Do I need load range E tires?

[RjCorazza]

There are tuners available that allow you to reset the pressure at which the alarm goes off.

I have "E" tires on my F150 and E350. 40 psi is the max I run in those tires. The "E" range tires on my Jeep Wrangler run a max of 20 psi. Been that way for years with no problems.

I ended up getting a tuner last week to adjust the tpms settings. Worked like a charm!

 

[Hughman]

The "E" range tires on my Jeep Wrangler run a max of 20 psi. Been that way for years with no problems.

Me too, on a leaf spring yj. Rough ride? Maybe, but not sure I can blame the tires.

 

[deserteagle71]

What tires and load rating came with the truck? I would stick with that.

The tires that come with the truck, unless you spec out the heavy payload package, are optimized for smooth ride and good fuel mileage. If you drive dirt roads, haul heavy loads, or tow, those OEM tires are not going to do well.

 

[N80]

I would recommend changing the dampers whenever the budget allows. They do multiple things, and wear is more evident in some of their jobs than others. For example, even a fairly worn damper will do a decent job keeping the truck from 'porpoising' or continuing to move up and down after hitting a bump. But, the other job they do is control the 'release' of the tire back downward after it has crested the top of a bump. A lot of times that side of the bump actually feels worse than the going up, if the damper is not doing a great job. Shocks can be bad at that and still not 'porpoise'. The difference between an old and new shock is very evident on the 'harshness' of speed bumps (above a certain minimum speed, anyway), and if you pay close attention you will notice it has to do with the down travel of the suspension more than the up travel.

So weak damping of short/high frequency movements are a less obvious telltale of wear, that has a bigger impact on 'ride quality', than porpoising (long/low frequency movements) which is obvious but does not really contribute to the 'jitteriness' of the ride. Dampers'
failure to damp short/high frequency movements also contributes to the development of tire noise due to 'cupping' wear.

Update: This ^

Two and a half years after I posted this thread the ride harshness got to the point where I finally got around to changing the shocks. I spent a little extra on Blistein shocks because they got good reviews for this specific model. All of the steering issues and harshness over sharp bumps is gone.

It was very expensive to have a mechanic do this job. Yes, you can get shocks with springs preloaded on them but at that point it was a wash in terms of total cost and those shocks are primarily made for lifted trucks. I did not look at bargain shocks with preloaded springs so you might could save some money there in the short term.

 

[RayIN]

I wouldn’t think the load range would change the ride as you describe it.

I used to keep the E load tires on my truck at 72 psi all the time - plowing, towing, and empty.

Empty pickups can also drive really squirrelly when the bed is empty. Just putting a few hundred pounds in the bed over the rear axle always seems to improve the ride.

It’s quite possible that the actual truck suspension is getting worn out too.

Also keep in mind thst trucks generally are not going to drive as smooth as a car since they have a tougher truck suspension

I agree. LR E, AT tires on a ½T pickup puts a lot of unnecessary stress on the steering and suspension parts.
I have P-rated tires on my Silverado K1500 and it comfortably tows a 24' dovetail equipment trailer @ 55MPH hauling my 6,000# tractor. I do however inflate the tires to sidewall max when towing that trailer.
When I bought this last set of tires I bought LT type, and they do handle better than the P tires did. Then again; running empty the P tires rode much softer due to the weaker sidewalls.