Truck tires

[sherdep]

Originally Posted by boubou

Can i put 18 on a dodge? I'll check them out

yes you can as long as you get the right bolt pattern - 5 x 5.5 is what you need but like I said watch the backspace of the rim - the further you put the rim and tire out the reduction in turn radius you will have.
I am running 305-70-18 tires with Dick Cepek DC-1 rims but the back space is 4-1/2" and you dont want that.

you cant put 16" rims on your Dodge they will not fit over the brake caliper.

[boubou]

I get a feeling most 1/2 ton truck are towing above their GWVR

[Dave_Monica]

Originally Posted by sherdep

yes you can as long as you get the right bolt pattern - 5 x 5.5 is what you need but like I said watch the backspace of the rim - the further you put the rim and tire out the reduction in turn radius you will have.
I am running 305-70-18 tires with Dick Cepek DC-1 rims but the back space is 4-1/2" and you dont want that.

you cant put 16" rims on your Dodge they will not fit over the brake caliper.

Why would you bother to go with aftermarket 18" rim???

Issues would be added cost for both tires and rims, getting the correct backspace in the aftermarket rim, correcting the speedometer error.

The best recommendation is to replace the factory 20's with factory 17" wheels...lots available used at half the price of new 18's. The dealership can correct the speedometer error as it would be an OEM option as long as the put on the OEM sized tires (265/70/17's).

Dave

[Malco]

Originally Posted by boubou

I get a feeling most 1/2 ton truck are towing above their GWVR

All I know is when I bought my truck they told me I could tow 9100 lbs. At that time we had a Mallard 29S which was a 29 foot trailer plus the hitch,no slide though,and it towed it fine.We then got our Salem 30Kqbss which is supposed to be 6700lbs dry but has a hitch weight of close to 1000lbs whitch at first was an issue but after playing with the hitch seems to be alright now.Power to tow was never a problem and the truck has a transmission,engine oil and coolant temp displays that never get much hotter towing than not towing,so if I am overloading the truck it is not showing it.I really wouldn't worry about numbers you have read,if your truck is towing to much it will usually let you know by something heating up more than it should.I will,however,soon be getting some new Michelins for it .

[Dave_Monica]

Originally Posted by Malco

All I know is when I bought my truck they told me I could tow 9100 lbs. At that time we had a Mallard 29S which was a 29 foot trailer plus the hitch,no slide though,and it towed it fine.We then got our Salem 30Kqbss which is supposed to be 6700lbs dry but has a hitch weight of close to 1000lbs whitch at first was an issue but after playing with the hitch seems to be alright now.

As I mentioned in a previous post, you run out of payload capacity before you run out of towing capacity...true for most 1/2 and 3/4 T trucks.

Dave

[sherdep]

Originally Posted by Dave_Monica

Why would you bother to go with aftermarket 18" rim???

Issues would be added cost for both tires and rims, getting the correct backspace in the aftermarket rim, correcting the speedometer error.

The best recommendation is to replace the factory 20's with factory 17" wheels...lots available used at half the price of new 18's. The dealership can correct the speedometer error as it would be an OEM option as long as the put on the OEM sized tires (265/70/17's).

Dave

Dave,
I understand where you are coming from - am throwing other options out

the 17" rims are not as nice looking as the 20" rims

the other reasoning behind the 18" tires is less side wall and flex then a 17" tire and you can get a 33" tire in a load range E (same size tire as the Ford F-250's are using) which is the same height as the 20" tire and would not need a speedo recalibration - the only way for a speedo recalibration is with a Superchips - from what I remember the factory cannot recalibrate the 4th gen rams with the DRB (Last I remember but that could have changed).

I own a 3rd Gen Ram and have done both - dealer recalibrated the speedo and then had it put back and now I am using the Superchips to correct it.

[Dave_Monica]

Originally Posted by sherdep

33" tire in a load range E (same size tire as the Ford F-250's are using) which is the same height as the 20" tire and would not need a speedo recalibration

The only 20" LT truck available when I was looking is 275/65/20 which is the optional OEM tire on the F250's. They're 34.1 inch diameter compared 33" for the 275/60/20 on the Rams. Bigger diameter, lower (numerical) axle ratio which I didn't want and the $400 per tire was tough to swallow. Going with the OEM sized 17" was the same as changing the axle ratio from 3.92 to 4.10's.

When towing, I found that the truck would stay in fifth gear more often yielding a slightly better mpg and was definitely better come hill climbing.

Dave

[Rugged Brown]

Originally Posted by boubou

I get a feeling most 1/2 ton truck are towing above their GWVR

I agree and i am one of those, but my truck has been towing fine with 8-10 mpg and pulls fine on the hills. Lots of stopping power with huge 4 wheel disk brakes.

I also think the same can be said for the 3/4 ton trucks and the 1 ton trucks too. These people with bigger trucks buy bigger campers. It's all relative.

[sherdep]

Originally Posted by Dave_Monica

The only 20" LT truck available when I was looking is 275/65/20 which is the optional OEM tire on the F250's. They're 34.1 inch diameter compared 33" for the 275/60/20 on the Rams. Bigger diameter, lower (numerical) axle ratio which I didn't want and the $400 per tire was tough to swallow. Going with the OEM sized 17" was the same as changing the axle ratio from 3.92 to 4.10's.

When towing, I found that the truck would stay in fifth gear more often yielding a slightly better mpg and was definitely better come hill climbing.

Dave

Originally Posted by Dave_Monica

Why would you bother to go with aftermarket 18" rim???

Michelin LTX MS 2 are $275 a piece but after you add mounting and balancing - 4 tires will cost you around $1268 (priced them out when I was going to replace my present tires)

I was responding to your question about 18's not 20's -
275/70/18 (stock size tire on the F250's) - 33.2" - which will make the tire off by .5% since it is a tad bigger but not enough to make that much of a diffrence they would not need a recalibration on the speedo.

There are not many options for Load Range E tires in the 275/60/20 - Cooper Zeon's are an option but I hate cooper tires - which is my opinion.

My Truck came stock with 20"s so I know what you are talking about - I had to get aftermarket rims due to the Lift Kit I installed on my truck because the stock rims would not fit due to the back space of the stock rim caused the rim to hit the outer tie rod's.

[Dave_Monica]

Cooper!!! Isn't that someone that hammerforms copper?

Dave

[boubou]

Originally Posted by Rugged Brown

I agree and i am one of those, but my truck has been towing fine with 8-10 mpg and pulls fine on the hills. Lots of stopping power with huge 4 wheel disk brakes.

I also think the same can be said for the 3/4 ton trucks and the 1 ton trucks too. These people with bigger trucks buy bigger campers. It's all relative.

I guess i should not worry about my truck being 80 lbs overweight! Lol

Still, Can't wait to get new tires (most likey 17") I don't care if they don' t look as good. They will give the trcuk an extra 50 lbs (woopdeedoop) payload to play with. Really, more about the choice and availability or 17" tires.

[Rugged Brown]

Originally Posted by boubou

I guess i should not worry about my truck being 80 lbs overweight! Lol

Still, Can't wait to get new tires (most likey 17") I don't care if they don' t look as good. They will give the trcuk an extra 50 lbs (woopdeedoop) payload to play with. Really, more about the choice and availability or 17" tires.

And I would suspect that 17" tires are cheaper to replace. It's funny that everytime I go to a tire dealer asking for a quote on tires, I always get the same song and dance. "Oh man, those tires are a rare size and hard to come buy. They're going to be expensive" I hear the same thing for my truck and other 2 cars I have. Just another retailer out to empty my pockets I guess.

[boubou]

Yep! Less expensive is a big point! More to choose from, more payload and less expensive.

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by boubou

I guess i should not worry about my truck being 80 lbs overweight! Lol

Heck taking the family to an all you can eat buffet could put our truck over the max!

[jimh]

something else to consider is the tag inside ur door. some dealers will not mount sizes that aren't on that tag.

[M109Rrider]

I put these Kumho's on my 1500 dodge with 20's. They were a little shorter but not really noticable. Huge improvement while towing compared to the Toyo's I had before.
Tire Details - Discount Tire Direct

[Dave_Monica]

Originally Posted by M109Rrider

I put these Kumho's on my 1500 dodge with 20's. They were a little shorter but not really noticable. Huge improvement while towing compared to the Toyo's I had before.
Tire Details - Discount Tire Direct

The OP is looking to change the OEM 20's (P metric) for LT metric more suited for towing. These Kumho's aren't the tires you'd put on for towing expecting an improvement over OEM. The specs aren't shown but I'd be willing to bet that the tires' load rating is the same or lower than the OEM Goodyear Wrangler.

Dave

[M109Rrider]

The load index for the kumho's is 2900lbs, the 285/70/17's load E's I have now are 3200. Wranger HP's in 275/60/20 are 2640. To each his own but I feel load E's on a 1/2 ton are a bit of an overkill.

[maggiek]

I'm in a quandary about this tire issue. Like a lot of folks out there, as empty Nester's we thought we'd like to try camping again after a 40 year hiatus so we bought a trailer(for us it was a Micro Lite ETC) with the idea that our TV ( for us a Ranger) was stout enough to tow it more or less with out too much heartache. After a couple of run-ins with large trucks and buses on the byways the Ranger was gone and a RAM was attached to the ETC. Short story. We now have a 2012 Micro Lite 2304 behind the RAM. We've been out with the unit a few times and have not encountered any problems.... but there has been this nagging about the tires on the TV. The TV is a 2011 Ram1500 QC 4X2 " Hemi" with the requisite tow package and brake controller and 3:55 gear. The hitch is a Curt 600/10,000 WD unit. What the RAM also has is the lovely P275-60/20 Wangler HP's.
After reading all that has been written here I feel that we've made a huge error opting for the 20's. My understanding was that they would slightly reduce the tow capability of the truck, only. To us that wasn't all that important because the GVW of the TT is under 5000#. I now gather from the discussion, I must get the unit weighed ( not a bad idea anyway) and decide what will be going in the truck or staying home when departure time for the campground comes because 1/2 ton trucks can't carry that much. Do I have a grasp of this or am I still missing something?
Oh yes, before I go.... when towing I have been carrying 40 psi all round on the truck. Like Malco says, keeps it from feeling squishy.

[TURBS]

Originally Posted by Rugged Brown

And I would suspect that 17" tires are cheaper to replace. It's funny that everytime I go to a tire dealer asking for a quote on tires, I always get the same song and dance. "Oh man, those tires are a rare size and hard to come buy. They're going to be expensive" I hear the same thing for my truck and other 2 cars I have. Just another retailer out to empty my pockets I guess.

Ill sell ya some cheap tires if you want !?