Load Range D Tires on Ram 2500

[Bennutts]

So here's my dilemma, I found a smoking deal on a set of 35x12.5x18 Goodyear Duratracs. Previous owner said they had less than 10k miles on them. Snatched them up took them to my local tire shop who has always done good work and had them mounted. When they called to tell me the truck was done they asked if I knew the tires were a D load range and the tires I had taken off were E load range. I did not. That being said the max psi on the Duratracs being a load range D and a 35x12.5 tire 65psi. I told them that was fine and I would just deal with the low tire pressure warning later. After about a week, of driving I'm very disappointed. I have a bad vibration between 50-70mph and the truck doesn't feel like it handles as well. I'm seriously considering taking these off and buying a set of Cooper ST Maxx tires in a 295/70/18 which are a 3 ply sidewall or Mastercraft Courser CXT which are a 2 ply sidewall in the same size. Any thoughts or suggestions before I go dropping another $1200 or more on tires?

The previous tires were Kelly Edge A/T's which I did like but wanted something that would fill out the wheel well a little more since I put the Bilstein leveling coils and shocks on the truck.

 

[U&A]

Max psi is not the important number. It is your load index number that you need to worry about. Over loading D’s on that truck will be easy.

Sorry but D’s are only good in bras IMO. Not in tires for HD trucks.




Sent while firmly grasping my redline lubed RAM [emoji231]

 

[hoe...]

The handling issue is most likely sidewall flex, as the d rated tyres are probably close to their limit when the ram is empty and cornering.

It's a very bad idea to put under rated tyres on any vehicle, whether it's load or speed rating.
In the event of an accident you will probably have insurance issues as well.

Over here it's illegal to fit tyres on any vehicle that aren't rated to at least the numbers on the placard fitted to the vehicle. Tyre fitters won't do it as they can be held liable if the vehicle is involved in an accident.

As an ex otr driver in the states and current transport company owner in outback Australia I can assure you that money spent on tyres is money well spent.

After all its your life on the line... [emoji848]



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[MADDOG]

Some folks have reported similar issues with the Duratracs & the BFG KO2 tires.

I am getting rid of my KO2s (similar issues, good wear but they are wobbling & egging as they age) and get some Nittos that meet the load range spec of my 2500.

 

[mtnrider]

Duratracs are good tires.... but not on a HD truck. Way too much flex. They work good on the wife's jeep but I wouldn't run them on a full size truck. Buddy has them on a F150 and after about a year they started getting "mushy" feeling even on that truck.

.

 

[U&A]

Duratracs also are only 2 ply sidewall on top of being VERY thin. Compare them WITH A 3 ply wall in person at a tire store when no mounted on a rim. It will scare you. It did me.

Some “E” rated tires are also 2 ply sidwall but I personally will not buy a tire for my tuck unless it is 3 ply sidewall and E or F rated.


Sent while firmly grasping my redline lubed RAM [emoji231]

 

[Bennutts]

I've pretty much made up my mind the Duratracs are coming off. So after doing some research I've narrowed it down to these 3.
Cooper Discoverer ST Maxx 295/70/18
Nitto Ridge Grappler 295/70/18
Falken Wildpeak A/T3W 295/75/18

All of these tires show a max psi of 80 which is what Dodge wants on the rear tpms, How big of a deal is that? Even a lot of the load range E tires show a max of 65psi.

 

[olyelr]

To me, the load range letter and psi rating really means nothing. I would just make sure the weight rating is up where it should be and the construction is heavy duty.

 

[lpfm1990]

I've pretty much made up my mind the Duratracs are coming off. So after doing some research I've narrowed it down to these 3.
Cooper Discoverer ST Maxx 295/70/18
Nitto Ridge Grappler 295/70/18
Falken Wildpeak A/T3W 295/75/18

All of these tires show a max psi of 80 which is what Dodge wants on the rear tpms, How big of a deal is that? Even a lot of the load range E tires show a max of 65psi.

I’m running 285/75/18 duratracs (load range e thou) and I run them 45 front, and 40 rear when empty, the vibration is just the tire I think, I had the same issue with mine till I did some pulling and got about 5k on them, I absolutely love them, the vibration wasn’t extremely bad, but now it’s next to none, and in the snow, they are unstoppable (in a good way)

Anyways, I won’t run any tire at 60-80psi unless I’m pulling, otherwise the wear like garage being you are only driving on the center of the tire, and will handle worse then a Mack dump truck


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[Bennutts]

I’m running 285/75/18 duratracs (load range e thou) and I run them 45 front, and 40 rear when empty, the vibration is just the tire I think, I had the same issue with mine till I did some pulling and got about 5k on them, I absolutely love them, the vibration wasn’t extremely bad, but now it’s next to none, and in the snow, they are unstoppable (in a good way)

Anyways, I won’t run any tire at 60-80psi unless I’m pulling, otherwise the wear like garage being you are only driving on the center of the tire, and will handle worse then a Mack dump truck


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So you think airing down will make things better?


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[lpfm1990]

So you think airing down will make things better?


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It could help abit, fyi, I do believe the power wagon comes with load range d tires also, it took my truck a couple thousand miles for the tires to calm down, and helped a lot once I hooked up to my trailer and tugged it down the road for 700 miles, mine were new so I had to basically get the square edges worn in, if it’s too bad and it’s still recent, go back to the tire shop and tell them it’s not balanced right, it took me two trips to the shop that did mine to get them bearable (first balance, my mirrors would vibrate out of position at 70, 2nd was better, and 3rd would only vibrate at about 60, then calm down, 70 would pick up, and by 75 was smooth)


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[mtofell]

WOW! Some of the craziest tire theories I've ever heard are on this thread. Trying not to get into an argument but here are a couple thoughts/experiences from 20+ years driving trucks and towing lots of trailers and RVs:

I've run 100,000+ miles on HD trucks with my tires at 80 psi and NEVER seen any squaring or coning tread wear. If that's happening, you have other issues than PSI.

ANY tire shop that will mount under rated tires on a truck shouldn't be in business.

While OP's D rated tires are under rated, running with an empty truck they are not overloaded and should not be squishy. If they are, it's a problem beyond the PSI.

The main problem with under rated tires is they can't hold up when the truck is loaded. An empty truck bed is really not much load. Hell, a P-rated tire would be fine on my HD with an empty bed. I think the rear axle is around 2800# empty. 1400#/tire? Something off a Honda Civic would do (at least for the rear axle). The problem is when they get loaded up.

Again, OP has other problems than load rating if things are squishy and unbalanced with NO load on a D rated tire. For comparison, the D rated tires on my 11,000# 5th wheel are rated at 2650# each. This is far more than any empty truck. The front axle is by far heavier than the rear when unloaded but D rated tires should still be more than adequate.

 

[lpfm1990]

WOW! Some of the craziest tire theories I've ever heard are on this thread. Trying not to get into an argument but here are a couple thoughts/experiences from 20+ years driving trucks and towing lots of trailers and RVs:

I've run 100,000+ miles on HD trucks with my tires at 80 psi and NEVER seen any squaring or coning tread wear. If that's happening, you have other issues than PSI.

ANY tire shop that will mount under rated tires on a truck shouldn't be in business.

While OP's D rated tires are under rated, running with an empty truck they are not overloaded and should not be squishy. If they are, it's a problem beyond the PSI.

The main problem with under rated tires is they can't hold up when the truck is loaded. An empty truck bed is really not much load. Hell, a P-rated tire would be fine on my HD with an empty bed. I think the rear axle is around 2800# empty. 1400#/tire? Something off a Honda Civic would do (at least for the rear axle). The problem is when they get loaded up.

Again, OP has other problems than load rating if things are squishy and unbalanced with NO load on a D rated tire. For comparison, the D rated tires on my 11,000# 5th wheel are rated at 2650# each. This is far more than any empty truck. The front axle is by far heavier than the rear when unloaded but D rated tires should still be more than adequate.

Guessing you have never done the chalk test on a new tire...


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[JohnnyMac]

I have a bad vibration between 50-70mph and the truck doesn't feel like it handles as well.

Might be why you go such a smokin deal on them.

I agree with airing them down a bit. Running at top psi makes them hard as a rock and bounce like hell. You'll have the pesky TPMS light on, but you can fix that later if the tires work out for you.

 

[Ratket]

I would go with the cooper or the nitto. Duratracs have a softer side wall like the bfg and that could be the “ squishy” you feel.
My 2010 f150 work truck has LTE 10 ply”s on it, I used to run d rated tires, but the truck is grossly over weight so last time I round I convinced our fleet coordinator to let me go to 10ply, I have been much happier with them even on a half ton.

 

[U&A]

I’m running 285/75/18 duratracs (load range e thou) and I run them 45 front, and 40 rear when empty, the vibration is just the tire I think, I had the same issue with mine till I did some pulling and got about 5k on them, I absolutely love them, the vibration wasn’t extremely bad, but now it’s next to none, and in the snow, they are unstoppable (in a good way)

Anyways, I won’t run any tire at 60-80psi unless I’m pulling, otherwise the wear like garage being you are only driving on the center of the tire, and will handle worse then a Mack dump truck


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Wait..... you have a 2500?

And your are running 45 in the front!


Sent while firmly grasping my redline lubed RAM [emoji231]

 

[Nickx86]

Nitto for sure, good all year tire, though I can turn off the TC and let the rear end rip w the 6.4 Hemi if I want, regardless of tires .

As for load rating, if you are upsizing to a 35” tire from a 33” tire, if you find the max payload of the 35” load range D tire is the same as a 33” load range E, you should be ok, just do the chalk test to figure out what empty PSI you need. Still can’t figure out why they got rid of low load psi....

 

[olyelr]

It could help abit, fyi, I do believe the power wagon comes with load range d tires also, it took my truck a couple thousand miles for the tires to calm down, and helped a lot once I hooked up to my trailer and tugged it down the road for 700 miles, mine were new so I had to basically get the square edges worn in, if it’s too bad and it’s still recent, go back to the tire shop and tell them it’s not balanced right, it took me two trips to the shop that did mine to get them bearable (first balance, my mirrors would vibrate out of position at 70, 2nd was better, and 3rd would only vibrate at about 60, then calm down, 70 would pick up, and by 75 was smooth)


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Yes, the power wagons come with d rated duratracs. Mine were well over inflated from the dealer too when i picked the truck up.

I put 23k miles on those tires and never had any major issues with them at all. However, I have read probably well over dozens of instances on the web of people blowing holes in them driving down a simple gravel road.

 

[U&A]

Nitto for sure, good all year tire, though I can turn off the TC and let the rear end rip w the 6.4 Hemi if I want, regardless of tires .

As for load rating, if you are upsizing to a 35” tire from a 33” tire, if you find the max payload of the 35” load range D tire is the same as a 33” load range E, you should be ok, just do the chalk test to figure out what empty PSI you need. Still can’t figure out why they got rid of low load psi....

I don’t know why they make it a secret now either
Load rating based on tire PSI can be found from the tire manufacturers website


Sent while firmly grasping my redline lubed RAM [emoji231]

 

[Nickx86]

I don’t know why they make it a secret now either
Load rating based on tire PSI can be found from the tire manufacturers website


Sent while firmly grasping my redline lubed RAM [emoji231]

Yeah they are good for that ****, can’t find the correct information without spending a plethora of time digging