Those who have swapped out 20" tires for towing

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audio1der

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Our P-rated tires are awful for towing, and I think they are the last culprit in correcting our trailer sway. That said, we have a buyer for our 32' trailer who will pay within a fraction of what we owe on it, and there are lots of 25-28' units for sale thanks to the crappy economy.

Can you please tell me how much more solid your truck pulled after replacing the stock pillows (Goodyear Wrangler 275/20's)? Will upgrading this last piece give me the confidence in pulling I'm looking for in windy conditions?

I've swapped the trailer axles from 3,500lb to 6,000lb axles with an extra spring in the pack and 'D' rated 14" tires (the best I can fit), pulling with a dialed in Reese dual cam setup which I feel is about the best short of a Propride/Hensley.
Thanks guys.
 

Jerry1984

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You have put them to max 44 for towing have you not? I switched to 17s for more sidewall and they are also e rated tires. I tow with them at 50 and have been happy with them. 65 max on my tires.
I also tow a shorter trailer although I double tow so kind of similar.
 

DannyMK2

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e rated tires made a huge difference on my 1500 when it came to towing. much more stable. i wasnt towing near my max capacity either. i would imagine that 32 footer feels a bit sketchy on OEM rubber.
 

muttmutt

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I just put on some 305 55 r 20 LT Terra Grappler's. Complete difference in towing. You still feel the sway of trucks but is very controlled. I only had them at 40 lbs. Will probably try 50 in the rears next trip. No more white knuckles ...
 

Totesmygoats

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I don't really get the issue. What do you tires have to do with sway, that's the trailer.
 

robbob

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I don't really get the issue. What do you tires have to do with sway, that's the trailer.

The factory tires have a very thin sidewall that is prone to flexing. If the trailer has a tiny bit of sway in it, it will transfer that sway into the tire making it worse, the truck begins to sway back and forth on the tires, causing the trailer to sway even more. it's a domino effect.
 

mtofell

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Replacing tires to fix sway is like a midget ******* on a forest fire IMO. Can it have some impact? Maybe but it's minimal. A TT swaying has way more to do with anti-sway hardware, loading, WDH, tongue weight and payload.

I don't want to totally dismiss the idea of better tires for towing. It's a great idea but for things other than sway in most cases.
 

Andy578

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BFG KO2s made a massive difference for me. those damn SRAs are nothing but garbage and have no business being on a truck. just look how much the stupid things squat on the front just from the engine weight. whoever thought it was a good idea to put that **** on a truck needs a boot up the ass

as for those saying tires won't make a difference they obviously haven't pulled a heavy load with those SRAs. with those sidewalls you might as well be fish tailing on ice. even without a load they'd move a bit around corners, so much so that after changing them i actually had to get used to the way the truck handles corners again. once again seriously garbage tires that should never be put on a truck, hell i wouldn't even want them on a car or SUV after seeing how ****** they are
 
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ColdCase

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Replacing tires to fix sway is like a midget ******* on a forest fire IMO. Can it have some impact? Maybe but it's minimal. A TT swaying has way more to do with anti-sway hardware, loading, WDH, tongue weight and payload.

I don't want to totally dismiss the idea of better tires for towing. It's a great idea but for things other than sway in most cases.

I sure notice one heck of a lot of difference between P rated and XL or 8-10 ply rated tires when towing or hauling heavy, especially with any cross winds. Those thin walled P rated tires are downright dangerous and unstable when pushed to load limits. But then they ride smoother with no load, which is how most test drive.

20s or 18s don't seem to make any significant difference, its the load rating, sidewall strength, tire psi. The 20s should sway less because of the short sidewall, but the way the tire is built makes a lot more difference.
 
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PippinAin'tEasy

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Going to the Michelin AT2's was night and day difference from the stock shoes. Ain't saying it killed all of the big girl's shimmy but 60 mph felt a whole hullava lot better. I imagine the effect will be even greater fer you if you size down yer TT by a few feet.

"Oh, sweet debt. Thy name is Truck."
 

BoldAdventure

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I had switched from the stock Wranglers to Toyo Open Country AT/II's (275/65R20) in load range E, 10 ply. And it was a night and day difference while towing. Almost a full year of towing with this setup. I would recommend moving to the one size up.

2015-04-17-12.34.32.jpg
 
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audio1der

audio1der

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I had switched from the stock Wranglers to Toyo Open Country AT/II's (275/65R20) in load range E, 10 ply. And it was a night and day difference while towing. Almost a full year of towing with this setup. I would recommend moving to the one size up.

Did you check that the stock 20" rims could take 80psi?
 

Jerry1984

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Those who have swapped out 20" tires for towing

Did you check that the stock 20" rims could take 80psi?



I wouldn't run them at 80 on a half ton. No need. 50-60 will be enough.
Here's mine at 50 loaded heavy and no to minimal squish.
0f239f85c05d47cc705e6f42d4b6d72e.jpg
ac20d54909382d9b5199da323ba7a970.jpg
 
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Riccochet

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Wheel most likely won't fail from air pressure, but rather load. Or the valve stem will fail if not a high pressure stem. Just moving up to an E rated tire doesn't mean the wheel is capable of supporting the same load the tire can. Tire pressure would be the last thing I'd be worried about.

You'd be hard pressed to find where a wheel failed due to tire pressure as opposed to be over weight capacity.
 

BoldAdventure

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Did you check that the stock 20" rims could take 80psi?

Like has been said, I never ran them at 80psi. According to load table 55lbs rear and 50lbs front.

A softer ride towards the end before we changed trucks I was doing 45/40 respectively. Normal wear. Regular rotations.
 

Totesmygoats

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Like has been said, I never ran them at 80psi. According to load table 55lbs rear and 50lbs front.

A softer ride towards the end before we changed trucks I was doing 45/40 respectively. Normal wear. Regular rotations.

People seem to think they are supposed to fill truck and trailer tires to their maximum rating 100% of the time. But the load tables aren't really trustworthy either, they call for a maximum psi of 35 for the stock tires fully loaded, so...
 

cableguy_hd

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Ill be pulling mine in 4 weeks. I just put BFG's on and i run them at 40 ish now. Give them room to swell while rolling down the road. Hope I see some what of a difference.
 
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