Conflicting Info from Sales Reps on Tires!
 

I have a Ford F150 FX4 2006 that I am trying to get new tires replaced. The stock tire that is on the truck now is a LT275/65R18. I ordered tires from BJ's wholesale club and they were BF Goodrich Rugged Trail T/A P275/65R18 114T. Once they came in the sales person told me he could not put them on cause I had an LT tire on the truck and the FX model is rated as an 'LT' rating. He said that if he put the P rated tires on the truck I would run the risk of having a blowout. Ive called and went up to several tire places and have gotten conflicting info from some sales reps telling me, yes you have to go with a 'LT' rated tire and some saying if your not hauling heavy stuff you can get away with the 'P' rated tire. The Sears tire rep said that I could go with a 'P' rated tire with a load rating of 113? I don't carry heavy loads, some mulch, a couple of kayaks, and helping friends move/pick up stuff. However, I want to replace the tire with the correct tire. I was looking at the Hankook DynaPro ATM RF10 cause I like the style of the tire and I have read many good reviews. They make this tire in a 'P' rating 114 and an 'LT'. Which tire can I go with if I decide to go with the Hankook? The other question I have is does anyone know if the LT285/65R18 would fit on truck without having any issues? Im pretty confused by these 'sale reps'...if anyone can clear this 'rating issue' up for me, so that I can feel confindent about replacing the right tire on my Ford I sure would appreciated it.

I think the sales dweeb is just trying to get more money out of you. Plenty of folks on here running BF Goodrich Rugged Trail T/A's. I had a guy try and tell me he couldn't put anything less than a z-rated tire on my mustang. I turned around and walked out. No point in paying for capability you'll never use.

My old 1997 F150 XL came with LT tires and my 2007 F150 XLT came with P rated tires. The LT tires have stiffer wall and the load rating is E which can carry more weight.
The P tires have softer wall and load rating is B (I think) which carries less weight. If you load your truck up to the limit all the time than I would go LT tires. If you don't carry lot of weight day in day out than P tires would be sufficient. I personally like the P tires because it gives softer ride. I generally carry 600-1000 lbs daily and I have no problems with the P tires. This is just my 2 cents.

I have done the same thing. P rated is fine as long as you aren't towing or hauling heavy. And the ride is sooo much better than the LT. Just keep the air pressure up and you'll be fine.

your fine on p rated tires.....but are you really sure you want hanooks?

Z rated tires not only give a higher speed rating but they also have a stiffer sidewall than H or lower rated tires which in turn affects handling. That being said, that tire guy was a goof as you certainly can put an H rated tire on the car.

LT tires will have more tread on the tire than a P tire. IMO I would put the LT tires on as they will last longer but I don't see any reason that you couldn't put a P tire on.

Some places like Sams Club will only put exact replacement tires on so as to eliminate any liability. That is the way they chose to do business. You don't have to shop there either.

I have P rated Destinatino A/T's on my 2004 FX4. I would bet the P rated tires will handle as much weight as the truck is rated for.

According to Tires Plus Website Tires Plus Total Car Care - Tire Load Index

a load rating of 114 would indicate that each tire can support appx 2601 lbs;

2601 lbs x 4 tires = 10404 lbs

So the total max weight of your truck (assuming equal distribution) would be 10,404 lbs.

I believe GWR is around 7500 lbs on this truck, so you will surpass the capabilities of the truck far before that of the tire with a P 114 rated tire. You can even overload your truck by about 40% before you have to worry about your P rated tires.

P rated tires under load will wear faster than an LT tire and also will not handle the load as well.

But....the op's already stated that he doesn't haul much....so p rated tires will be just fine.....the vast majority of our trucks rolled off the assembly line with p tires...

Tires
 

My one truck has LT summer tires and P winter tires. I don't load it up alot and don't tow so seems OK. I think the ride is a little better with the P's, but the LT's aren't bad either. Long as you stay within the respective load limits on the tires, shouldn't be an issue. I keep the tire pressue near the max safe pressure listed for the tires and they work well for me.

I'd be willing to bet that there is not a significant difference between a properly loaded truck (within its rated capabilities) with P tires and LT tires. At least not one that you could ever measure.

I will give you the fact that the P will wear out faster, but they also ride nicer, are cheaper up front, and will do whatever you need them to do.

I hate the whole "I need load E tires on my 1/2 ton truck" argument.

This last summer I had my truck loaded with 4 people (supercrew), Box 1/4 full off wood, camping supplies, and luggage. Hooked to a 4 stall horse trailer with a fourwheeler up front with more camping supples, and 2 (rather fat) horses in the back. I would guess we were pretty close to the limit, and there was plenty of weight on the hitch from that. I pulled it about 800 miles round trip like that. My P rated tires handled the load just fine, went down the road nice, smooth, and quiet. In fact they still look new to me and have about 10,000 miles on them. Heck, my GF's parents have an 06 Crew Cab with the stock P rated tires it and they have 55,000 miles on them.

I really dont think you need anything more than a P rated tire on a 1/2 ton truck.

The difference in price between an LT and a P tire is minimal in my experience. I am not arguing that the P series tires will not work nor that they won't handle a load. I am simply saying that the LT tires generally last longer and handle loads better than a P series. I went from a P265/70/17 to an LT285/70/17 on the Expedition and immediately felt a difference when towing, even with our little pop up. The pop up trailer had sway issues before and when I went to the LT285s the sway issues disappeared. I have found the LT tires to be more stable under load, but they certainly do ride stiffer when unloaded. To each his own. For the majority of people out there a P series tire is going to be the ticket. I am just saying that the LT tires will handle a load better than a P and will last longer.

MisterCMK,

What load range did you get? C,D,E?

I had an older F150 that I put load C's on, and I didn't think those were all that bad. They felt like a much nicer tire, however they were LT 31x10.5 R15 instead of the the old (weatherchecked) P 235/75 R15's. I'm sure part of it was the fact that it was a new tire compared to the old junk that was on it.

For the Destination's I bought it would have been another $32.00/tire to upgrade.

Another thing for the OP to consider:

Most LT tires do not come with a mileage warrenty.

my FX4 came with P rated Rugged Trails, but I replaced them with LT rated tires because I tow/haul frequently. I just put some P rated Destination AT's on my wifes truck because we rarely tow or haul anything heavy with it. The 285/65/18 is the largest tire you can go on a stock 4x4, if you have a leveling kit you can go bigger. I put a 2" leveling kit on my truck and 285/65/18 BFG AT's and I have plenty of room, kinda wish I'd gone a little bigger.