Wheel adapters and towing...

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billyw

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I have a 2015 Ram 1500. Maybe 10% of it's miles are towing my 6000ish pound travel trailer. I'm considering some 1.5" adapters for a little wider stance, but would otherwise probably stick with OEM wheels and stock tire size.

Any thoughts or concerns?
 

Riccochet

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Concerns, yeah, plenty. Pushing the weight of the wheels out further will reduce the load the axles and hubs can bear.
 

Johnnymac2k6

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1000% make sure they are hub centric at the least.
 

TRCM

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Concerns, yeah, plenty. Pushing the weight of the wheels out further will reduce the load the axles and hubs can bear.

Adding spacers will increase the load the hubs/bearing see due to the added leverage the spacer gives, which means they will fail quicker.

The hubs & bearings can still carry the same load...but the spacers will increase the load they see, which effectively reduces the load you can safely put on them, which is what Riccochet was saying above.

IF the hubs/bearings can carry 4000 lbs safely, then the added leverage of the spacers may increase that 4000 lb load enough that the bearings/hub see 4200 lbs...which could be bad.
 

69GWC

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1000% make sure they are hub centric at the least.

With good spacers you will be no different then the guys running around with wide offset wheels.
Like was said your not going to be in stock specs any longer so parts will wear faster then if it was stock, how much faster I dont think anyone truly knows but it cant be to bad with all the people running -24 mm and -44mm offset wheels.
 
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billyw

billyw

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If I do it, they will be quality, hub-centric adapters. Thanks for the input!
 

Luxuryram10

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I ran 1.5" and hauled almost everyday with it without a problem. The 1.5" with a 295-55 is pretty equal to my 20x10 -24 with a 305-60. Never thought twice about hauling with the spacers the wheels is a little different of a story.
 
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billyw

billyw

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What would a P rated tire have to do with using wheel adapters?
 

bcbouy

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towing 3 tons is what it has to do with wheel adapters and p rated tires. pay attention. last sunday i passed a tahoe towing a 26/30 ft. travel trailer down the freeway doing maybe 50 and it was all over the road.it was downright scary.
 
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billyw

billyw

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P rated tires can and do work just fine for towing. I've been doing it for many years. They are rated MUCH higher than the truck itself. They just need to be aired to their max pressure for maximum control. I can see no way that adding wheel adapters affects their performance either.
 

69GWC

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The P rated tires that come on these trucks from the factory should never be put on a truck they suck balls they squirm around under a load something terrible and can make pulling a trailer difficult.

Worse tire for hauling weight I have ever used, wet traction sucks, dry traction suck and I would guess they suck in snow as well.
 
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billyw

billyw

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My experience was quite different. I've pulled my travel trailer all over the northwest, through heavy city traffic up and down mountain passes, everywhere. Those tires were rock solid. Airing P rated tires to max pressure is important when loading or towing. I get the impression that's not done routinely from some around here. 69GWC, I read your post about your experience. I think your truck was seriously over loaded. The pics you post show that at least. I will add that LT tires certainly have more sidewall and make for more stable hauling and towing.

Now, back to the subject at hand: Since we're talking various tires, I think I'd like to pursue that subject a bit more. It occurs to me that LT tires on a half ton truck exert more force and wear on the wheel bearings, hubs and suspension in general than a P rated tire, simply due to their extra weight. Which by the way, gets quite heavy on these larger tires. So, I would venture to say that regular old P rated tires on wheel adapters are probably no more stressful to the truck than a set of LTs on an OEM rim. Thoughts?
 

69GWC

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No your right it probably was overloaded coming back, but going out the trailer was empty and it was bad then as well even at 45 psi.

I have pulled alot over the years and never had a issue like I felt with these tires, they should not be on a truck.
But its my fault for not getting them off sooner I knew from the get go they where cheap tires because thats what all manufacturers seem to do.
I would never recommend for someone to buy a P rated tire for a truck though half ton or not.

As for running a lighter tire I would guess that would help every aspect of wear on the truck, less weight less rotating mass.
But moving the wheels out will still put more stress on the bearings over stock, myself I would not worry about it I just dont see that its going to be enough to effect the bearings that much..
Too many people running around with super wide offset wheels and pulling trailers and I have not seen them complaining about bearings go bad fast.
 
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