Truck Tire Capacity

I to would be interested in what others consider a reasonable safety margin. In doing research on tires I spoke with the manager of a well known nationwide chain tire store. Although he would be happy to sell me a new set of tires and also would give me a trade in allowance on my existing OEM's, he stated that LT tires are down rated because as truck tires the manufacturer knows that they will be worked hard and likely overloaded. He recommended that even at full capacity I would be fine. LT tires used on DRW setups are down rated slightly because there are times when only one tire carries the full or the majority of the load. Not sure I'm on board with his "go to the limit" theory but it is interesting.

While I totally agree with Buzz's advice and have given it myself regarding getting the rig weighed, the question then becomes: how much of a safety margin should a person go for? If the rear of the truck/camper weighs 6800 lbs and his current tires have a capacity of 7050 lbs technically the tire capacity exceeds the weight.... Personally, it's not enough for me.

I am just wondering what others think is enough of a safety margin?

gregchambers wrote:
Have ordered a 2015 GMC one ton CC SRW SB 4x4 truck. It comes with Michelin LT265/70R18E tires that are rated at 3525 lbs for a rear axle of 7050 lbs. Although I should be OK with stock tires, I wouldn't mind a little extra capacity cushion. In checking other tire manufacturers the only other size that I have found without going to extreme size jumps (which my stock rims probably wouldn't support anyway)or 19.5" is the LT275/70R18E rated at 7640 lbs for an extra 230 lbs of capacity. Does anyone know of another 18" tire that jumps up significantly in capacity without radically changing size and diameter?

Thanks!

do yourself a favor before you spend any money on a guess. Weigh the truck and TC Then figure out if its just tires or if it is 19.5s and tires.

Check out TOYO. I don't know about 18's but some of their 17's tires (AT's for one) are about 400~500# better than more common rated tires.