Help Deciding Tire Load Range.......

[CumminsPuller]

I have a 1997 FL50, 8. 3 Cummins, 60" sleeper and 13' Flatbed and pull a 40' GN. Well it currently needs its rear tennis shoes changed. I have decided on on some Goodyear G124LT's. What I am not sure of is should I get the F or G Load range? The rear axle on the truck is a 13K axle. Now maybe if I was hauling heavy loads with single rear wheels and needed a beefier tire I might choose the 'G' rating. But being that there is dual rear wheels is the any reason I should go ahead and choose the 'G' rated tire? Now sometimes I do carry 8-9K on the truck bed with out the trailier. Any opinions would be greatly apprecited.



Jason



P. S.

19. 5" wheels... ... ... ...

 

[cwsoules]

If price is not a problem I would go for the heavier rated tires. I'm considering upgrading to 16" rims so i can get a quality load range e tires for my trailer.

 

[RMachida]

19.5"

Is the significantly higher tire load rating one of the major reasons for going with 19. 5" wheels? Especially in a SRW configuration.

 

[CumminsPuller]

No... ... ... The truck has dual rear wheels off the assembly line. This is a Freightliner FL50. Stock 19. 5" wheels. My question is would there be an advantage paying for a higher load rating? At this point I think I am going to stick with the 'F' rating 14-ply tire. What do you think?



Jason

 

[NIsaacs]

Jason, if the rear axle is rated for 13,000 lbs, I would at least get tires to match that. Maybe it is just me, but 13,000 lb rear axle seems kinda small for an 8. 3. The 550 Ford uses a Dana 135 (13,500 lbs). Also I think F rated tires are 12 ply. What tire size are you running now, and rating? Four 19. 5's have a fairly high rating.





"NICK"

 

[jelag]

My F550 has the 13,500 axle..... we've noticed that the UPS trucks run a recap thats the same size as my F550..... I'm not close to the truck but I want to say 235-85SR-19. 5 that are rated at 3500 lbs... . or at least on casings that are rated that way... . We put new Michlins on the front for steer tires and the retreads on the rear... .



The fronts usually give us 60-70K miles while the retreads give us 80K or so... we actually called UPS and asked them who they get them from... . the truck now has 375K miles, its second engine and new upper and lower ball joints and lots of other stuff but the body is good and we're going to run it another 150K miles or so... .



BTW we've never had a seperation, or other failure on the recaps... just usuall flat tires... . and the recaps are in the $130. 00 range... . the guys who recap for UPS only use quality casings... ...



And the truck runs at gross, 19,500 and often above by 1500 lbs or so if its not going across the scales.....

 

[CumminsPuller]

Nick... ... ... . The G124LT's Load Range 'F' should be a match for the rear. Totaling 4 of them up running as duals you get 15,500lbs. Also it is not normal to find an 8. 3 in an FL50. Normally they had a 5. 9 or a CAT 3126 from my understanding. So when I found the 8. 3 coupled with the FL50 and a 60" Weston Sleeper followed by a 13 foot bed on the back I jumped on it. Usually the 8. 3's, from what I could tell when looking to buy a single axle truck, were found in the FL60's and 70's. To be honest my 5. 9 in my 3500 pulls better than the 8. 3. The big truck is just more comfortable. And yes this truck is in the same class as the F550. A friend of mine also has one and his truck had the 13,500 rear and 6K front.



Currently I have Michelin XZE 245/70/19. 5 Load Range 'F'. I have only had the truck for a year and the tires were already on it. I do not care for the tread pattern. It doesn't take much for the tires to get spinning once your loaded and off the pavement.



Jelag..... I will have to check into recaps. That is very interesting that UPS would do that. I had no idea.



Jason

 

[NIsaacs]

Jason, sounds like you have a dandy truck, "what kinda transmission does it have"? One thing I have noticed about GN trailers, is they are designed for pickups. The trailer axles are placed in such a way as to not over load the pickup. With a truck of your size, you will need to try and place your load more to the front of the trailer. This will give you more traction. I realise sometimes this is kinda hard based on what you are hauling.



Does the motor have a P-pump? If it does, pump it up! And if it doesn't, pump it up anyway! Ha! Your truck is probably pretty heavy, maybe in the range of 12,000lbs. This will make it seem weak v/s your Dodge. That 8. 3 will make some serious power. Fix it and put a smile on your face!





"NICK"

 

[CumminsPuller]

Nick... ..... Yes it has the P-pump... ... ..... P7100 from my understanding, same at the old pre-1998. 5 12v'ers. Truck weighs about 14,000. From the factory it came with a 6 or 7 speed auto. Do not remember. Previous owner took out the auto and dropped in a 9 speed standard. Truck is governed at 2400rpm, and I can hit about 75 or 76 before she tops out. The gooseneck has the axles back pretty far to help support the back of the trailer when using the dove tail and ramps to load equipment. I have always been leary of loading the front to much for the reason of just not knowing how much wieght the neck and other conecting parts on the front can handle. But I do definetly load it alot more than when I pulled it with my dodge.





Jason

 

[CumminsPuller]

Well I bought the Goodyear G124LT's... ... . Load Range F. $1068. 62 out the door... ..... Immediatly headed for a 2200 mile round trip to Ashland, KY. Tires seemed to do very good. No complaints so far.



Jason

 

[sewman]

So whay kind of mileage does the 8. 3 get empty & towing?

TIA

Bob