Tires E-350/450: Stock 225/75? Tall 215/85? Wide 235/85?

Just buy some new tires.
No advantage going larger or wider unless you need greater weight capacity.

Michelin has always been my go to make. However, Falken Wild Peak AT/3 hybrid may be my next replacement on my Sprinter. 215/85R16 Load Range E. I put a set on my Wrangler and they're great, ride well, and gnarly tread design for all weather and road conditions.

MDKMDK

Did your Sprinter come originally equipped with 215/85R16, or did you change to that size. If you did change, what was the original size?

What brand of tires are on your Sprinter now?

Why would you go with Falken Wild Peak AT/3 hybrid for your next Class C tire purchase, even while Michelin has always been your go to make?

Are you at all concerned about "weather checking" sidewalls of Michelins?

Have you considered the Michelin Agilis Cross Climate tire (available in 215/85R16 LRE)?

Thanks in arrears and in advance for your responses!

Yes.
Continentals, I believe.
They're good tires on my Wrangler. They're a hybrid rubber compound, good in cold and hot, so no need to change from summer to winter. Why not on my Sprinter?
I don't know "weather checking", so no. I had a set of AT2s suffer tread separation a few years ago. Just beyond the average upper mileage limit.
Yes.

Im thinking of swapping to the taller 215 tire.
I could use the 1/2” height difference.
My metal hitch protectors scape my sidewalk if i back into my driveway. I think i could clear it having the extra 1/2”. I’m able to pull into the driveway not scraping but not backing in. Strange, but thats the way it is.

On my 30' Class C RVs I have upgraded to Commercial rated tires which each have ~500lbs more carrying capacity compared to the E-Load rated tires. On the 30' Class C RVs, I feel that the E-load rated tires don't offer enough buffer vs the possible max load on the back axle.

Just to be clear...I never recommend overloading your rear axle. But I sleep better knowing that the Commercial rated tires can carry ~2000lbs more so it hopefully reduces the likelihood of a blowout. I have two 30' Class C RVs. On E-load rated tires I've had 2-3 blowouts over a 5 year period (all minor). Since switching over to Commercial rated tires I have had zero blowouts. I did not notice a difference in the ride quality or noise.

Note: C-load rated tires are NOT the same as Commercial tires.

Since I know my tires are not likely to "wear out" and will more likely "age out", I try not to overspend on high end brand tires. Over the last 5 years I've been able to find reasonable tires at ~$125 each at Big-O tires nearby.

Safe travels!
Chris

SJ Chris

What are "Commercial rated tires which each have ~500 lbs. more carrying capacity compared to the E-load tires?"

Can you please tell us the size, numerical load index, (eg 115/112R), manufacturer brand, and model name/number of the tires that you picked out for your 30' Class C Thors?

The term "Commercial" is used to broadly across too many sizes and types of tires for me to find the type of tires that you recommend.

Thanks.

One of the problems is one of clearance. Typically motor vehicles equipped with duallies don't have enough room to change tire sizes without difficulties, such dually spacing.

Be very careful here.

In addition to dual spacing clearance between the tires when loaded, changing tire sizes also results in changes to final drive ratio gearing, affecting acceleration, shift points, and gradeability in a given gear.

Still, I've read several stories (not sure if they are all from the same member or from several members) over the years on RV.net of Ford Class C owners changing to 215/85R16 (which actually results in more clearance between the duals).

Moreover, I've also read of at least one member who upsized to 235/85R16, as that was the tire size that Ford used on their SRW E series vans in the late '80's and early '90's.

I think that these owners were looking for a bit more ground clearance. They might have been looking for more weight capacity across the back axle too. I didn't pay much attention to the details when I stumbled across their posts, figuring that a keyword search would always retrieve their reasoning and results, whenever life presented a "need to know" demand.

Well, I was shocked at how sparsely few results revealed themselves in search, so I was hoping a fresh topic would unearth the considerations and motivations of E-350 and E-450 based Class C owners who have changed their OEM tire size.

Thank you for your words of caution on dually spacing.

I have better luck to NOT use the rvnet search box. I use my own search engine and type in :
‘Rv.net , class c tire upgrade’. I do this to find all rvnet posts on various subjects.

Rv.net, then ask your question.