Towing/Tires Question?

[Montana_1691]

Hello to all from a newbie! Hoping for answers from the experienced. I have a chance to buy an immaculate used '02 3295RK. Tow vehicle = '03 F250 7.3 CC SB SRW 4x4 which weighs 7500# including full tank & hitch. Rear axle is 3040#. My problem is I have D rated tires at 3340# each, which are only 100# less than the E Firestones the truck came with that I dispised. Does this sound OK or am I missing something? Second question is should I pull the trailer first and see how it squats or don't waste my time and go ahead and add air lift since I know I'm overloaded on pin weight?

[sreigle]

I agree with John and David about the E rated tires. However, having said that, my Montana says 'E' rated tires on the placard but was delivered with a new size in a 'D' rating that according to the sidewall easily meets the axle ratings and then some. I see no sway from those but maybe that's different on a truck. I'll replace them with E's when these wear out. The truck has E's. I just replaced the original (wore them out) Pirelli tires (hated them) with Michelin (love them). Previous truck had the Firestones and I thought they were great. Quiet, smooth riding, and well-balanced. I got a deal on the Michelins or I'd have gone with Firestones this time.

[kdeiss]

quote:Originally posted by sreigle

I agree with John and David about the E rated tires. However, having said that, my Montana says 'E' rated tires on the placard but was delivered with a new size in a 'D' rating that according to the sidewall easily meets the axle ratings and then some. I see no sway from those but maybe that's different on a truck. I'll replace them with E's when these wear out. The truck has E's. I just replaced the original (wore them out) Pirelli tires (hated them) with Michelin (love them). Previous truck had the Firestones and I thought they were great. Quiet, smooth riding, and well-balanced. I got a deal on the Michelins or I'd have gone with Firestones this time.

Steve,Can you tell me the model of Michelin's you purchased

[Montana_70]

Go for "E" tires on your truck. I have the Michelin LTX/MS and they have been great tires.

[sreigle]

Ken, the Michelins are LTX M/S like BJ's. Size is LT265/75R16E. I got them at Walmart, believe it or not. They had Michelins on the floor so I asked if they could get these. And they had them in 3 days.

[Coro from Maryland]

quote:Originally posted by sreigle
I just replaced the original (wore them out) Pirelli tires (hated them)

Steve - what didn't you like about the Pirelli.
They came stock on my F350, and seem fine to me. But maybe I just don't have enough experiance to expected anything better.

[sreigle]

Coro, I just thought they rode too hard. The previous F350 ('99) had Firestones and was a 4x2. It rode really great. The "new" one had Pirellis and is 4x4 so at first I wasn't sure if the ride difference was tires or 4x4 (suspension is different too). The Pirellis wore fine but I recently wore them out and replaced them with the Michelins and the ride improved considerably. The Michelins sing a little more on concrete, however. I run 55psi in the front and 75psi in the rear all the time since we tow fairly frequently. Otherwise the Pirellis were fine. This may just be a mental thing for me rather than the tires.