Tires or air bags?

[Vols]

Have P rated tires and wanted to get the forums input on which item to do first. Change tires to xL rated or air bags. I plan on doing both but wanted to see which I should do first.

[donn]

Never heard of xL tires. Do you mean LT tires?
Yes, if your wheels are capable of handling LT tires and the correct 80PSI pressure rating, get the tires first. You will probably not need air bags. Unless of course you are overloaded in the first place. In that case nothing will help that problem.

[grhodes50]

Originally Posted by donn

Never heard of xL tires. Do you mean LT tires?
Yes, if your wheels are capable of handling LT tires and the correct 80PSI pressure rating, get the tires first. You will probably not need air bags. Unless of course you are overloaded in the first place. In that cast nothing will help that problem.

X2

Plus remember, the air bags will not increase any of your tv's ratings. They also will not shift any of the hitch weight to the front axle like a wd hitch will do.

[Vols]

Just wanting to get that "squshy bounce" feeling out. Truck level with WD hooked up. I found Cooper zeon tires xL (xtra load atleast that's what web sites says it means)

[dstars99]

Our tow vehicle has the xl tires. It puts the P metric tire close to the load range of the LT tires.

[grhodes50]

LT tires, "E" rated, should get rid of the squishy bounce feeling. As mentioned by donn, be sure your rims and valve stems can handle the increased psi.
I'm not familar with the Cooper Zeon XL's, so I can't comment one way or another about them.

[crocus]

Definitely get the tires. 'P' rated tires are not meant for any kind of hauling.

[Triguy]

I've got a set of Yokohama LT-C's and really like the stiffer ride and more stable feeling when towing. E's would have been too stiff and generally overkill for my setup plus my rim's can't handle the 80 psi.

[rracer5]

Originally Posted by grhodes50

LT tires, "E" rated, should get rid of the squishy bounce feeling. As mentioned by donn, be sure your rims and valve stems can handle the increased psi.
I'm not familar with the Cooper Zeon XL's, so I can't comment one way or another about them.

X3

[padave65]

I have heard of them....I have a set..They are a nice compromise, especially if your rims cannot handle the psi...I have Hankook XL's and they do okay. XL means that their 3 digit load range rating qualifies it as extra load....to be honest, most of the XL's will take you past the axle rating. I went with them and not the LT's because finding a set of 4 20 inch 60's in LT's is difficult and extremely expensive....My Hankook's have a load rating of 119 which translates to 3000 pounds. Which takes me to 6000 pounds per axle which is 1200 pounds more than each GAWR. Spent 600 dollars rather than much more than LT 275/60 R20's. My advice, look at discount tire direct, they have great financing deals. My dealer mounted and balanced for 10 bucks each. In addition, I went with Firestone no drill air bags. You could do both for under a grand and get 0% financing to pay them off..my point is why wait? Do both now... or at least by spring. I do not have any squishy feeling...definitely a truck ride.....

[acadianbob]

We tow a 5,500 pound travel trailer with P tires and they do just fine. There is a wide range of P tires. We got some very heavily built XL tires with a high load index. Another step up are LT tires that are C Rated. You can definitely do these on the factory wheel (50psi). Standard 1/2 ton factory wheels may not be rated for the 80 psi of an E rated tire.

[crocus]

I believe the OP was talking about replacing the original equipment P-rated tires, which most certainly wouldn't be up to the job.

[padave65]

Originally Posted by crocus

I believe the OP was talking about replacing the original equipment P-rated tires, which most certainly wouldn't be up to the job.

XL rated for 3000 pounds each or 12000 total is not up to the job? Really? What is the GVWR of most 3/4 ton's 10000???

[crocus]

padave, give it a rest already.

[Vols]

So the tires I'm looking at 275-60-20 XL 119s rated at 3000lbs
Will be noticeably better then my current tires Goodyear HP
275-60-20 rated at 2600lbs ?

[padave65]

Originally Posted by Vols

So the tires I'm looking at 275-60-20 XL 119s rated at 3000lbs
Will be noticeably better then my current tires Goodyear HP
275-60-20 rated at 2600lbs ?

Mine are much better...I made the exact same switch from the Good Year HP 275/60R20 to Hankook Ventus Rho7 XL 119H's
(H speed rated rather than your S which should not make a difference while towing). I noticed an immediate improvement ...especially on turns. But only made one trip before adding the air bags. Make sure you inflate the tires to the upper range of the air pressure...I usually put in 48 psi..... I am towing the bigger and heavier cousin to your Tracer 3150.....which is the Lacrosse 318. The Dodge Ram 1500's have fairly soft springs which makes for a smooth ride but lowers the payload. I think the air bags would be very beneficial....they will help with handling, porpoising (on rough highways with bad joints) and squatting....

[padave65]

Did you check the General Grabber HTS?..they are fairly highly rated by consumers on both the tire rack and discount tire direct websites and a bit cheaper than the Coopers....Same 119s Rating. They are rated as low rolling resistance which will probably give you slightly better mpg's than the Coopers....Just a thought....

[youroo]

PAdave,did you get your (FREE) tire pressure gauge from (HANKOOK)? Youroo!!

[padave65]

Originally Posted by youroo

PAdave,did you get your (FREE) tire pressure gauge from (HANKOOK)? Youroo!!

nope just a $50 rebate..Was it nice? ......I see that the tires that I bought seem to be back ordered many places.

[Walke]

Why would anyone ever run an XL or LT tire at 80psi ?? This is about 30 psi more than I would ever consider putting in a tire to tow any legal weight trailer/TV combination !!