[awellis3]

My Toyota store recommended heavier ply tires for towing a 5300lb. Sunline Solaris trailer. I was thinking about 10 ply Michelin XLTs, but a knowledgeable fellow on the Sunline forum said he had a bad experience with these tires. He said the TV never ran smoother as long as it was empty. But as soon as he hitched up, sway, front end instability and excessive, early tire wear resulted. He posted a series of pix showing all this. He said the sidewalls were too flexible.

Since I plan to tow near the rig's GCWR, tires seem to me to be an important piece of the puzzle.
Youse guys with Gen.1 Tundras, what do you tow with (and why)?

Teach

 

[spoon059]

My best suggestion is E rated tires. The ride might be a little more rough, because there will be substantially less flex of the sidewall. I am pretty happy with my E rated BF Goodrich All Terrains. Look at tires recommended for 3/4 ton trucks for inspiration.

 

[Frankenstein]

Although not cheap, the BFG All Terrain T/A KOs are very good all purpose tires, especially for rocky roads, logging roads, snow performance, long life, and hauling heavy loads summer and winter. E rated (10 ply) with very stiff sidewalls. The down side is a bit less smooth ride.

 

[nomadic]

i don't have any G1 experience, but a lot of truck.
Michelin are good tires all around, what size rims are on the truck? i know there is not a lot of choises in the 18" category but smaller i know there are a lot more. pirelli made a good truck tire, yokohama, and toyo to. never tried the BFG, but i never go off road, just a lot of hwy. E's are the way to go for me, any truck i own ends up with them. in my 2nd gen i would not say they made the ride more harsh, if anything they gave me more confidence because the sidewalls do not roll in hard cornering.

 

[awellis3]

i don't have any G1 experience, but a lot of truck.
Michelin are good tires all around, what size rims are on the truck?

17" rims. On the Sunline forum an experienced trailer owner cautioned me against the Michelin LT tires. He had a bad experience with them.
Anyone towinmg with 10 ply Michelins?

Teach

 

[chacoetaco]

I would also check tire reviews provided on the tirerack website. Look for "survey reviews." Excellent resource and reviews provided from actual driving experience.

 

[tomhole]

I liked my Firestone Destination LT C rated tires. They were a nice step up from P tires, but not so harsh as the E rated.

Tom

 

[jeddclampette]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the stock ST rated tires w/ its total load rating of 9348 lbs ( @ 36psi)) able to accomodate the maximum Gen 1 GVWR of 6200 lbs?
(GVWR = the weight of truck + truck's cargo + trailer's tongue weight)

From a numbers persective, isn't E rated 10 ply tires way overkill on a 1/2 ton w/ 4800lbs curb weight? These tires really can't be run on 30-40 psi when not towing; i'm seeing 50-60 psi as a minimum just so the tires wear evenly across. On a 1 ton & 3/4 ton, 50-60 psi would work fine for these heavy weight trucks. On my gen 1, I run 29 psi all around for everyday use w/out towing and it rides like a Lexus. At 40 psi, the ride's practically unbearable w/ my TRD suspension. I can't imagine how E rated tires w/ 50 psi min. would do for everyday nontowing use.

IMO, if I wanted to increase the stock load rating of the ST tires from 9348lbs, wouldn't the next size load rating, the LT in a 6 ply be better served @ 44 psi? that bumps up the total load to 12780 lbs.

 

[awellis3]

IMO, if I wanted to increase the stock load rating of the ST tires from 9348lbs, wouldn't the next size load rating, the LT in a 6 ply be better served @ 44 psi? that bumps up the total load to 12780 lbs.

Ya' know, I was wondering that myself. I have P265/65R17s on there now and they're 6-ply. So you're saying that a LT265/65/R17 6-ply tire would be adequate to tow a 5300# trailer with a tongue weight of 675#?

Teach

 

[Corban_White]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the stock ST rated tires w/ its total load rating of 9348 lbs ( @ 36psi)) able to accomodate the maximum Gen 1 GVWR of 6200 lbs?
(GVWR = the weight of truck + truck's cargo + trailer's tongue weight)

The stock tires are "P" rated. "ST" tires are trailer tires.

From a numbers persective, isn't E rated 10 ply tires way overkill on a 1/2 ton w/ 4800lbs curb weight? These tires really can't be run on 30-40 psi when not towing; i'm seeing 50-60 psi as a minimum just so the tires wear evenly across. On a 1 ton & 3/4 ton, 50-60 psi would work fine for these heavy weight trucks. On my gen 1, I run 29 psi all around for everyday use w/out towing and it rides like a Lexus. At 40 psi, the ride's practically unbearable w/ my TRD suspension. I can't imagine how E rated tires w/ 50 psi min. would do for everyday nontowing use.

IMO, if I wanted to increase the stock load rating of the ST tires from 9348lbs, wouldn't the next size load rating, the LT in a 6 ply be better served @ 44 psi? that bumps up the total load to 12780 lbs.

Load range and load rating are not the same. Depending on the tire size and mfg the load rating could be +/- ~500lb within a given load rating. It is always important to check the actual rating of the tire you are using/wanting.

As far as your question, yes the stock tires are equal to supporting the GVWR. Sometimes the GVWR is a function of the tires. (IE the tires are the weakest link) This is one reason to upgrade. Another would be if you want to exceed the GVWR. The biggest reason people upgrade from "P" rated tires to "LT" rated is IMO because of the stiffer sidewall. This sacrifices some comfort but gains greater stability when towing. And yes, there is no real need to upgrade to "E" tires if "C" will suit you just fine. Unless the tire you want is not available in the lower rating. Or you want the durability of the heavier tire. Or you just hate changing tires on the side of the freeway. As someone who has changed many blowouts on the side of the freeway I can attest that it is not fun. So peace of mind may be another reason to get "overkill" tires.

So yes, if the tires are rated for the load they are sufficient. However, some people like to travel with a larger safety margin than others. Neither approach is wrong-as the saying goes; "to each his own."

Ya' know, I was wondering that myself. I have P265/65R17s on there now and they're 6-ply. So you're saying that a LT265/65/R17 6-ply tire would be adequate to tow a 5300# trailer with a tongue weight of 675#?

Teach

6 ply ≠ 6 ply. As I said above, check the rating of the tires in question. Then do the math (hitting the scales loaded is the only way to be accurate here) and see how much load the tires are carrying. Then decide how much margin you are comfortable with. All else being equal, "LT" tires will have a stiffer sidewall than "P" tires.

 

[tomhole]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the stock ST rated tires w/ its total load rating of 9348 lbs ( @ 36psi)) able to accomodate the maximum Gen 1 GVWR of 6200 lbs?
(GVWR = the weight of truck + truck's cargo + trailer's tongue weight)

From a numbers persective, isn't E rated 10 ply tires way overkill on a 1/2 ton w/ 4800lbs curb weight? These tires really can't be run on 30-40 psi when not towing; i'm seeing 50-60 psi as a minimum just so the tires wear evenly across. On a 1 ton & 3/4 ton, 50-60 psi would work fine for these heavy weight trucks. On my gen 1, I run 29 psi all around for everyday use w/out towing and it rides like a Lexus. At 40 psi, the ride's practically unbearable w/ my TRD suspension. I can't imagine how E rated tires w/ 50 psi min. would do for everyday nontowing use.

IMO, if I wanted to increase the stock load rating of the ST tires from 9348lbs, wouldn't the next size load rating, the LT in a 6 ply be better served @ 44 psi? that bumps up the total load to 12780 lbs.

Great question. The numbers indicate P tires are sufficient for the load. Experience indicates that LT tires tow better than P tires. Maybe it's the stiffer side wall, I dunno. When I switched from P to LT C rated tires, bounce was reduced and I just got a better towing experience. Never jumped to E rated tires, though.

So, if you want a better towing experience without sacrificing much in the unloaded ride, go with C rated LT tires if they are avaialable in your rim size.

Tom

 

[Only Toyota for me]

I agree with what Tomhole said.

YOu have a much greater margin of safety going with a stronger tire for towing.

 

[harper223]

I just traded in my 08 for a 2010, exact same specs- just newer. I hated the ride of the 08 because I had put Mich LT 10ply at about 45psi running around town. I bought it with the stock tires, and now I'm going to look for another set I might be happier with like the BFG All Terrain T/A KOs

 

[Frankenstein]

I just traded in my 08 for a 2010, exact same specs- just newer. I hated the ride of the 08 because I had put Mich LT 10ply at about 45psi running around town. I bought it with the stock tires, and now I'm going to look for another set I might be happier with like the BFG All Terrain T/A KOs

As far as ride goes, I don't know if you'll find much difference between Michelin LT 10 plys and the BFG 10 plys. You get some of the compliance in the ride from softer sidewalls, but of course it's always a compromise.