Tow Vehicle Tires

[Old Bones]

Its time to change out the tires on our 2010 Ram 1500. It came with 20" wheels and P275/60R20 Goodyears.

When pulling the trailer with the current tires the back of the truck seemed to feel squirmy at times, so I would like to go with a heavier sidewall. Unfortunately there is a very limited selection of tires with a heavier sidewall for 20" rims in these parts.

As others have mentioned there is the option to going with to a 17" rim. but I didn't really want to go that route.

Looks like I'm going to go with the Nitto Dura Grappler Highway Terrain tire.
Its E load range which is probably a bit of overkill, but was the only tire available here that had a heavier sidewall and was the same size as the tires that came on the truck.

Comments I've read online from people that use them for towing, they seem to be a pretty good tire. The one major thing I read was to make sure to drop the tire pressure when the the truck isn't loaded to prevent premature wear.

[Chuckinca]

Better control with 17" tires.

Drop pressure to what? Below the recommended pressure on the door label?

[Old Bones]

Originally Posted by Chuckinca

Better control with 17" tires.

Drop pressure to what? Below the recommended pressure on the door label?

I haven't got the tires yet and will have to check what the manufacture recommends, but the comments I read that they were using 80 psi when hauling and 50 psi without a load.

[mackman1994]

My F-350 has 20 in wheels and load range E. You are correct about lowering the pressure when not towing. My brother manages a Firestone and suggests I run 55 psi when not towing. I just picked up my new 5er yesterday and it tows great with the 20s and it has a 1800lb hitch weight.

[acadianbob]

IMO, you should never run 80 PSI in a half ton truck even your tires are rated for that PSI; are you rims rated for 80 PSI? Maybe not. And you don't need 80 PSI.

I've got Load Range C on my 1/2 ton. I run 40 without load and 50 with load. Works fine.

If you run 55 psi empty on load range E, be prepared for a significant reduction in ride quality. BTW, my buddy's F150 with P-metrics rides noticeably smoother than my F150 with LT's. They are virtually identical trucks in every other respect.

On the plus side, you will get a more controlled feeling while towing with LT's. We have noticed a big reduction in vertical bounce from choppy roads.

So, more comfort and control while towing, less comfort when empty. Those are pretty much the trade-offs IMO.

[Old Bones]

Yes 80 psi does sound like a lot. Again I don't have the tires yet, so will have a better indication on recommended pressures when I can speak to the dealer some more.

Just been going by what others have said about these tires when reading the reviews on them.

I currently have P-metrics on the truck now and run them at 38 to 40 psi when I'm hauling the trailer. Just feel squirmy with the trailer and have read other Ram owners having the same complaint with the same tire.

Did some checking and if the information is correct, the tire bead or valve stem will fail at higher pressures before the wheel itself.

The tire dealer included a TPMS service pack, so I'll have to make sure that is a replacement stem for higher pressures. Also from what I read the 80 psi would be required to handle maximum load of the tire, which it don't think I'll ever get to with a 1500.

[kandl]

Originally Posted by Phil_J

Its time to change out the tires on our 2010 Ram 1500. It came with 20" wheels and P275/60R20 Goodyears.

When pulling the trailer with the current tires the back of the truck seemed to feel squirmy at times, so I would like to go with a heavier sidewall. Unfortunately there is a very limited selection of tires with a heavier sidewall for 20" rims in these parts.

As others have mentioned there is the option to going with to a 17" rim. but I didn't really want to go that route.

Looks like I'm going to go with the Nitto Dura Grappler Highway Terrain tire.
Its E load range which is probably a bit of overkill, but was the only tire available here that had a heavier sidewall and was the same size as the tires that came on the truck.

Comments I've read online from people that use them for towing, they seem to be a pretty good tire. The one major thing I read was to make sure to drop the tire pressure when the the truck isn't loaded to prevent premature wear.

Phil, FWIW...

We replaced the original equipment 20-inch GY rubber with GY Wrangler Silent Armors. Ya, they're a p-metric tire but the sidewalls are considerably stiffer than the OE rubber, they weigh considerable less than a comparably sized E-rated tire and are a whole lot less pricey than that E-rated equivalent. They've been on the Dodge for two years now - really pleased with the way they've performed. Especially while towing.

Cheers

[bayoubuggie]

Please pardon the dumb question , but what is a p-metric tire?

[simplyrwc]

A tire with a P in front of the numbers.

[bayoubuggie]

Thanks, I should have gone here www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=70, before posting.

[ourflat]

OP are you positive the issue is with your tires? I have a 2011 Ram 1500 4X4 and after talking to Ram, I installed a set of Firestone air bags in the rear springs to help manage the load: problem solved. Ram decided to install the air bags standard in the new trucks due to your problem and others.

Frank

[Old Bones]

Originally Posted by kandl

Phil, FWIW...

We replaced the original equipment 20-inch GY rubber with GY Wrangler Silent Armors. Ya, they're a p-metric tire but the sidewalls are considerably stiffer than the OE rubber, they weigh considerable less than a comparably sized E-rated tire and are a whole lot less pricey than that E-rated equivalent. They've been on the Dodge for two years now - really pleased with the way they've performed. Especially while towing.

Cheers

Okay thanks. Good to know. I will have to take a look into those as well. Thanks for the information.

[sherdep]

a Load range E tire will help stabilize the ride when towing due to more ply's in the side wall of the tire

I have an 04 Dodge and run 18" rims and tire combo
My truck came stock with the 20's but since I did a lift I had to go with diffrent rim due to back space requirments.

If I could do it all over I would have rather stayed with a 20" tire because I noticed the 18's make the truck ride diffrently - has more mush as you would call it - not exactly sure how to explian the diffrence other then that

My truck used to have alot of side to side motion when going around corners so added a rear sway bar which helped alot - I think the 2010's came with sway bars from the factory but from what I remember seeing they are about half the size as the one I installed from Hellwig.

Does the truck bounce up and down and back and forth when towing? or does the back end squat considerably? I have no experiance with air bags but do know my parents used to tow a 5th wheel on a 2500 dodge and it bounce before they added the air bags and also helped stabilize the level of the truck too

[Old Bones]

I get a side motion, but not a rocking back and forth it's more a squirmy feeling out the back of the truck like driving on grease.

Yes the truck did come with a stabilizer bar, but as you mentioned I can bet it isn't as big as an after market one. The truck doesn't really sway at all when cornering etc, it's just that squirmy feeling when going down the road.

The truck doesn't squat at all when the trailer is hooked up, but I have airbags installed inside the coils and have them inflated to 40 - 45 psi when loaded.

I get some porpoising at times, but from reading various posts and hearing from members on the forum that may be being caused by a combination of problems. I'm starting to think the bars on the WDH are not heavy enough. They are 800lb and probably should have gone with 1,000lb.

Also the airbags could be causing some bounce, so going to change out to a heavier duty shock of some kind.

[Old Bones]

Originally Posted by ourflat

OP are you positive the issue is with your tires? I have a 2011 Ram 1500 4X4 and after talking to Ram, I installed a set of Firestone air bags in the rear springs to help manage the load: problem solved. Ram decided to install the air bags standard in the new trucks due to your problem and others.

Frank

Hi Frank,

Yup had the airbags installed before we picked up the trailer.

When were telling our sales guy at the Dodge dealership that we had bought a TT, that was one of the first things he told us to do was get airbags installed.

[sherdep]

bilstein socks are the way to go - kinda pricey but well worth it

does the trailer sway? that squirmy feeling to me would think you have sway
does it happen all the time or just at highway speeds?

[OldCoot]

When I got my 05 Silverado it had P tires on it and we towed a 31' t trailer with it and even with 50# in the tires it was squishy even tho' I also had air bags. Changed to LT E with 65# for towing and it made all the difference in the world. No more squishy feeling and when not towing, I let them down to 45# in the tires and 5# in the air bags and it rides just fine. Not as good as our old broken down 96 Deville, but it is a pretty smooth ride.

[Old Bones]

Originally Posted by sherdep

bilstein socks are the way to go - kinda pricey but well worth it

does the trailer sway? that squirmy feeling to me would think you have sway
does it happen all the time or just at highway speeds?

Yes I'd like to get Bilsteins. Not to many shops here carry them. They are mainly Monroe pro, but figure I'll try to get the shop that does my tires to put them on at the same time even if I have to order them in myself.

I get bad sway at times and going to change the WDH out one that has sway control.

I've noticed the squirmy feeling even at 45 mph. It's hard to describe it's one of those feelings you get in the seat of your pants. Even though the truck is locked down to the road it feels like the back of it is on black ice at times, but not all the time. I raise the pressure on the current P-metric tires to 40 - 42 psi when hauling.

The tires are due to be changed out anyway, so now is the ideal time to get something with a heavier sidewall.

[fonzie]

No matter what, get LT tires....do a search for more posts...

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ces-13629.html

[Old Bones]

Originally Posted by fonzie

No matter what, get LT tires....do a search for more posts...

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ces-13629.html

Yes I'd definitely would like to get a LT tire, but are hard to come by in 20". Have managed to find some here with an "E" rating. Was told about Good Year Wrangler Silent Armor, so will look at those as well.