Need to Decide, 35" Toyo M/T's or 285 Toyo A/T's

[JCasper]

I need to decide here very soon. I use my truck mostly for commuting, but in the spring I plan on buying a fifth wheel or travel trailer. Also each year I have to make a couple trips hauling hay across the mountain and I am usually grossing around 21,000 lbs when doing that.



The practical side of me wich I sometimes really hate is telling me to go and buy the 285/70/17 Toyo A/T's with a 3750 lb load rating. Those will cost me about $850. I know also with those I will be able to haul and tow anything I want and have the same performance that I do now.



Then there is the side of me who wants to install the D25 2" lift springs, and put on 35" Toyo M/T's. These will be mounted on the stock wheels. If I put on these tires I will then need to add airbags to keep the truck from aiming nose high when towing or hauling. With this option I am now aroung $1,500 with just tires and springs.



With the big tires I am concerned that when towing heavy I will not be able to pull on the highway in sixth gear without excessive egt's.



I really hate it when I think about things like this, I just hate to spend a bunch of money and not be happy.



I would really appreciate your input and experiences with anything that pertains to this.



Thanks a bunch

Joe

 

[fireman717]

I was kicking around the same thing. I decided that when it is time I will do the 285's. Now for me it was the already high EGT's I have also I want to be level while towing. But I was still thinking about the 2'' spacers. But only 285's

 

[TPoulsen]

285's here and the fifth wheel sits about an inch high in the nose over 34 feet.

 

[DRNelson]

I have the Kore Chase suspension and Toyo M/T 35 inch tires. I love the setup for off road, but it has hurt the mpg by about 1-3 mpg and I don't tow (hard to say exactly since I still haven't calibrated the speedo 100%). So if you don't go offroad, I think 285s sound better. I specifically got chose this setup for my biweekly trip where I go 400 miles freeway (roundtrip) and then 50-100 offroad fun.

Now, for looks... . I think the my setup looks good.

 

[MRosinski]

I would strongly advise to stay away from 35's if you tow. I have 35" procrap a/t's and hate them for towing my enclosed. All of my tires run @ max psi all the time, and my side walls are starting to crack around the beads after about 20K miles. Very sloppy feel when towing in the wind. And they do consume alot of power/economy when in o/d on the highway. I'm waiting for those toyo a/t's to come out and I will buy them. Everywhere I call they say they arent releaded yet????

 

[tpuig]

I put on an early Kore (T-Rex) setup and purchased the 18" Welds and some Toyo's. They are awesome for off road. But I didn't like the change in the day to day driving that the taller tires made. When my stock BFG 265's wore out, I put on a set of the 285/70/17 Toyos on the stock wheels. I really like them. Only slightly taller than the BFG's. Great for day to day, but I think a bit better than the BFG's. And I have the larger Welds/Toyos for when I go out to play in the dirt or down to Baja.

In my case I spent a lot more money on the extra set of wheels and tires, but I won't wear them down by too much commuter time on the road. Hope this helps.

TP

 

[Bob V]

Joe, I saw some ride rite air bags on Seattle Craigs List http://seattle.craigslist.org/oly/pts/205243986.html

I have these on my truck, no drill install !

BTW they do NOT look like the ones pictured

 

[testraub]

Toyo's over BFG anyday

 

[JCasper]

Joe, I saw some ride rite air bags on Seattle Craigs List http://seattle.craigslist.org/oly/pts/205243986.html

I have these on my truck, no drill install !

BTW they do NOT look like the ones pictured

Will these work with a B&W gooseneck hitch. I think that is what I am going to buy if I get a fifth wheel.

 

[Saccowboy]

hey there. well you might want to consider what your going to do with your truck very hard bro. coming from experience! i have the 315 bfg's with the 3. 73 gears and airbags with a 2" level kit, but unlike you i have the automatic. this setup just sucks, because overdrive kicks in too soon and i lost about 2-4 mpg in town and i was about the same until i went faster than 70mph on the freeway. my power is just fine because of the power enhancements i have done. now with your manual transmission you should be geared about right with the 35's but i would suggest an A/T tire or with alot of highway driving your going to go through tires very fast with an M/T. At the price of those M/T's i wouldnt be caught dead with those on the road lol.

Another thing to look at is when you buy a fifth wheel your going to be too high in the front with 35's, a level kit and airbags. we had to flip the axles and springs on my 30 foot fifth wheel and it still sets about 3-4 inches high. this is no good for me, i have already decided to go back down to the 285 toyo's for the simple fact of fuel mileage, and the feel of towing. there is just something that is different when i went up in tire size and i know it is tire size because i did the lift about 4 months before i did tires and it towed just fine. go with your first instinct man, look at the bright side if you dont like the tires you can always sell them to someone on tdr. everyone is dying to get their hands on those 285 E rated tires!! hope that helps a little sorry for the length guys



Will

 

[Bob V]

Will these work with a B&W gooseneck hitch. I think that is what I am going to buy if I get a fifth wheel.

Yes they will

 

[Coolslice]

I would stay away from the 35's for anything but off road, especially if you have an automatic, even if you just tow a 5x8 trailer. It's funny because I tried the KORE/WELD/TOYO combo about a year an a half ago and posted that it killed my mileage and was basically a poor setup for anything BUT off road. Long story short I was told by many people that I was the exception (FOS) so I'm glad to see that since then more people have discovered this for themselves. There's nothing more frustrating when you try to give another member good, honest advice and have it be ignored. :-laf Now if we can get everyone here on board to accept the fact that these trucks don't get anywhere near 24 mpg and we'll all be better off. :-laf

 

[JCasper]

Being practical isn't always fun is it. Looks like I have a lot to think about. Does anyone have pictures of their truck with the 285's and a leveling kit. I really don't want to lose a lot of mileage and I also don't know what kind of fifth wheel or travel trailer I am going to get. The 35's just look really cool. My wife even agrees with me on this one.

 

[Strick69]

I kinda went throught the same thought process not to long ago. I was trying to decide on 265's, 285's, 35's, and stuck with the 265's. I think the bigger tires look great but for most of the reasons already posted I stuck with the stock size.



I went with the Dueller Revo's and personally I think they look pretty darn good on the truck.

 

[DPelletier]

Being practical isn't always fun is it. Looks like I have a lot to think about. Does anyone have pictures of their truck with the 285's and a leveling kit. I really don't want to lose a lot of mileage and I also don't know what kind of fifth wheel or travel trailer I am going to get. The 35's just look really cool. My wife even agrees with me on this one.

yep, it all boils down to what's more important to you: Form or Function. I've always been a function guy, myself.



Dave

 

[RobertP]

i haven't gotten any pics with the new tires yet but i will the next time i wash it. i think it looks outstanding with the leveling kit and 285's

 

[GaryCarter]

Love the 35's for off road.

For towing, after one run at 18K I went back to stock tires for doing that. It is doable, but it would be a much happier combination with the 4. 10's.

With the 3. 73 / 35" you need to exceed 75 mph to get to 2,000 RPM in OD.



Gary

 

[JCasper]

I have a 6 speed so I am wondering if I will be o. k. I am leaning towards the 35's right now, I know it is only because I like the looks of them. I also think that the Toyo M/T is a great tire. I can get the M/T in a 295/70/17 E Rated tire so if the 35's are not available I may go that route. I ordered my leveling springs today so hopefully I can get that installed in the next couple of weeks. If I do go with the them and don't like the 35's I guess I will have to try and sell them and go to a smaller tire.

 

[BSnow]

I have 285/70/17 toyo at's on my truck with a leveling kit, I really like them for all around use and it looks good in my opinion Oo. If I can figure out how I will post a picture of it when I get home from work tomorrow.

 

[Bob V]

I have a 6 speed so I am wondering if I will be o. k. I am leaning towards the 35's right now, I know it is only because I like the looks of them. I also think that the Toyo M/T is a great tire. I can get the M/T in a 295/70/17 E Rated tire so if the 35's are not available I may go that route. I ordered my leveling springs today so hopefully I can get that installed in the next couple of weeks. If I do go with the them and don't like the 35's I guess I will have to try and sell them and go to a smaller tire.

Joe, I was going to ask if you have looked at the 295 yet, I might go with them on my next set. I lifted my truck before I got the tires and IMO I think that the truck looked better even with the stock tires on it. There should be a loss in MPG, but how much will depend on your driving style, I lost 1-2 MPG. On paper you should get slightly better mileage especially if you have the G56 trans, Just goes to show you that "drag" has more effect on MPG than engine RPM. I kept forgetting to post my truck weights you asked for on another post; front axle 5,000 rear 5,800 trailer 9,100. Hope this helps.