Best way to break in new 19.5 tires

billyray50 wrote:
What is the best way to break in tires. Load TC right away… or drive truck for awhile unloaded?

The best way to break in your new 19.5's is to drive… drive…drive! (while allowing time for the tires to cool between heat cycles of course). The tall tread blocks on 19.5" tires will exhibit a lot of "tread squirm" until they have gone through many heat cycles and worn down a bit. Your tires will heat more and wear more quickly when loaded, so if you can tolerate the squirm, I'd suggest that you load the TC and hit the road.
FWIW my Michelins were absolutely terrible for the first 1000 miles or so... today they ride like the truck is on rails.

The tire pressure should be set to match the load you are carrying, but never less than 75psi or you run the risk of having a tire de-bead (note that I often run mine as low as 60psi unloaded, but I do not recommended that others do this). If you haven't already driven your truck over a scale to see what your rig weighs loaded, this is the time to do that. I am sure that Firestone has an inflation chart available, use it! I As a point of reference, here's the one for my Michelins:

BeatCJ wrote:
Tires don't need breaking in. I suspect the people that noticed wander the first 1000 miles just got used to it.

This is the kind of thing that people who have never owned 19.5" tires and/or never experienced tread squirm say… Tread squirm is not the sorta' thing you "get used to" ;)

Cheers,
-Mark