have of moving up to say one size over stock to gain another four hundred lbs per and longer milage life, under stand that the odometer will be a little slow, will be at front sight for the week end and will catch up with you guy's next week, thanks again, mcgee

[JIMNLIN]

Depends on your trucks current wheel width.
Example;
Many 2500 GM trucks come OEM with LT245/75-16 E mounted on 6.5" wide wheels. A LT265/75-16 E has a 8"- 8.2" wide tread depending on tire brand/type tread. Not a good match .

The wheels width needs to be close to the tire tread width for a load carrying tire/wheel combo. A load carrying tire/wheel has different needs than hotrods/racing type/dirt trackers/etc conditions where the wheels width can be used to make the tire work differently.

Some GM owners report moving up to a larger diameter tire altered the Allison's shift pattern and even set codes. I would check out some of the GM diesel forums for more input on any issues with larger diameter tires and the Allison