Tires: LOAD RANGE/TIRES, ford e250 van, lt245

Question
I BOUGHT A '96 FORD E250 VAN..(Handicapped with passenger side wheelchair lift installed)..Presently there are four LT225R75R16 SL on the van..What do you suggest load range
and max tire size should be?  Any help will be useful..
Thank You..
T..  

Answer
Tony,

On every vehicle sold in the US, there is a sticker – commonly called the vehicle 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.

That placard should define what the vehicle manufacturer specified for tire size and load range at the time the vehicle was manufactured.  Since that time, some additional equipment has been installed - and in theory, the installer checked to make sure the vehicle could handle the additional load (and therefore the tires.)

But in the 12 years since the vehicle has been produced, a lot of things have happened and a lot of lessons learned.  One of those lessons was that SUV's, pickup trucks and vans were undersized tirewise - so I would recommend going up in size to an LT245/75R16 Load Range E and use the pressures listed on the placard.  However, I can not tell you for sure that there is enough space in the fenderwell for that size, so have the tire installer check.