Tire size and towing ability

[DLangford]

I have an '01 with the h. o. engine and 6 speed. IT has the 3. 59? gears. I will be towing about 10 K. Right now it has Cooper Dicoverer 285's on.

I need new tires. Should I go with 265's or can I go bigger? I was concerned about a problem with big tires and a high diff ratio. Most of the grades I will encounter will not be very bad.

Also, should I specify Load Range E?

 

[bkroupa]

I run 285's & a 3. 54 rear axle & like it. I have a 5 speed & I drop to 4th at speeds below 55mph pulling my ~8k TT to keep RPMs above 1600.

This truck came with 4. 10's & 245/75-16's, I did the 285's 1st, then swapped rear gears (best thing I ever did to the truck). If I towed the majority of the time, I might go with the 265's , but I run empty 700+ miles a week & my fuel mileage is excellent. 285 D's have about the same load rating as 265 E's. I ran Yokohama HTS for 65k with no issues, I now have Michelin LTX 285/75-16 in a D load rating & they tow well, ride well.

 

[NVR FNSH]

Shouldn't have any problem with 3. 54's and 285s, 295s or 255/85's and the weight you tow.



Brian

 

[Prairie Dog]

If your bigest concern is pulling performance, go with the smaller tires. Above all make sure you stay with a load range "E".



Enjoy!

Scotty

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

I have the same truck setup you do, but a lighter RV - I'm interested in going to 285's from the 265's I now have to allow better engine RPM at 55-60 when towing grades in 5th gear. And of course, cruising freeways with no load should be a bit easier on the engine and fuel economy as well - yeah, "E" rated for me...

 

[LEPage]

Save the load range D tires for your SUV, E's go on the truck.

 

[GWBourne]

Save the load range D tires for your SUV, E's go on the truck.

so my E's with a 3195 load rating on a SRW truck should not be replaced by my D's with a 3195lbs weight rating?



im not downing you but we see differently on this one. i think with a 10k trailer D rates with a 3200lbs or higher load rating are in order, and slow down through the curves. i would stay on an E in a 285 personaly for your setup.



i will not tow with my 315's on my dodge with my GN, but have no problem towing other much smaller loads. a 3 horse slant for instance. yeah, it makes the ride more pleasent for the horses. it weighs in at 7545lbs. granted, this time i was on my 265's since i punched a fist size hole in my 315's and have to go buy another one, then pick them up in AZ. it will cost me more than its worth to just put up with theese tires for the next 7 months till i move back to AZ.



anyway, i think D rates are fine for towing, but require more attention to the tires and what is going on. make sure the load rating is 3195 or over as well. i pick 3195 because thats what came on my 04. 5 3500. other E-rates are lower... but i get too heavy for anything lower...

it depends on how offten and how far you want to go as well.

Grant

 

[bkroupa]

Just for an example my Micheline LTX 285 D's are rated at 3305, that's 6610 capacity for the rear axle or 13220 total for a truck rated at 8800.

265 E's are rated for 3415, so I agree with running E's in a 265 or smaller, but in a 285 it's overkill unlees you running illegal loads anyway.

 

[klaybus]

295/75R16 BFG AT's load range D, max. load 3415@65#. You should be fine running a 285 or 295 IMHO. . I do. My 5vr weight is approx. #8500 loaded. 4x3415=#13,660... 285s & the H. O. with the 3. 5s should pull fine.



Clay

 

[PatrickCampbell]

Why would you NOT get E's?

 

[nps]

Why would you NOT get E's?

Couldn't find 35" E tires to fit on 16" rims. The load rating is about the same as the factory 265s.

 

[Hohn]

Why would you NOT get E's?

Because in most cases, it's not needed.

The Load Rating is a "ply rating". IT IS NOT THE ACTUAL NUMBER OF PLIES. You can have an E rated 3 ply tire and a D rated 4 ply tire.

Load Index is a much more useful metric (it's a number, like 122, 123, etc).

The "E" rating means that the tire's carcass can better handle the heat caused by high load usage. So, even if a D rated tire and an E rated tire have the same load index (weight rating), the E tire will provide some insurance while towing heavy, because it's got more of a "reserve" in the rating.

I bought E rated tires even though I don't tow. Not because I believe they are needed or necessary, but because having the toughest tires I can find is perfectly consistent with having the toughest truck on the road.

JMO

 

[Foil Freak 1211]

Why would you NOT get E's?

I would say there are many reasons to get D instead of E. $$$ and availability are two reasons. I replaced my 265 E with 285 D on both my 01 2500 and my 03 3500. The people at Discount Tires told me both times that the 285 D is as capable as the 265 E. I've towed around 20,000 miles between the two trucks, and have yet to have a problem.



Think of it this way. People in America love to sue over frivolous issues. If the bigger tire, lower load rating was less capable, don't you think they would label it as such? JMO.

 

[PatrickCampbell]

The question was more rhetorical. The tires may have the ability to carry the same weight but this does not mean they are equal by any means as Hohn pointed out.



I understand beyond a certain size with 16" tires you can't get E's so if you need or want that larger size then that is what you have to do.

 

[Prairie Dog]

The folks who are suggesting "E" are speaking from experience but like many, I had to learn the hard way - wasted $$$ on "D"'s with a supposedly higher weight rating. Trouble is those D's have softer side walls no matter how much weight they hold up. Handling suffered.

On a final note trailer tires that are load range D have sidewalls built as stiff as truck load range E's.

 

[NoSeeUm]

Toyo and I believe BF Goodrich are two companies that make 285 R16's rated at around 3720 lbs.



Jim

 

[Foil Freak 1211]

I'm pretty sure that both are "D". I had BFG 285 16s on my 01, and have 285 17s on my 03. My tires are D. A buddy has either 305 or 315 17s, and they are D. I think you are right on the load rating.

 

[nps]

The BFG 285-16 with a 3700# rating is an E. It just came onto the market in the last 6 months.

 

[EricBu12]

I have gone both the D and E rating tires and the D wore down faster because of the softer rubber compound. Now I have a heavy 5th and I decided to get the Ricksons 19. 5" forged aluminum rims and Michelin XDE-MS 245/ 70 R 19. 5" "F" Rated 12 Ply. I only use the in the warm months for towing and use the regular 16's for winter time. The bigger tires are about 33" diameter... .



The 19. 5" tires have 21/32 nds tread and they roll very well.