Anybody towing with 3.54 gears and 255/86R16 tires (33")?

[rbertalan]

Does anyone have any experience towing with LT255/85R16 or any 33" tire and 3. 54 gears? I am wondering if this is a good set up for all around use (milage and towing) with a 1st generation.



I will eventually have 600 lb/ft will this be a good balance?



Or do i really need to stick with a smaller tire maybe 31" or a stock LT235/85R16?



Thank you for any input...



... Robert...

 

[JFitzgerald]

Hi Robert,



I tow with 33" tires and 3. 54's, and the dyno showed 606 max. torque. When I tow, it's usually a gooseneck at 12,000 lbs. total plus the truck at 6,500 lbs. To me it does a great job. It gets about 13 towing this weight, and between 18 and 19 empty. The best part is it leaves my buddy behind on the hills with his healthy 468 big block Chevy 4 dr. pulling less weight with 4. 10's. Mine stays in 5th, while he's dropping down to 4th (he swapped in an NV4500). And it gets at least twice the fuel mileage. We don't have mountains around, but there are some hills in southern IN that we go through.



Sure, smaller diameter tires will give you better acceleration, but I think you'd be happy with 33's unless you have mountains to deal with.

 

[Philip]

My stock 235/85/16R Remington tires are 31" tall. The extra step up to the 33" you wouldn't notice it other than the speedo being off.



I went from a 29" 205/70/16R to the 235's. My speedo gained 5 mph. Which is what I needed. It was 5 mph slow.



I think Bushwkr runs 33's and 3:54's on his rig.



"a 205/16R tire is a waste of good rubber"

 

[MMiller]

Just like Fitz I run 33X12. 5X16. 5 BFG mts. I have a 32' goosneck flat bed that is about 7000 lbs, and never have less than 5500 lbs of truck, tractor, etc on the trailer. Sometimes as much as 18,000 on it. I really don't think it hurts the performance very much. I know I can't go back to the stock size. And have the same problems as fitz when it comes to the convoys with friends. I have to be the last truck/trailer combo in the convoy or the cummins just walks away from the gassers, and my trailer alone weighs more than most of there trailer and toys together.



Ususal milage is 18-19 unloaded. which reminds me I need to remove my sunvisor, I know I lost 1-2 mpg after installing it.



I don't make a habit of checking it while towing. When I am by myself I run about as hard as it will in the rolling hills of Iowa. Not very conducive to economy. Like one of my friends said about his truck. "It goes fast, we have fun, don't care about economy!!!"

 

[Philip]

don't care about economy

Yes I do care. My truck gets 20 mpg at 60 mph. That is why most of the time it gets 17 mpg when I am on the road.

 

[rbertalan]

Thank you for your inputs...



I have been thinking about BF's A/T KO LT295/75R16D

which is a 33. 5" tire w/3000lb + rating.



I am still debating the 16" rims and 16. 5" rims,

what do ya all think? Seems to be may choices with

both rim sizes.





... Robert...

 

[BushWakr - RIP]

I switched over from the 31" Michilens to the current tire in my sig.

I have no problem with camper loaded and utility trailer loaded.

The mods I've done give me all the acceleration I need, and the top end is perfect. I have checked my speedo using a GPS and I see no error worth talking about with the 33's on the truck.

I do start to see a bit of error when I break over 120 Kph but that is less than 7Kph at that point.

Not worth worrying about.

My around town mileage is about 18. 7 mpg in US gals.



Bob.

 

[SnoKing]

When I had my 93 I ran 12:50x33x16. 5's and towed a 8K 5er in the NW (AKA Mountains) Pulled great with Banks waste gated Turbo and exhaust with pump turned up a bit. Auto transmission. SNOKING

 

[rbertalan]

BushWakr,



your current sig does not contain any info on the tires you are running...



Im guessing you are running 33s.



... Robert...

 

[Case500D]

My experiences

Hi,



When I bought my truck it had 255/85R16 Baha wide track tires on it. They were okay tires, but I had problems with the fact that they were load range D. The rear end of the truck got pretty loose even with the tires at 75 psi. I am now running 235/85R16 Daytona M/S tires at 80 psi and have had no problems. That is even pulling a 33' GN flatbed. As far as power, I have not really noticed any difference. Hope this helps.



Jeremy