QuestionQUESTION: My big beautiful SupDut Ford truck is a shortbed and will be towing a 15,000 lb + 5th wheel trailer, pin weight arond 2,600-3000 lbs allegedly.
I only have 25 k on truck and BF GOODRICH RADIAL TA off road 265 or 285? 75 16 tires about same 25 k, never off roaded or used other than to haul people. yet when I looked at the tread the other day (still plenty) I see metal!!! way deep into a few really good cracks/tears? I saw sun cracks before , but never so deep and metal visible to the viewer! all 4 are similar, rears are less so, it looks as if the shearing force or g forces side loading the sidewalls has overheated them?? I do drive really fast often 80-90 fwy and really do put it through corners amazingly so!! it is very confidence inspiring! but I wonder I reralise its 2k heavier than a suburban and at 7,700 lbs maybe i need 10-12 ply street tires rather than the narly looing rugged tread patttern? I dont want it to resemble a Southern Pacific or phone co truck either though!
ANSWER: Keith,
First, you MUST replace those tires IMMEDIATELY. They are unsafe!!
But we also need to find why that happened and correct it. So, back to the basics. Here's my standard answer on tire size and pressure (and I'll just cut and paste, so bear with me if it seems a little like I am not addressing this to you in particular):
On every vehicle sold in the US, there is a sticker – commonly called the tire placard - that lists the original tire size and the proper pressure for that size. The placard is usually located on a doorpost or in the glove box – but sometimes it is located in the trunk or on the fuel filler door.
BTW, it doesn't matter who makes the tire or what pressure is listed on the tire's sidewall, if the tire size is the same as the placard, then the pressure listed on placard is also appropriate.
One word of caution: Some trucks use tires with the letters "LT" in front of the tire size - and some trucks use tires with the letter "P" in front of the tire size - and some trucks use tires with the letter "C" after the tire size. You should not use "P"'s in place of "LT"'s and vice versa.
If you are using a tire size that is different than what is listed on the placard, then the pressure has to be recalculated. The calculation is not difficult, but it requires tire load tables which are not allowed to be published in the Internet because of copyright laws. However, I have a copy and would be glad to do the calculation, but the starting point is the vehicle placard: Tire size and inflation pressure. I will also need to know the new tire size.
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OK, that was the cut and paste of my standard answer.
1) I think we need to start with the vehicle placard. What does it say for tire size and inflation pressure?
2) What is the towing capacity of your truck? This is will be in the owners manual. Are you exceeding that capacity (Gross Vehicle Weight or Tongue Weight)? If you don't have the owners's manual, call Ford and ask them. This is as important as the answer to the first question.
3) I think you have the "P" vs "LT" problem. Please check to see if your tires have the "P" or "LT" in front of the size. Based on what I know about Super Duty Ford's, they all took "LT"'s, although the exact size varied by vehicle model year and there were lots of versions with different towing capacities and tire sizes!
Again, REPLACE the tires IMMEDIATELY!! I realize we have to wade through this to get to the right answer, but DO NOT delay this process. The tires are unsafe!!
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: it says 265 75 16 were an option but stockers were 235 885 16 on base truck m this is 4 dr 4x4 V10 real heavy!, tires say LT but are only 3 ply dsidewalls, bf goodrich off road radials "TO"'s to meand on and off road I read,
my trailer weighs dry 11,860, truck 7300, lbs,, I read a identical setup weighed 4100 front, and 2100 rear, it has V10 and 4.30 lim slip diff rather than 4.10 or even taller option, I read the max for 2001 was 13,600 and a 20,000 gross??? not sure of this? but if trailer is 15 and truck is 7= 22k
ABOUT 2K OVER, i READ YOU CAN GET LIC FOR HEAVIER CAPACITY? i SAW THE 250 AND 350 USE SAME DIFFS! SO NOT REAL WEAK IN COMPARISON, SORRY CAP STUCK,
ANYWAYS A PIN WEIGHT OF 2600 - 3000 IS TYPICAL APPARENTLY, MAX PAYLOAD IS 3 K
ANOTHER THING IS PLACING THE 5TH WHEEL IN THE SHORTBED, fORDS 6 3/4 FT BOX AND 8 FT BOX , MINE IS 6 3/4 FT LONG X 80 INCHES WIDE, MY 5TH WHEEL IS 96 IN WIDE, THEY SAY THE HITCH MUST RIDE 2 IN IN FRONT OF AXLE TO LOAD FRONT END, BUT MUST STAY 52 IN BACK FROKM THE CAB FOR 90 DEG TURNS I READ SOME HAVE SLIDER HITCH AND NEVER NEED IT AND OTHERS SWEAR BY THEM? ANY IDEAS THERE?? AS WELL ?
AnswerKeith,
It has been a while since I looked at a Ford placard, but they always had a single size and a single inflation pressure listed. Is that what your truck has? If so, what does it say for both size and pressure?
Please note: The owners manual is probably less specific and since there are SO MANY different versions of SuperDuty's, and SO MANY different tire size / inflation pressure combinations, We need to be absolutely sure WHAT is causing the tires to fail! Otherwise, everything we do will be for naught!
When I get that info, I will look it up to make sure it makes sense. I have a book called Tire Guides that summarizes the vehicle placard for car and trucks sold in the US. When it comes to trucks, it's hard to discern which version we are talking about - be it Ford, GM, or Dodge. That's why lookng at the placard becomes important. It is the only sure source of this information.
Plus, you need to be ABSOLUTELY sure about the towing capacity of the truck - and that's just as important to find out why the tires are failing. The towing capacity is something Fiord will have to tell you (or it's in the owners manual).
And relative to the hitch placement? You said "They" said something about placement. You should ask "Them". My expertise is strict in the area of "tires".
