Good Tires

[Team_Reverse]

Need some input. I currently have Michelin LTX MS/2, 245-75R-16, max load 3042. I'm 3-4 hundred lbs overweight when I camper up. Is there a better tire to use?:@

[travelnutz]

OP doesn't say what truck he has but reading between the lines from info he does give!

I wonder if terryrey is aware that in able to use the 285/75/16 "E" tires with the 3750 lb rating you first must trim away some of the inner fender on some trucks and preload the front torsion bar enough to clear the larger dia wider tire when turning sharply or it rubs. It's still extremely close even after doing this. Also that you will need to purchase wider wheels (rims) for the wider bead to bead width distance of the 285's. 265's are as wide a tire you'd dare put on the OEM 245 tire wheels. A local tire shop installs the 285's quite often on pickup trucks as owners use the wider tires with low air pressure on the soft sand that's around here. Also in the sandunes where it's allowed in our region.

I also had thought about going to the 285's but changed my mind after seeing what was involved. A cranked down torsion bar makes for a rougher riding truck. The 285's also alter the tranny shift points even more as the tires turn at a lower rpm because they are a larger diameter at the same actual road speed as the 245's or 265's. Of course, you could pay some more money to have your odometer and speedometer recalibrated to match the new tires rpms but depending on the truck, won't fool the tranny's shifting points. Actual ground speed will be close to 60 mph before OD/lockup engages. Low 50's with OEM 245's. There will be a loss of pulling power as the engine rpm will be lower and like having a 3.42 rear ratio VS a 3.73 rear ratio the it is.

Much more to it than buying new 285 tires and slapping them on!

[Team_Reverse]

Thanks for all the good advice everyone. I'm taking that I can be over my GVRW and still be ok to travel, as long as I'm within my Tire & Axle weights. Is this an accurate assessment?

[btggraphix]

There are quite a number of 3415 pound tires such as the one Travelnutz mentioned. You don't have to go to the 265's to get it (or at least I don't think so.) I had Big-O AT's in the summer and Big-O XT's in the winter when I had the 2500, and I THINK both were 245's. Regardless, a 3415 tire would be the ticket for you.

PS: Might also want to make sure of the ratings for your wheels just in case they are also 3043# wheels.

[terryrey]

Hi Team Reverse:

I would like to suggest that you take a look at Goodyear Silent Armor tires. The LT285-75R16 load range E size will carry a weight of 3750 lbs per tire. You may want to check and see if this size will fit your rims. FYI, I mounted mine on 6.5 inch wide rims with no issues at all in over 46,000 miles in all types of terrain and conditions carrying a heavy camper load - 4800 lbs on the front tires and 6600 lbs on the rear tires. These tires have produced outstanding tread wear while delivering excellent handling, traction, and quiet ride.

I have had an outstanding experience with these tires. I just today replaced my Silent Armor LT285-75R16 Load range E tires with four new Goodyear Silent Armor tires of the same size and load range. I bought the four tires from Discount Tire for $1115 out-the-door. I had 46,500 miles on the old tires, with 5/32 inches left in the tread. 2/32 inches is considered worn out, so I walked away from 3/32 of tread life or at least another 5,000 miles of tire life. (17/32 new - 5/32 = 12/32 used; 46,500 miles / 12/32 X 3/32 remaining tread life = 11,625 remaining miles, theoretically) Why did I walk away from another 5000 miles or so of tire life? Because the month of May offers $180 in rebates ($100 Discount Tire rebate - good 5/24 - 5/25 and $80 Goodyear rebate - good until 5/31), which more than offsets the loss in tire life. Also, off-road travel is best done on tires with more tread than with less and I wanted to put new tires on the ground for an upcoming off-road trip. Otherwise I would have waited until the tires were worn out before replacing them.

I know that there are many good, credible opinions about which tire is best. And that there are many outstanding tires on the market. Hopefully my experience with Goodyear Silent Armor tires may be of some use to you as you consider your tire options. Terry

[mkirsch]

It's not a "truck camper thing."

Are you exceeding the weight limit on the tires?
OR
Are you exceeding the weight limit on the truck?

The answer is: BOTH!

The rear axle weight rating on your truck is the same as the combined tire weight rating. In your case you are exceeding both.

You need to get tires with a higher weight capacity, or lighten the load.

[Team_Reverse]

K Charles, Im new to the Truck Camper world and not sure what you meant by tires/or truck. Below are my numbers of weights, along with the tire info above. According to my calculations, I'm 954 overweight. If I tow my boat, add 250 more tongue weight.

Bottom line, am I good to go traveling down the road? I see similar rigs like mine and there is no way they are within truck weight. Is there a difference in truck weight & tire weight, and is it OK to travel exceeding the truck weight? Thanks ahead for any assistance.

Tire Load F Axel Load R Axel Load Truck Load GVWR Max Trailer GCWR
3042 5200 6200 3037 10000 13000 24500


Truck GVWR: 10,000 10000
Truck weight: 6,600 6600
Payload of truck: 3,037 3400

Scale truck empty, camper wet, with options: 10591

2013 Lance 855-S dry with options: 2960
0 gallons waiste water (on site): 0
2 full 20-pound propane tanks: 50
2 batteries (53 pounds each): 106
Cargo weight (including 2 people and 2 pets): 800
Towbar weight: 75
Camper wet, with options, and cargo: 3991

Payload of truck: 3,037

Total Weight -954

[travelnutz]

Replace the 245's with Michelin LTX 265/75/16 "E" MS/2. 3415 max load. You gain 373 lbs load per tire or 746 lbs on the 2 rear tires. Your 2500 HD 9200 GVWR with a 6084 lb rear capacity is due to the 245's max load capacity tires OEM. 3042 X 2 = 6084. Same axle is on the 3500 HD which has 265/75/16 tires OEM and a 9900 GVWR. the 3500 HD is the same exact truck and you know by now how well your 2500 HD truck handles your loaded TC. It will even handle the TC weight even better and safer with the 265's than you have experienced with the 245's. You will be below the load capacity of your rear tires with the 265's.

265's will alter your indicated speed by roughly 3-4% or about 2 mph at 65 mph (will read 63 mph) new 265 tire to new 245 tire as the 265's will travel farther with each revolution because they are a little over an inch larger in outside diameter. The 265's will move your shift point speeds also roughly 2 mph higher. Good to know but means little in reality. When hand calculating mpg's, to be real accurate, multiply your odometer distance traveled times 1.04 for actual distance traveled on the amount of fuel. 265's also increase your traction. Remember that you are going from very worn down 245's to new tread depth larger diameter 265's.

[billyray50]

Look into Nitto high load index or Toyos if you are staying with stock wheels. I had Nitto for 3 years now and just purchased new Nitto durra grapplers. Great tires IMHO.

[K_Charles]

What's over weight, the truck or the tires?