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Tow vehicle tires

Bears_Den
Explorer
Explorer
My F150 has Pirelli passenger tires on it. I hate the way they ride, with that said, I have read that LT tires are better for towing. What kind of tires are you guys running? By the way, I have 20 inch tires on it now. Thanks for the info.
2014 Kodiak 279 rbsl
2017 Ford F-150 King Ranch V8
Equalizer hitch
Ford integrated brake controller
2004 Travel Lite 23S Hybrid Travel Trailer ( previous trailer )
1998 Viking Popup ( previous trailer )




No substitute for experience
15 REPLIES 15

Community Alumni
Not applicable
I'm running General Grabber HTS sized 275/60R20 on my Ram. It's an XL rated tire good for 2,998 lbs per tire according to the sidewall. Of the miles I've put on them so far, about 7,500 of them are towing my TT around 8k +- 200 lbs. So far so good. It feels very sturdy and stable. No mushiness. They've seemed to strike a good balance between comfort and stability. It's got good traction on concrete, gravel, dirt, and snow. Not so great when it turns to the slushy stuff or on surfaces like wet grass, but lots of tires struggle in that area. Still does an adequate job though. If your tires are the typical 275/55R20 then you aren't that far off from what I'm running. You give up about .5" of sidewall all around, but I'd imagine that it would still be a good tire for your rig.

IDoMyOwnStunts
Explorer
Explorer
RooDude09 wrote:
I have been really impressed with Toyo tires. Our front end guy at our shop runs the all terrains on his lifted truck and has gotten great wear out of them. I personally bought the H/T highway tread and have been very happy with them. They balanced out good and ride nice.


Another vote for the Toyo HTs here. I run them on both my Jeep Liberty and my truck. The Liberty is the DW's AWD pavement princess with 18" wheels (stock is 17"). Truck has the 17s. Great ride for both sets, though my truck ride is a little rougher than my stock P-rated Michelins were.
I'm done. This isn't a place to be helpful. It's a place where curmudgeons with a superiority complex will nit pick everything. If you want help, go elsewhere. Admin, delete my account please.

jus2shy
Explorer
Explorer
My 2010 F150 came with those Pirelli scorpions. Did not like them. What I did was I leveled my truck's front end and put on the stock Ford superduty tire which is LT275/65R20. Far more load rating on those tires and I didn't have to buy new rims. Also, large selection of tires in that size range since it's a standard Superduty tire size. Also, tires tend to be cheap at that size since they're produced en masse. So take your pick at that size, Michelins, Firestones, BFG's, etc...
E'Aho L'ua
2013 RAM 3500 Crew Cab 4x4 SRW |Cummins @ 370/800| 68RFE| 3.42 gears
Currently Rig-less (still shopping and biding my time)

RooDude09
Explorer
Explorer
I have been really impressed with Toyo tires. Our front end guy at our shop runs the all terrains on his lifted truck and has gotten great wear out of them. I personally bought the H/T highway tread and have been very happy with them. They balanced out good and ride nice.

The_Texan
Explorer
Explorer
facory wrote:
I am getting to the end of the life of my second set of Michelin LTX MS/2 275/65R 18" tires on my 2006 F150. I don't think I'm getting the miles out of them that I used to. I have been looking at various brands like Bridgestone Duelers, Continental and Hankook. Just don't know if I should make a change.

What are you running on your tow vehicle and what do you recommend? I tow a 20 ft. toyhauler with a loaded weight of around 6,000 lbs. The truck weighs in at 6200 lbs.

I run Hankook R-10 ATm on our truck. We tow a 24' toy hauler most of the time, with a 7K payload. I do tow a ranch trailer occasionally that tips the scale at 10K. I have run Hankook tires for many years and have never had any problems. Hankook makes a very good tire for severe service.

Bob & Betsy - USN Aviation Ret'd '78 & LEO Ret'd '03 & "Oath Keeper Forever"


2005 HR Endeavor 40PRQ, '11 Silverado LT, Ex Cab 6.2L NHT 4x4, w/2017 Rzr 4-900 riding in 16+' enclosed trailer in back.
Where the wheels are stopped today

facory
Explorer
Explorer
I am getting to the end of the life of my second set of Michelin LTX MS/2 275/65R 18" tires on my 2006 F150. I don't think I'm getting the miles out of them that I used to. I have been looking at various brands like Bridgestone Duelers, Continental and Hankook. Just don't know if I should make a change.

What are you running on your tow vehicle and what do you recommend? I tow a 20 ft. toyhauler with a loaded weight of around 6,000 lbs. The truck weighs in at 6200 lbs.
2008 Cruiser RV Fun FinderXtra
Ford F150 Lariat 4x4 SuperCrew 5.4L 6.5' Bed 150" WB 3.73
Schwinn Mountain Bike

brulaz
Explorer
Explorer
My F150 FX2 came with 20" Pirellis.

When I started towing heavy I sold them, wheels and tires, picked up a set of 17" F150 take-off wheels and added Michelin LTX MS/2 tires. Run them at 55-60psi. They're great on the pavement and get good mileage.

The main reason I went to 17" wheels was because all the 20" LT tires I looked at were way, way more expensive.

Also the 20" wheels were a lot heavier than the 17", so I figured there would be little change in rotating weight affecting mileage with the switch to LT tires. If anything I might now be getting slightly better mileage with the Michelin LT's, but it's hard to say.
2014 ORV Timber Ridge 240RKS,8500#,1250# tongue,44K miles
690W Rooftop + 340W Portable Solar,4 GC2s,215Ah@24V
2016 Ram 2500 4x4 RgCab CTD,2507# payload,10.8 mpgUS tow

BB_TX
Nomad
Nomad
I had 20" on my previous 2007 F350, and I have 20" on my current 2012 F350. The DW had 20" on her previous 2008 Expedition, and 20" on her current 2016 Expedition. There is nothing wrong with the ride on 20" tires. Pick the LT tire you want.

The 2008 Expedition came OEM with Pirelli tires that were worn out by 35,000 miles. I would not buy those again.

IdaD
Explorer
Explorer
kmbelt wrote:
Just pick the same size tire in LT and go have fun. You have what you have for wheels unless you want to buy new wheels too.

I have 20" on my ram and it rides just as good as my GMC duramax did with it's 17" rims.


You've got more rubber around your 20s than he does.
2015 Cummins Ram 4wd CC/SB

kmbelt
Explorer
Explorer
Just pick the same size tire in LT and go have fun. You have what you have for wheels unless you want to buy new wheels too.

I have 20" on my ram and it rides just as good as my GMC duramax did with it's 17" rims.
2014 Ram 2500, 6.4 Hemi, CC, 4x4
2010 Puma 259RBSS

The_Texan
Explorer
Explorer
My truck came from the factory with 20" tires and they do ride a little rougher than the 17" on my last truck, but are NOT uncomfortable. Yes, I do run LT load range E tires and they are not as squirrely as the OEM Goodyear Eagles were. I have used Hankook tires for years and have always been satisfied with them.

Bob & Betsy - USN Aviation Ret'd '78 & LEO Ret'd '03 & "Oath Keeper Forever"


2005 HR Endeavor 40PRQ, '11 Silverado LT, Ex Cab 6.2L NHT 4x4, w/2017 Rzr 4-900 riding in 16+' enclosed trailer in back.
Where the wheels are stopped today

the_bear_II
Explorer
Explorer
It's a pickup not a sportscar....like donn0128 posted the 20 inch rims and no sidewall. Those are OK if you want to carve mountain curves but for towing you need a truck tire with 17inch rims at the maximum.

Bears_Den
Explorer
Explorer
Sorry, I forgot...I live in Florida so no it won't be driven in snow or mud. It will stay on the pavement and it's only driven around town to run errands or to tow my 30ft TT which weighs about 6000lbs.
2014 Kodiak 279 rbsl
2017 Ford F-150 King Ranch V8
Equalizer hitch
Ford integrated brake controller
2004 Travel Lite 23S Hybrid Travel Trailer ( previous trailer )
1998 Viking Popup ( previous trailer )




No substitute for experience

Majja13
Explorer
Explorer
You might want to add a bit more info as well. Are you going to be using them in severe weather snow and mud. DO you spend a lot of time on rough rocky train or does the truck spend all of its time on pavement.

What is the majority use of the vehicle?
2015 GMC Sierra 2500hd 6.0 w/4:10 rear end
2006 SkyLine Weekender 180
1200/12000 Equal-i-zer WDH