CKNSLS wrote:
Wes Tausend wrote:
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I would recommend owners, that tow, put LT tires on any medium to large size 1/2 ton SUV. The factory almost always uses lightweight "P" tires for a smooth ride, and then seriously derates the potential truck Load Capacity guidelines down to meet the flimsy "P" tire. Many SUV's suffer diminished Load Capacity as a consequence, and better tires are the safe way to increase capacity for large families with a lot of tongue weight and gear.
I used some Firestone Load Range "C" 31x10.50 Destination A/T tires on my Mazda mini-pickup (think Ford ranger) as a proper alternate to replace the OEM 265/75x15 "P" tires. Right now Destination A/T's are still Tire Racks top consumer rated All Season type light truck tire. They were quieter than the original All Season Firestone ATX's on pavement gaps and some coarse graveled pavement, but I expected them to get noisier as most worn tires do. I sold the truck at 10k miles on them, so never noticed any appreciable wear.
Passenger tires are Load Range "B" (4-ply rated) typical 35# psi max
LT Load Range "C" (6-ply rated) typical 50# psi max
LT Load Range "D" (8-ply rated) typical 65# psi max
LT Load Range "E" (10-ply rated) typical 80# psi max
Beside being quiet, the LT Destination A/T tire gave good winter grip, so I also put them on an Excursion in Load Range "E" which I still have. Nice tire.
We have a crew cab F-250 with Firestone Transforce A/T's, but the Destination A/T's are no noisier with more aggressive tread. The Transforce also comes in an S/T highway tread for the best wear and least weather traction.
Wes
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Some of us don't want to roughen up the ride in our 1/2 tons or SUVs. A good solution is to air up the "P" tires to maximum inflation when preparing to tow. At replacement time a tire that has a rating of "XL" has a slightly stiffer sidewall that will be better at towing while not degrading the ride.
Remember the tow rating/other ratings must take in to account the OEM tires the vehicle comes equipped with. The payload ratings are what they are and can be located on the yellow and white sticker located in the driver's door jam.
Here is a photo of a typical door tag "payload rating", courtesy of forum member APT:
Note that everything "capacity" is based upon the tires and belted seating count.
Inflating the passenger tires to max will increase the load capacity of the vehicle to just about exactly the door tag, but no more. It is usually possible to get away with overloading the OEM tires since the manufacturer builds in a healthy margin they are comfortable with, but the safest way is to upgrade the tires since there is no simple way to know when enough is enough. An easy way to observe various OEM ratings for similar trucks is to look at tire sale catalogs such as
TireRack.Com. Some models do show up trucks on the list with greater OEM load capacity options and one may also find suggested alternate tires where no factory guideline exists.
If upgraded tires are provided new, it may be a dealer option and the tag will read lower than actual realistic capacity unless the dealer pastes a new one over it (unlikely). For example, if it is an upgraded factory option, the door tag will read the correct greater load capacity such upgraded tires warrant.
As DIY, I suppose it is possible to buy such an upgraded sticker tag, from OEM Parts, to match a new tire, therefore projected truck payload capacity. But it is not necessary since the tag is only a guideline regarding the original OEM tires. It is never used in any official circumstance other than folks that have sued over their belief that
some blown OEM tires are inadequate. And I believe that is precisely why the guidelines are so conservative nowadays. Personally, I prefer to overspec tires myself. Tires are the lone component of catastrophic failures commonly known to occur.
Wes
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dodge guy wrote:
houseoffools wrote:
dodge guy wrote:
I always put "C" rated tires on a 1/2 ton. Anything more is unecessary and to me too much. I would definitely be running the "E" tires at 50 psi minimum.
The noise you are hearing is probaly the pinion bearing. Very common when vehicles get around 100k miles! I just did an 06 F150 for a bearing noise.
I couldn't find any C or D in my tire size, so I just went with E, which is fine with me.
You may be right on the pinion bearing. I've got 108K miles on the vehicle. Going to see if I can get it in the shop this week before something breaks.
Yep. I forgot about that. "C"'s are only available up to i think "15" size. Good luck on the noise. If it the pinion bearings i would replace everything, pinion bearings, carrier bearings and all 3 seals.
In regard to repairing the differential, I believe it is often more cost effective to buy an entire low mileage used axle, including intact housing, than repair the gearset and bearings. The reason is that labor and parts are usually so intensive to rebuild, and barring wheel-bearings, most OEM over-nine-inch modern differentials outlast the rest of the vehicle anyway.
As opposed to engines and transmissions, I believe the differential durability makes the use of used components here worthwhile. This is especially true of rebuilding with non-OEM gears that may cost less, but not match the original OEM in quietness. That said, the cost of rebuilding an Expedition axle may be different since it has independent rear suspension, but I don't think so.
Wes
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