tires

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janpaul

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Joined
Sep 12, 2006
Posts
348
Location
Easton, Maryland
My wife and I will be getting our first camper (5er) probably in the next six months. I have a 2005 Chevy 2500 HD with duramax/allison. I do a lot of hunting and my tires on it are an aggressive off road tire,(285's) probably not the best for towing or lots of road miles. I recently bought another set of factory rims and want to keep two sets of tires, one for camping season, one for winter/hunting season. What should I look for as far as load ratings, ply ratings, etc. As far as weight is concerned I would rather have too much tire than not enough or be borderline on the ratings. I plan on getting a camper that is suitable for my truck to tow without maxing out the tow/carry rating.  Thanks, Paul
 
Check the original equipment tire ratings - they should have a load rating sufficient for the max GVWR of the vehicle. That's all you need, though you could go up one rating if you are unsure. If your off-road tires were properly mtched to the load, they have the correct load rating too.  Ply rating are obsolete  and have been replaced by the load rating system - they are just "equivalence" numbers anyway. Most tires these days are made in 2-4 layers, regardless of the ply rating.

A load rating letter is specific to a make and model of tire, so there may be a modest difference in the carrying capacity of one brand versus another with the same load rating letter. I fyou think you are close to the max for a range, ask the tire dealer for the actual weight range for the tire you are considering. Or look on the sidewall for the actual rating in lbs - it will say xxxx lbs at yyy psi  . That's the most weight that tire can carry. There may be separate numbers for single and dual configurations - dual is usually less becasue of additional heat build-up.
 
Take a look at the BFG  T/As  which you can see HERE.

I have been gone thru two sets over the past 10 years and 85,000 miles on my 95 Bronco.  Some 65,000 miles of that mileage was hauling a travel trailer.  I use the KOs in the LT31x10.50x15R flotation size.  I have used them offroad in rock, rubble, sand, and mud.  No snow (Southern California) but they are M+S rated and I am confident that they can handle the white stuff.  In fact, I will find that out in Yosemite this December.

They are not particularly noisy.  The generate a not particularly annoying hum at speed on a smooth surface.  They wear like iron, and I have never had a flat with them.  That is more that I can say for the original equipment Goodyears they replaced.

On thing to be careful of tho.  If you are towing make sure that your new tires are the same diameter as the old tires on the truck.  Buying oversized tires can derate your tow capacity by lowering the final drive ratio.
 
I was considering 265's, but the factory ones were 245's. 245 is also what is on the nameplate on the door with all the weight ratings...probably best off with those. Thank you.
 

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