15 replies to this topic

[smlobx]

Foy if I remember correctly you have a F-250. If I may ask, what was the OEM tire size that came on your truck?
On my new F-350 my OEM tires are 275 mm wide and I am considering upgrading to 295's when these wear out. I feel that these would be the sweet spot for my truck not only due to the approximately one inch wider track but also due the increased payload capacity (4000#'s!).

Since our trucks are so heavy when loaded I would never consider going with a tire that has less capacity than OEM. I have driven my truck on the beaches of the Outer Banks and as you know that is some of the softest sand on the planet so I'm not sure that I need to go significantly wider than OEM.
Just my $0.02..

Edited by smlobx, 20 April 2017 - 04:42 PM.

[Foy]

Squatch and Eddie,

 

My elderly oil-burner is a single rear wheel F350 Crew Cab diesel longbed, an F250 with a small handful of bells and whistles which allowed FoMoCo to charge a few hundred bucks more for it new in the box. 

 

If I'm not mistaken the OEM rubber was 265/75R16.  Dunno for sure since I bought it used with 96,500 miles on the clock.  In the nearly 200,000 miles I've racked up on her I've run everything from Nitto Terra Grapplers @ 34 x 11.50 to Michelin LTX M/S in 275/75. She's on Michelin LTX / AT (or some such--I forget the exact letters--they're the AT version of the very popular LTX rubber), in 285/75 size. They've been great tires as were the other set of Michelins I ran for + 50,000 miles.  These have 49,000 miles and are still measuring 7/32nds all around.  I plugged the drywall screw hole in the right front yesterday and ran it 200 miles to the coast on a hot day today so I suppose it's good for now.  I do have some dry-rot sidewall cracks but I don't know how troublesome they may be. The tires have been on the ground for nearly 5.5 years now, since early 2012.  Perhaps I'm entering a phase where my truck tires are like my boat trailer tires--you never wear them out because the sidewalls go bad long before the tread wears out.

 

Entering my mid-60s now and really not in position to drop big bucks on a newer truck and I'm driving the big Ford less and less annually.  Pondering a bit bigger rubber to improve the off-road capability somewhat since the downsides of bigger rubber lessen with fewer miles annually.  I've never cut a tire and would not consider less than an E and a 10 ply rating.  A set of new 8.00 inch wheels is surprisingly affordable if one eschews bling, which I happily eschew.  I was already figuring on buying at least one new wheel in order to run with 2 full size spares, so a "4 for the price of 3" deal can be rationalized as "only sinking good money into two more wheels than I was prepared to buy anyway". 

 

Rationalization is great, isn't it?

 

Foy

[smlobx]

Foy-
I like your line of thinking!

[ntsqd]

I've found that late model take-off wheels can be the lowest cost option, and they're usually rated for more weight than I need to, or should carry. Craigslist is the place for those. These were $250 for 4, but they had usable tires on them and a friend donated the 5th one:

 

Before these became highly sought after I paid $100 for the 4 of them:

 

Note that both sets are the 'real' 8 lug bolt pattern, not Ford's "Better Idea". Much more limited in options for the later Fords.

[Foy]

Thom,

 

I'm not completely familiar with the term "late model take-off wheels" but it seems that may relate to wheels and tires removed from a more or less stock vehicle in order to be replaced with custom wheels and tires. Is that the case and if so, where does one find them if other than Craigslist, etc?  

 

Oh, and the black 'Burban is a dead ringer for my late, great 1990 K1500 Burban.  Bought her in 1995 with 80,000 miles as a DD for the wife and as our principal family beach buggy and ski trip transporter.  That truck served as a DD for her, both sons, and finally myself over her 15 year career (you know how Dad always gets it as his DD last, after everybody else has gone to something newer and shinier).  I might still have her if the President and Congress hadn't decided she was worth $4,500 under the Cash for Clunkers money throwaway in 2009.  So she made it to the dealership with something like 190,000 miles on the clock, running on 6 or 7 cylinders, a dead as a doornail battery, bald tires, non-functioning A/C, and the 3rd transmission slipping badly.

 

Foy

[Backroad Joe]

I have not seen tires marked E1 or E2 on the sidewall. The Discount Tire Load Index document defines E2 as wider than 11-1/2".

I just recently upgraded from OEM 265/70R17 to BFG KO2 LT315/70R17E. I have used the Discount Tire document to create a graph to help me find the right pressures for various vehicle configurations (empty highway, empty off-road, camper highway, etc.). I'm also chalking the tires as well.

 

I also will run a second spare. I bought five of the BFG's then found a forged alloy wheel to match the rest. This will allow me to rotate all 5. The second spare on the steel wheel will be on board for those trips to places far off the beaten path.