Tire experts needed

[whitetailfan]

Hey all,
This is a pretty smart group, and I often post non-smoking related stuff here with good results.  Hopefully someone can give me some advice.

I am changing the tires on my truck for winter, need a new set.

My truck is a 2002 Chev 1500 ext cab short box with Z71 package.
Original tires are P265/75-R16.

In some of the lines I am looking at, the manufacturerers do not make the P265/75, but it is available in an LT 265/75.

I read somewhere not to replace P rated tires with LT's.
However, I have lots of guys telling me the original equipment is just cheap rubber for a soft ride for the general public, and if I am towing a trailer, then for sure look into LT rated tires.

I tow an older 5th wheel which is around 3500-4000 GVWR, and about half my towing capacity.  I'm not sure what my axle weights are, but with this trailer, I am not concerned.

I have towed for 2 summers with no trouble, but don't know if my tires are under stress.  They push out a bit under weight, but I always have them filled to max when towing.

Any tire guys out there to help out?  I know some of you have some pretty nice rigs, but likely already have 3/4 or one tons, and they would have come with LT's as stock equipment.

Is there any reason the rims could not handle the higher pressures needed to inflate an LT?

Any advice is welcome.

[icerat4]

Go to tirerack.com ;D

[Wildcat]

Go to tirerack.com ;D

Concur - go to someone who can look at your rims and make recommendations.  If you do go to LT and if you decide to go with high preasure, be sure that the valve stems are rated for the inflation you plan to use.  Many tire dealers forget about the correct stem.  With the vehicle and trailer weight you have indicated, and it is level while hooked up, I doubt you will need any more than 40 to 50 PSI.

[Oldman]

We have used LTs for years on our work vans without any problems at all. The ride is a little harder as they are rated 6 ply.  As far a OEM tires go, they generally are weak. I've always used Cooper tires. Shoot I have Coopers on my wife's Jeep Liberty H/T and Coopers M/B on my MG Midget.

We have gotten much better mileage out of Coopers than any other brand that we have tried over the years. When in a work van you start getting 65 -70 thousand miles on a set of tires it is hard to change brands. I don't wait for a tire to be completely worn out either before I change them. Beside, for a tire they are not bad lookin' -- if that is important to ya. On my 04 van the OEMs only lasted 54 thousand miles with 80% of those miles highway driving.

[Mr Walleye]

WTF

I have the same truck except it's a 2003. Here in Saskatchewan I am more concerned with winter traction than anything. I also do some ice fishing so I need to be able to get around on the lakes. Anyway last year I put 295/75 x 16 BFG All Terain TA's on. These at LT tires so they do have a slightly firmer ride and you do need to install the higher preasure valve stems in the rims. I also cranked the torsion bars on the front end up about 1 inch to lever the truck a bit better that the factory rake that they have. Overall the truck is a couple of inches taller in the front end and maybe an inch or so in the back. I have fantastic traction in the winter now and I have enough clearence while driving on the lakes that my front air damn doesn't push snow anymore. There was very little to no effect on my speedo as well.

Mike

[whitetailfan]

Needed a decision before today, and I have ordered the LT265/75/R16
Just because I was able to get by with my original equipment, doesn't mean I was not headed for trouble.
I decided to go with LT's for the time I'm towing and sacrifice some ride.  A buddy has a very close set to mine and I went for a ride with him.  He is smoother than me right now, so I am not going to second guess myself.  I am going to be safer on the road with the family when towing my rig and the piece of mind will be worth it in the summer months.

As far as the winter months go, I'm going to be happy as well becasue I got a more aggressive tread pattern than highway terrain - come on big winter  :D

Here's the tires
My new Yokohamas

Thanks for the tips.  I leave early Saturday for a day trip to Great Falls.

Walleye, the price difference is crazy.

[Mr Walleye]

The Yokohamas look goood to!

Here's a link the the BFG All Terrains
http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/catalog/off-road/5.html

The Canadian dollar really helps if your makin' a trip to the US. I'm in the insurance business and we have seen lots of people heading south and buying vehicles. I've seem some that have saved up to $15,000. That's after getting it back here, through inspections, taxes, etc. Most have done their homework as well to make sure there are no warranty issues.

Have a good trip WTF

Mike

[whitetailfan]

OK, one more quick question:
My current info:
GVWR - 6400lb
GAWR (F) - 3925
GAWR (R) - 3750
Current P tires max load 2601 at 35 PSI

I have an option of D rated or E rated tires
From my research, both tires will rate 2470 @ 50psi and 3000 @ 65psi
The difference SHOULD be that the D's will have a max pressure of 65psi, while the E's will have a sidewall max rating of 80psi and be have a max load of 3415lbs.

As I can exceed the load rating of my original equipment with D tires for towing purposes, is there any good reason to go for the E rated tires?  This equates to the old rating system of 8 ply and 10 ply.

I'm leaning at just buying the D range tires unless someone can shed some more light on this.

Thanks

[Wildcat]

IMHO, at least as far as weight capacity goes, your current tires will safely work since the tires are rated for a higher weight allowance than your GVWR and both GAWR's of your truck.  My recommendation would be to simply use a good quality tire (such as Cooper) and possibly go with an LT for longevity.

[whitetailfan]

Thanks Wild,
I am going to get an LT for that purpose, I just wondered if anyone could think of a reason that I would want to get the E load tire instead of a D?

I mean really, the high end one is what you would put on your 3/4 or one ton, so I'm reading over-kill for my half ton.

Thanks for confirming my thoughts on the weights.  We're on the same page here.