Tow Vehicle Tires

[rlray42]

I'm thinking I just need to leave my RV in the back yard, lol

[Ditchooker]

I have the 275/65/18 Michelin ltx m/s2's on my truck currently. as my truck is also my commuter to work, I stuck with the P rated for the comfort and better fuel economy. This was the stock size on my Limited, usually just bump my tire pressures up to max while towing. have 20K miles on them currently and are wearing very well. Got them from discount tire with the repair/replace contract. So far towing has been fine, and considerably better than the stock Bridgestone Dueler's it came with. (which were worn right out at 32k)

I was also looking at the hankook dynapro's, but the michelins at the time were about the same money and had a longer warrenty on them.

as to Q1, i have had nexen tires from walmart on a few cars (not truck) in the past, and although I didn't have any major failures, i did find they were noisy and their traction to be lacking.

Q2: i think has been already answered. Sticking with an O.E. size won't give you any headaches with rubbing/speedo issues. I was looking at the smaller size for a set of winter tires, but i think they are a bit of an off size, as the larger ones were cheaper at the time than the ones you currently have. (F150 has the 275/65/18's on it as well)

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by leencharlotte

I put on LT MX2 (michelin) E range on my Tundra earlier this year. So far happy with them when towing and not towing

Solid vote here for the Michelin LT MX2 E range.

30,000 miles and still no signs of wear.

A "NO" vote for "P" metric tires. Get a good "LT" tire.

[Sgt. Schultz]

I am sure many of you are aware of the following:
P-metric tires used on passenger cars and station wagons are rated to carry 100% of the load indicated on the tire's sidewall (or listed for the tire in industry load/inflation charts). However, if the same P-metric tires are used on light trucks, (pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles for example), their carrying capacity is reduced to 91% of the load indicated on the tire's sidewall. This reduction in load results in causing light truck vehicle manufacturers to select proportionately larger P-metric sized tires for their vehicles to help offset the forces and loads resulting from a light truck's higher center of gravity and increased possibility of being occasionally "overloaded."
from Tire Tech Information - Tire Specs Explained: Maximum Load
Personal rule of thumb for light trucks
LT C or D for less than 7000lbs GVW
LT D or E for 7000 to 8600lbs GVW
LT E for 8600 to 10,500 lbs GVW
YMMV

[wneise]

I think I saw earlier in this thread and I agree. Don't put E rated LT tires on as a replacement for passenger tires. The wheels will not handle the pressure. Keep it down to C rated, you'll be fine.

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by wneise

I think I saw earlier in this thread and I agree. Don't put E rated LT tires on as a replacement for passenger tires. The wheels will not handle the pressure. Keep it down to C rated, you'll be fine.

The max safe pressure should be stamped on the rims (usually on the brake surface of the "car side" of the rim).

[PHS79]

Personally on todays bigger and heavier 1/2ton trucks I will only run tires that are D load range or E. If on a 3/4 or 1 ton, no matter what they should only have E's.

As for actual tires I have Nitto Terra Grapplers and really like them, I have had them in mud, snow, ice, sand, and just plain driving. In all these conditions they work pretty darn good for an A/T tire.

I have had Kumho tires 2 different times on my trucks, an A/T and a M/T. For the price they can hardly be beat and they wore very well, I got about 40,000 miles out of both sets which for the M/T that was very good.