Tire Load Ratings

[patchelect]

I am very early in my plans of RVing. I'm reading about hitches, braking systems, tow vehicles etc. One of the things I just thought about was tires. My plan is to use my 2001 Dakota 4X4 to tow a small hard sided camping trailer. Nothing elaborate and I know to stay lighter than heavier, although the truck rating is 5000lbs towing. I was thinking along the sizes of 14-17' max. maybe 2-3000 pounds. Regardless of the vehicle drivetrain the truck currently has a set of almost new Goodyear RT/S tires on it. They are 4 ply tread and 2 ply sidewall. I am pretty sure I have a grasp on the tongue weight concept and I know I need a brake controller but I just gave thoughts to the tires now. Are those Goodyears going to suffice or should I be spending time considering upgrading them as well?

[Harvey51]

Years ago I bought new tires for our popup trailer from the local tire shop. I noticed the max load rating x 2 tires was a hundred pounds below the weight listed on the trailer manufacturer's plate, never mind all the stuff we had in it. I asked the tire shop owner about that and he said the small difference wouldn't matter; just add an extra 5 psi. That worked well for a year or two when about 2 hours away from the nearest tire store one of those tires blew. When I stopped to put the spare on I noticed the other one was a mess with big patches of missing tread. Pretty even wear, anyway!

[patchelect]

Thanks. I checked the rating and it is around 2600# per tire so no worries!

[Grit_dog]

^Okay
Well with a light trailer you're not putting alotmof load on the back unless you load down the truck a bunch too. New tires are probably fine, but if you got 16s or 17s you could get as heavy a tire as you want.
Check the tire rating and est your weight

[coolbreeze01]

I have good luck with E rated tires on my truck and trailer. Have fun.

[Old-Biscuit]

Look on sidewall of tires.
Listed there will be the MAX Load Rating at MAX PSI (Cold)

Double that rating and you have amount of weight rear tires can carry at max psi

Figure trailer tongue weight at 12%--15% of trailer GVWR