I have a 2006 F-350 CC LB DRW 4x4 currently running aftermarket Gear Alloy Wheels that are an inch wider than stock and have Nitto Terra Grapplers 285 70 R17. These tires are Load E rated 10 ply tires and I have absolutely no complaint about them. They are going to need to be replaced in the next month or two and I am contemplating an experiment and was looking to get you guy's feedback. I work in the oilfield in North Dakota and Montana. The roads I drive on are made of "scoria", a reddish crushed rock. It is very sharp and known for trashing tires quickly. I use my truck as a daily driver and the only thing I pull is my 5th wheel that runs 16k with 2k of hitch weight and I only do that once a month for a couple hundred miles at a time. I am wondering if I could run a cheaper Load D tire seeing as I replace them at least once a year anyway. I understand that you lose longevity and towing capacity but just wondering what you guys thought. Thanks!

 

No. D range tires on not that much cheaper. Why risk it to save a couple of bucks?

 

Do you have a link for those wheels? Or a picture?

 

Ply rating aside, as long as the Load Index of the tires covers the GAWR, GVWR, and whatever weight you actually put on the truck, then you're really not doing anything bad, it's just not the exact OEM spec. You'll need a load index of 123 or higher to cover your weight ratings, it's not impossible to find D-ply rated tires with that, but E-rated will be more common and give you more options to choose from. Plus I don't think you'll save a ton of money, because once you're into the higher load index tires, Ds aren't significantly cheaper than E's.


Have you verified that pin weight and trailer weight on a scale? 2k pin weight on a 16k RV sounds light, that's 12.5% and RV's usually runs in the 20-25% range just because of design factors.

 

An E rated tire will handle heat better than a D rated tire. I have used D rated tires on my truck and have had blistering problems on the inside of the tire. Ford recommends a E rated tire for a reason.

 

get some E rated retreads from Treadwright.com

that's what i'm running, only have a few hundred miles on them but they've been great thus far.

 

Do not skimp on the tires. E rated tires only.

 

Gear Alloy Model 710
Gear Alloy Wheels - 710 Dually Wheels Front - Custom Wheels and Performance Tires at Customwheel.com

 

Thanks for the advice! I did some research into some reviews of drivers who drive on similar roads and this sounds like the perfect setup.

 

ok, the previous posts are correct, stay with the load range E tires. But none explained the why which is critical.

So from the beginning...thanx go out to Mr. Dunlop for his ground breaking event of being the first to lash a pnuematic tire to any kind of vehicle and then to Mr Michelin for doing the, if it worked on a bicycle it should on a automobile as well.

Now from that point on one axiom in tire design hasn't changed...gain one thing give up another.

So let's get to the thread starters issue.
The wheels are wrong. You stated they were a inch wider...this changes the aspect ratio of the tire, critically putting unnatural loads on the sidewalls. Under load the tires store energy in the sidewall, so with your current setup you'll be over working the tire, a bad thing. A over worked tire is a torque eater...scrubbing tire miles and fuel miles, a bad thing.

Replace the alloy wheels with steel, the best radial tire wheel combo. Steel wheels flex, a good thing. With a alloy wheels the tire has to do all of the work, a bad thing.

Lastly as for those big lug deep treaded tires...scrap um. Waste of anyones hard earned money...a story for another trime...would require way too much keyboard time, so for now this should arm you with enough info.

 

You are suggesting that having the wheels flex rather than the tire is a good thing?

 

not rather than. The overall goal is to reduce the amount of work the tire has to do...using steel wheels does this.

 

Riiight.

Any proof of that?

 

in the early 70s when american tire manufacturers became serious about getting radial tires on american cars, a what was to become a obvious problem reared up and bit them where...well you know where. Those shinny wheel covers were flying off the vehicles at a alarming rate. Reason...radial tires made the wheel work more than the old bias ply did not. So a redesign of the covers solved the problem. If you're asking for data...this is a forum, thats' as far as I go.

 

So your empirical proof is that hub caps flew off of cars in the 70s?

LOL