Code54
Elite Member
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2005
- Messages
- 4,311
- Location
- Putnam Co. West Virginia
- Tractor
- Kubota MX5100, Kubota BX25D,1957 Farmall Cub Lo-Boy Kubota KX91-3, BCS 853
I wanted to get some of your thoughts and ideas on my newest "issue".
When I bought my Ram 2500 Diesel it had tiny tire - I mean funny looking little things. So bad my wife said "I love this truck but it needs bigger tires!" the first time we took it to the mall and walked up to it form the side. I agreed and went and got new tires - Toyo Open Country AT II's, 285-75-17's. (About a 34" tire). They look great but I don't really care for them. I have has them for about 3 years and 15000 miles. I do rotate them but noticed they are wearing poorly in the middle. I lowered the pressure (keeps the darn tire light on all the time) but this is helping the wear. The real problem is they are crap in the snow and rain. If you pull away from a stop sign in the rain it has to be with a VERY light pedal. Heck if I am going 15 mph and step the gas down semi hard the rear end will instantly break loose. Snow - well saying you need a LIGHT throttle is an understatement. (has a limited slip Diff also) - mostly if we have night that is really slick out i take my wife's RAV4 or our little front wheel drive Yaris if that tell you something.Generally speaking the tires pack with snow by the time I pull out of the garage and become slicks.
I also notice that when I tow something heavy (say 10-12K) and come up our DRY paved road my rears want to slip and will chirp some when going 15mph or so. You can feel them slipping.
I realize the slightly wider tire may reduce traction some and was thinking maybe I need to go "thinner" and just keep the height? If so what tire size keeps the height of my current tire (love the looks) but would be a bit thinner. Am I thinking about this correctly? Also any ideas on better tires or other thoughts to improve this situation? THANKS
When I bought my Ram 2500 Diesel it had tiny tire - I mean funny looking little things. So bad my wife said "I love this truck but it needs bigger tires!" the first time we took it to the mall and walked up to it form the side. I agreed and went and got new tires - Toyo Open Country AT II's, 285-75-17's. (About a 34" tire). They look great but I don't really care for them. I have has them for about 3 years and 15000 miles. I do rotate them but noticed they are wearing poorly in the middle. I lowered the pressure (keeps the darn tire light on all the time) but this is helping the wear. The real problem is they are crap in the snow and rain. If you pull away from a stop sign in the rain it has to be with a VERY light pedal. Heck if I am going 15 mph and step the gas down semi hard the rear end will instantly break loose. Snow - well saying you need a LIGHT throttle is an understatement. (has a limited slip Diff also) - mostly if we have night that is really slick out i take my wife's RAV4 or our little front wheel drive Yaris if that tell you something.Generally speaking the tires pack with snow by the time I pull out of the garage and become slicks.
I also notice that when I tow something heavy (say 10-12K) and come up our DRY paved road my rears want to slip and will chirp some when going 15mph or so. You can feel them slipping.
I realize the slightly wider tire may reduce traction some and was thinking maybe I need to go "thinner" and just keep the height? If so what tire size keeps the height of my current tire (love the looks) but would be a bit thinner. Am I thinking about this correctly? Also any ideas on better tires or other thoughts to improve this situation? THANKS