Pay extra for Load Range E's?

[RobertN]

A little work with a Sawzall...

really though, I noticed the squish with the flatbed bumper pull trailer too. Would be similar for a travel trailer etc.

Doubt the Op will be towing a 5th wheel with a Yukon XL...Just sayin.

[TomSeller]

If the tire place you are buying from is paying attention, they won't install under rated tires. They could be liable themselves if there was a blow out resulting in a serious accident. The lawyers would dig in on that.

[crashz]

Load range D would be fine (most will exceed your GVWR and axle WR), but I've found them to be more expensive than the more common P or E tires.

Load range C would be on the edge of usable and the ride and handling will be awful. Expect it to feel like driving on a road bed of marshmallows. Squishy and unpredictable. Unlikely that a good tire store will even mount them.

Before trading my 1/2 ton, I put stock sized E tires on it. Cooper ATs I think. They were reasonable and good tires. If it were me, I'd put a less expensive E tire on it vs a name brand tire with less load capacity.

[bdeboer]

Thanks for the input from all of you...I too have not seen any Load Range D's locally in that size. The main reason I was wondering about the issue is that when I was at Wally World yesterday the price for a premium load Range E (Goodyear) was about $65 more than the same size in standard load. Spent a half hour comparing prices at Discount tire online and their price for a standard load tire (midgrade) is only about $15 less than a LR E. I am leaning toward the Cooper Discoverer HT LR E. Tread on the OEM Firestone Steeltexes is still good, but the sidewall are beginning to get very hard and cracking around the rim is getting to be noticable.

I did not check all of the replies, did you check one of the local dealers that services pickup trucks, tractors or trailers? I usually save some from online prices with truck tires at our local deere dealer.

I ran a set of load range E MasterCraft AT's on a 2002 K2500 Suburban from 50K (when I purchased it) to 98K when I traded it in. MasterCraft are a Cooper off brand. The MasterCraft tires were at the end of their life when I traded it in. Changed out the factory Firestones because they tended to hydroplane in rain although they had what seemed to be a decent amount of tread left. I do have a set of Mastercraft AT2 on a 1/2 ton now with around 30K and they are noiser than what I remember the MasterCraft AT's being.

[bdeboer]

Still trying to figure out why load range E is needed on a Suburban...On my 14,000# class C MH, I get it..Having owned Suburban class vehicles in the past I can say I never bought or needed them unless you're towing a park model TT in a serious HD XL..

Saftey police aside.

I've towed (more times than I can count) 6,000-10,00 loads with LT tires and never had anything that concerned me...

I had a 2002 K2500 ton Suburban and it would not feel stable when the rear tires were not the 80lbs (from the door sticker) when pulling an 8000lb travel trailer. Usually I kept them at 65lbs for normal driving. It did not take me long to check the air pressure on the Suburban along with the trailer tires before I left.

[JDgreen227]

Despite the factory recommendation on the door sticker to use 80 psi front/50 psi rear (cold) I usually ran all 4 tires at 50 psi unless I was towing a 30 foot TT (loaded weight 6450 pounds) and then I bumped the pressure up to 60 for all four. Every tire is wearing evenly and I never felt the rig was unstable even at freeway speeds.

[3930dave]

Despite the factory recommendation on the door sticker to use 80 psi front/50 psi rear (cold) I usually ran all 4 tires at 50 psi unless I was towing a 30 foot TT (loaded weight 6450 pounds) and then I bumped the pressure up to 60 for all four. Every tire is wearing evenly and I never felt the rig was unstable even at freeway speeds.

Hi JD,

That 80psi (rear, I suspect) is a worst case #.

As in, GM would have tested your truck pulling Max Rated load, through Arizona in the peak of summer heat.

Then, they'd add a bit of a fudge factor, as many people (not you) don't pay much attention to Max Rated Load.

Living in MI, pulling under the rated load, it should never be an issue for you with LR E. But, that said, you would probably still see a rear tire temperature difference (sidewall temperature, IR measured), between running 60 vs. 80 psi, even with your load.

For your case , the operating temperature of a LR E would probably still be OK at 60psi rear. Max Load, Phoenix, August first weekend - not so much.

Let us know what you end up deciding to go with.

Rgds, D.

[timswi]

I must have a far larger tolerance for "squishey"...I had a 2500 diesel Suburban 4x4 with LT 265x75x16's on it and never felt any of that. Don't even know if it called for "E" rated tires or not (been a good while since I owned it)..I put what I wanted on it.

I will say when I want from GY Eagles to Cooper Disco AT3's on my GMC P/U I did notice a slight lack of cornering for the first 1/2 mile...Don't notice it any more.

[JDgreen227]

Thanks to all who responded to this thread...I learned a lot from all of you. Decided to replace the OEM's with the same E load range as the differerence in price for a set of four is only about $80 at Discount Tire. As I stated in an earlier post, the reason I originally wondered about the issue is the extreme price difference at Wally World for LT tires versus the E range. Appears that WW has a very limited selection of E Range tires at the local store and the E range tire they carry is a premium model. Given my driving habits are less than 1,000 miles a year on the GMC, I was reluctant to pay $70 per tire premium for the E range, but $80-90 per SET is very reasonable. Appreciate all the feedback.

[bdeboer]

I must have a far larger tolerance for "squishey"...I had a 2500 diesel Suburban 4x4 with LT 265x75x16's on it and never felt any of that. Don't even know if it called for "E" rated tires or not (been a good while since I owned it)..I put what I wanted on it.

I will say when I want from GY Eagles to Cooper Disco AT3's on my GMC P/U I did notice a slight lack of cornering for the first 1/2 mile...Don't notice it any more.

It didn't seem as bad when I got rid of the OEM tires a couple months after I purchased it, and I never notice it with my '08 Diesel but the TPM makes me keep those aired up.