Tires for towing
 

Those of you pulling decent size trailers, what tires are you guys using?

There are no special requirements for tires when towing ... that said assuming you fit tires according to specification load rating, etc.

Ditto to the above. There's nothing special to tires in regards to towing/not towing. Now, a tire that tends to wear out quicker under normal driving conditions will of course wear a little faster when towing. But that's nothing that everyone didn't already know.

I used to tow a lot more than I do now; probably 20 or so weekends a year at the height of my racing career. What I found was that you worry a lot more about the trailer tires than you do the tow vehicle. Having said that, I used to run D load range tires on my pickup, since the position of the hitch relative to the rear wheels put a lot more weight on it than the GL does with the short rear overhang.

Here's a guide that I cribbed from Tirerack.com which shows the various load ranges. Load rated tires allow you to run higher PSI.

LT-Metric, LT-Flotation and LT-Numeric Light Truck Tires
Load Range Ply Rating Abbreviated Maximum Load Pressure
B 4 B 35 psi (240 kPa)***
C 6 C 50 psi (350 kPa)***
D 8 D 65 psi (450 kPa)***
E 10 E 80 psi (550 kPa)***
F 12 F 95 psi (650 kPa)***

Interesting Question.....

I'm doing some towing with a ML63 we just purchased, about 6k lbs or so, double axle... currently the wife stole it again but i think it has the pirelli pzero's on there....

gonna have take a good look when she she comes back...


One more story about I beat this corvette/mustang/camaro off the light and im hiding the keys from her !!


Mike

i am reading a lot about stiffer sidewalls being better for towing and that the michelins may not always have those

i always run the top of the line michelin available for my truck in its stock size, rides good empty etc

but if there is a better tire for towing on these trucks i would be interested in hearing about others experiences

my trailer has brand new tires - load range E upgraded from the stock keystone load range D

funny story about the wife racing the sports cars lol

I have towed A LOT. Both with my own vehicles and the marina's trucks where I've worked for close to 20 years. I can tell you that I have never ONCE researched a tire in regards to it being a "towing tire" - either for my vehicles or for when I'm purchasing tires for the marina. Never even crossed my mind to think of it. And I've never trailered with a tire where I thought "hmmm... this tire feels inadequate".

Honestly, I think you're thinking too much about this. :) This is one of those areas where the internet is a bad thing. If someone searches long enough they can find the answer that supports what they "Want" to find, whether right or wrong. I bet if I search in the right places I can find a website that says 2+2=5. Heck, I know for a fact that I've seen videos on the net where they show how 7x13=28.

well all i can say is that scares me a little to be on the road with you

i have also TOWED A LOT and heavy, big trailers and i definitely pay attention to tire stuff
almost every rig i own is upgraded in load range etc

thanks for all the opinions

That's an exaggeration and, honestly, a little bit on the rude side that you can infer that of me from just one post. Actually, I don't think anything I said is any different than what others have said... that there really isn't a special "towing tire".

I pay attention to tires and buy quality stuff. I know what load range is and how it affects things. I use gauges (and have added extra gauges in some vehicles) to properly monitor vitals while towing. I don't trailer super heavy, but 13,000 to 15,000 is somewhat normal. The last boat I personally owned (for family use) was a little over 10K gross.

My point was not regarding knowing or not knowing tire stuff nor disregarding it's importance. Just that if you buy a quality tire (which Michelin is), then you are good to go with trailering. We're all guilty of over-analyzing at some point. Having the internet makes it easier to do so.

omg, she is relentless... she will deny it, but some of the people she has raced I KNOW!! and they call me LOL


The proof is in the avg mpg on the cars after she drives them hehehehe


I easily beat her by 3-4mpg... too funny...