Changing just rear tires for higher load rated tires?

Fish tailing has a lot to do with weight distro in the trailer also. make sure that the tongue weight is close to the recommended and take some weight off the rear to move it a little then see what ya have. The tires as noted by a couple will help as would maybe assist air air bags. there are so many things that can be done to help but not cure all ills. You may need to run the fronts at full pressure to help stiffen them so they will more than likely wear faster but you will have 2 extra right?

Welcome back SoCalDesertRider. I haven't seen you post in a couple of years. I always appreciated your comments and perspective; and trusted your advice.

Yes, you can run your truck just fine with front/rear mismatched tires and wheels. Mine were E versus D rated, and different sizes, but same overall tire diameter. I did it for years on my F350. No problems.

Be careful though about running different diameter tires on a 4wd. You can blow the transfer case doing that.

downtheroad wrote:
The first step is to make sure you are running "LT" tires instead of "P" rated tires on your truck.
Doing that is (one) of the steps that helps control sway....

All 4 tires should be a matched. Trying to cut corners and save money by just changing the rear tires is not a good idea.

There's your answer. I had P rated tires on my Tundra and it made a big difference switching to LT tires, as well as being much safer!

IF you are not rotating the tires, front to rear etc, then having an E rated tire ont he rear, a D up front, is not an issue. I bought an 81 C2500 that was this way, door panel tire load had it this way.......Did this on a 1 ton dually I had too. Then again, I am usually running traction tires on the rear, hwy front on the RWD rigs to.

As far as trailer sway.....uncontrolled fishtail? maybe heavier duty rears on the truck may help. Is the tongue mounted level or slightly low - if high this will cause sway. what is the hw % - this maybe too low %, If it is moving side to side with cross winds, that can/should be normal, IF the whole unit moves as one. The sway issues may not be the tires.....then again, some have had sway due to tires also, not as common.

Marty

Your expectations may be unrealistic. Have you towed tag trailers in the past with a 1500 series truck that felt significantly better?

The first step is to make sure you are running "LT" tires instead of "P" rated tires on your truck.
Doing that is (one) of the steps that helps control sway....

All 4 tires should be a matched. Trying to cut corners and save money by just changing the rear tires is not a good idea.

IMHO, if the tires are not rated to haul the load, you either bought the wrong tires or you are overloading the truck. No matter what, best to try and keep the tires matched.

IMO the front tires also play a role in sway. I run 4 'E' tires at full (max) pressure to minimize sway.

Your post is a little confusing. Are you talking about changing just the rear on truck, or the trailer? In either case it would be best to keep all 4 matched as a set.

Are you using a WDH, and is it set up correctly? IMO, this is where to look, to improve on a swaying issue, although a stiffer tire will help too.

Jerry