I was at a church around here years ago that had the "finance comittee" buy a set of tires for their stretch van and when they got it back I looked at it and cringed. After putting up a huge stink about them taking a group of elderly ladies on a flower looking tour through Texas with those wobble wall passenger tires on there , they FINALLY listened to me and put some decent tires on it and turned over the service decisions to myself and a guy who worked on a highway maintnence crew. No more beancounters doing stupid things with the repair dollars.
My cl tire mistake and question
- Thread starter Trying my best
- Start date
Some tire shops will put on whatever the customer asks, regardless of how wrong such may be.
My families 55-plus years in business tire shop, against my better judgement, has often done just whatever the customer asked, mainly on account of if we refused, they would just get one of the many other even less scrupulous shops to do it.
When you live in a small minimum-wage/welfare community, you have to make adjustments or starve.
That being said, ALWAYS look closely at the tire size on the sidewall; P265-75R-16 is passenger; P is for passenger as in no ply rating, just a car tire; LT265-75R-16 is light truck; LT denotes it as being light truck and this tire will have a ply-rating and load-range.
For a diesel engined truck, you want at least a Load Range "D"; "E" is even better.
If you never load the truck nor pull anything heavier than a fishing boat, you can get away with running the "P"-rated tires.
The only drawback is that the radial lurch and meander is even more pronounced with these weak sidewalled tires.
The reason the tire guy refused to mount those tires is he is gunshy of a law-suit.
The sad thing is that customers conveniently forget whose idea it was to do something stupid when things go wrong.
Round here the biggest tire store in town tries to move any tire that will fit weather it's heavy enough for the vehicle or not...
SparkandFire
We're drinking beer
Both of my trucks have "P" tires on them, the blue truck had Goodyear Wrangler RT/S tires...
I have never felt comfortable hauling a trailer with that truck.
That being said I've done it many, many times. Inevitably in life you do things occasionally that you wish you didn't. I've laid awake at night before long trips and worried about all things in general about the trip. Whether the truck will make it. If I will loose an axle bearing on the trailer. On and on... The tires always worried me. Always.
I've never had a blow out with the "P" rated tire. I've blown the tread on at least 4 "E" rated LT tires. (three coopers and one uniroyal)
Right now I've got them on the black truck. They ride really nice and smooth. I haul nothing whatsoever with this truck.
If you are at a point where you are buying new tires, by all means get the higher rated ones. I would have had fewer sleepless nights had I bit the bullet a year ago and bought the blue truck the right tires...
Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. Just because something hasn't happened before doesn't mean it won't...
I have never felt comfortable hauling a trailer with that truck.
That being said I've done it many, many times. Inevitably in life you do things occasionally that you wish you didn't. I've laid awake at night before long trips and worried about all things in general about the trip. Whether the truck will make it. If I will loose an axle bearing on the trailer. On and on... The tires always worried me. Always.
I've never had a blow out with the "P" rated tire. I've blown the tread on at least 4 "E" rated LT tires. (three coopers and one uniroyal)
Right now I've got them on the black truck. They ride really nice and smooth. I haul nothing whatsoever with this truck.
If you are at a point where you are buying new tires, by all means get the higher rated ones. I would have had fewer sleepless nights had I bit the bullet a year ago and bought the blue truck the right tires...
Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. Just because something hasn't happened before doesn't mean it won't...
The Warden
MiB Impersonator
Amen to that! I made a mistake with truck tires once...I listened to someone who told me that a Load Range D tire was just as stiff as a Load Range E tire as long as the tire weight rating was the same. The first time I hooked a trailer to the truck with those tires, I found out the hard way that the tire sidewalls were so weak that, with just the trailer tongue weight, the truck's rear end would start wiggling around so badly that it made the trailer fishtail if I went faster than 35 mph or so.
Needless to say, that's a mistake I won't make again
it's a miracle I didn't jack-knife and flip over...those tires got removed from the truck about a week later Trying my best
Full Access Member
Well I sold those p tires to the tire shop, now Im hoping to sell the super duty rims on cl., but so far no bites.
MIDNIGHT RIDER
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At least around here, the metric-pattern 8-lug wheels are a dime-a-dozen.
On the other hand, good servicable 8-on-6-1/2 steel wheels are scarce and will bring big money.
I just sold a plain-jane 16x7 Ford factory-issue steel wheel in very-good condition for $85
The guy had already been to three different junk-yards and bought three wrong wheels in very questionable condition for $30 to $40 apiece; all were 8-on-6-1/2, but one was a GM, one a 1990-ish Dodge that would not clear his Sterling axle, and the third had a mile of negative offset and was like nothing I have ever seen before and I see lots of wheels.
Besides being no-fits, each of these wheels had flattened edges, wallowed-out lug seats, and lots of rust.
Around here, we can't give an aluminum/pot-metal wheel away, except for scrap value.
Trying my best
Full Access Member
Yea, I see that, oh well, can't win me all
firehawk
Full Access Member
Remember that a load range is just that, a range. Some D range are rated for higher loads than E and it depends upon the size and brand. I stick with good brands and don't have any problems. Brands unknown to me are the ones that have thrown tread. I am using 33" D range tires, and have no problems towing at any speed.
Trying my best
Full Access Member
Good to know, thanks
The Warden
MiB Impersonator
33" D range tires, that were rated for a higher weight load than a 31" E range tire, are what I was running when I had the problem I described in my previous post. You're right that tire brand has something to do with it, but the load range is important. A load range E tire has a 10 ply rating, whereas a load range D tire has an 8 ply rating. Believe me, that 2 ply difference makes quite a bit of difference in how stiff the sidewalls are!
