truck tires for towing

[Jim BB]

I have a 2019 1500 classic crew with 5.6 foot box 5.7
Going to be towing a 28Ft travel Trailer 7,100 LBS inc Lp tanks and batt loaded !
i have 275/60/20 tire size what type of tires do you folks suggest ? I would luv to keep my ride but still have towability !
so how many ply and what tire is suggested !?

 

[star_deceiver]

Any P highway tire will work just fine so long as they’re not overloaded and at the proper psi. If you want to spend more money, there are lots of people here who will give you great advice on really good LT tires.

I have the same tire size as you. My trailer has 930lbs tongue weight. I use the proper WDH. The stock RS-A’s worked just fine. My current nitto Q421 work just fine. Even my studded Hakkas work just fine.

 

[Randy Grant]

Tow with what you have andd a good DH, and see how it feels. I you like it, great, and if not, go to a LT tire with stiffer side walls. Next step if it feels squirmy in the back end, think about a sway bar upgrade.

 

[mtofell]

What's your RAWR on the door sticker? Be sure you're not close to exceeding that with your load. Then, find weight/load rated tires to match or exceed that. A lot of folks suggest putting E rated tires on 1/2 tons for towing and it's total overkill. IIRC, D rated have around 2500# each and the axle on the truck is likely around 5000# so that's a nice fit. Also, rims have max PSI so check that out to be sure you aren't upgrading tires to the point that you won't be able to realize the benefit.

 

[runamuck]

I towed a similar size trailer with my '19 laramie ccsb 4x4 and the oem Falken wildpeaks were great. quiet on the road and good traction.

 

[Fake-Account27]

I have Michelin tires AT tires. I do not know which ones off the top of my head but they are vastly better then the Firestone Tires the truck came with. The firestone AT tires lasted maybe 30,000 miles. I have since put 30k on my Michelin tires and they are at half tred.

 

[CanuckRam1313]

Michelin Defender LTX M/S are exceptional tires.
I'd go with LT's (10-ply) and enjoy safe, solid, and reliable traveling.

I have LT295/65R20's on my Ram 1500's stock Warlock 20x9 rims for my summer set up and they are phenomenal for highway and in-town.
Quiet, super on wet roads and in heavy rain/ruts, excellent road feel and control, long wearing, great Michelin warranty, and balance out very well with minimal weight, too.

I do however, have Bilstein 5100's all around on the stock springs with the fronts set to 2.1" raised.
So, my LT295/65R20's (equivalent to 35's) fit perfectly.
If you're on stock suspension, just go with the OEM stock 20" sizing with these tires.

The garbage P-Metric Good-For-A-Year stock tires are horrible in any driving conditions, especially on wet and heavy rain road conditions, in my opinion.

 

[Grams]

PLUS-1 on the Michelin LTX tires….BUT those are not good in wet grass (like many campsites) They have lousy wet traction off the pavement.

If you DO want serious towing tires…. Ditch the P-rated tires 1500 trucks come with and upgrade to LT tires.

(BTDT with my Ram 1500 pulling an Airstream all over the Rockies)

 

[nlambert182]

I also run the LTX tires. Fantastic towing tires on pavement. As many have said, when at a campground on wet grass, not so much.

As soon as these wear out (if they ever do) I'm going back to my tried and true Cooper Discoverer ATs. That may be a long time though. I'm close to 40k miles on these and they still look new. Impressive for longevity but annoying when I want to swap them out.

 

[Jas34]

Another vote for Michelin Defender LTX MS 2 tires. I have them on my truck and had the previous version on the Expedition I had before it. FWIW you won't find these as LT rated tires in your size (the LTX in the name doesn't mean anything). The 20" sizes are XL (extra load) rated, though, and work great for towing. I doubt you would want an LT rated tire on that low profile 20" tire your truck has anyway. It would have an awful harsh ride.

On another note, you'll likely be at or more than likely over your gvwr for your truck, if that matters, but that's another discussion. I'm sure it will pull it fine, though so long as your weight distribution hitch is set up right.

 

[CanuckRam1313]

I have a 2019 1500 classic crew with 5.6 foot box 5.7
Going to be towing a 28Ft travel Trailer 7,100 LBS inc Lp tanks and batt loaded !
i have 275/60/20 tire size what type of tires do you folks suggest ? I would luv to keep my ride but still have towability !
so how many ply and what tire is suggested !?

Other than the tires question being touched on, I'd be very careful pulling that size TT at that weight with a standard 1500, especially if you've got 3.21 gears and nothing in the back to help level/stabilize the load/ride.

As for harsh ride with LT 10-ply tires, with my truck it's smooth, soft, controlled and stable at ay speed.
It isn't harsh or bumpy whatsoever.
Perhaps my 5100's all around also help with the ride, too.
I also keep my tires at 40psi all round, adjusted cold. Zero issues with any type of abnormal tire wear.

 

[nlambert182]

Agreed. 7,100 lbs is going to put just shy of 1,100 tongue weight on the truck. That's before the weight of a WDH, truck cargo, accessories, or people. Depending on the available payload you may well be over before you start. Tires may be a lesser issue than capacity.

 

[mtofell]

but they are vastly better then the Firestone Tires the truck came with.

The tire on a wheelbarrow is better than those Firestone's

Without a doubt the tires that came on my truck back in 2014 are the worst tire I've ever owned on anything. Down to the tread bars after 27K miserable miles.

When I was researching options for replacement on Tirerack the OEM replacement was a special option and was far cheaper than a similar Firestone. I've never understood why a manufacturer would hurt their brand like that.

Michelins are pretty nice. I actually just replaced the set on our family truckster (minivan) and am really happy. I'd run them on my truck but I really like the 4-season winter rated ones so I don't have to worry (from a legality standpoint anyway) when driving in the mountains in the winter. I wish Michelin would make a set of those for my truck.

 

[06 Dodge]

My self it it was my truck would see if I could find load range D tires and if not then I would go to load rage E

 

[nlambert182]

You can get Load Range D tires pretty easily. I think that's all the OP would need. They wouldn't be able to run enough psi in the tires to benefit from a load range E. To get full benefit he'd need to run air pressure at 85 psi, and I doubt the factory wheels are rated for it. He'll run out of payload long before he could really get to the weight they're intended for.

 

[Jim BB]

I just want to thank everyone for your comments and suggestions

 

[KeithP]

I have a 2019 1500 classic crew with 5.6 foot box 5.7
Going to be towing a 28Ft travel Trailer 7,100 LBS inc Lp tanks and batt loaded !
i have 275/60/20 tire size what type of tires do you folks suggest ? I would luv to keep my ride but still have towability !
so how many ply and what tire is suggested

 

[OC455]

An XL tire would have the higher load index and they usually have a stiffer side wall. On my 1500 I ran Nitto Terra Grappler G2's, they had a higher load index than the OEM tires (Goodyears 275/60R20's).

 

[tron67j]

Michelin Defender LTX M/S are exceptional tires.
I'd go with LT's (10-ply) and enjoy safe, solid, and reliable traveling.

I have LT295/65R20's on my Ram 1500's stock Warlock 20x9 rims for my summer set up and they are phenomenal for highway and in-town.
Quiet, super on wet roads and in heavy rain/ruts, excellent road feel and control, long wearing, great Michelin warranty, and balance out very well with minimal weight, too.

I do however, have Bilstein 5100's all around on the stock springs with the fronts set to 2.1" raised.
So, my LT295/65R20's (equivalent to 35's) fit perfectly.
If you're on stock suspension, just go with the OEM stock 20" sizing with these tires.

The garbage P-Metric Good-For-A-Year stock tires are horrible in any driving conditions, especially on wet and heavy rain road conditions, in my opinion.

Know this is older post but if anyone comes across this while researching tires, these are awesome! I have same on my 2018 2500 and the ride just is so nice. Had original Firestone that lasted less than 25,000 miles and weren't that good.

 

[sdeeter19555]

My father put LTs (BFG AT/KO) on his 1500 (swapped out the OE P-series) and that made a fairly nice improvement in towing an 18ft equipment trailer (probably 7500 loaded, no WDH), took out a lot of squirm.

With that said, I have two 2500s and will be taking those LTs off because they tend to ride stiff unloaded.

So the LT/P-series thing is a tradeoff...