235/85r16?

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

What's everyone's opinion on a P rated tire? My camper is a swift shell and roughly weighs 700 lbs.

At the minimum IMO you need LT tires that's usually a "C" load rated.
My used 02 Tundra came with Goodyear 265/75/16 "C" load that's almost 2500 # load per tire.
I carry a ATC Bobcat camper.
Frank

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

I didn't see anywhere in this thread exactly what truck you have - maybe I missed it? But personally, I would NEVER put passenger tires on any truck.

 

[CaptRussia253]

I have a 2013 Nissan Frontier. I'm looking at Falken at3w in a P265/75r16 116t which I think are rated at 2700 lbs a tire.

 

[rubberlegs]

What's everyone's opinion on a P rated tire? My camper is a swift shell and roughly weighs 700 lbs.

Pavement, good gravel, or rough roads?

 

[ntsqd]

no.

This.

Doesn't matter where you're going to drive it. Look at the Gross Rear Axle Weight Rating for your truck and divide that by 2. Then look at the max load rating for any tire you're considering. A 'P' tire isn't likely to be able to carry enough weight to match or exceed the GRAWR like it needs to.

 

[rando]

The tires he is suggesting have a load rating of 2750 lbs per tire - so they should be totally fine for a 4500lb truck and 700lb camper. There is almost a factor of 2 safety margin.

It is wise to do the math before jumping to conclusions.

 

[Mighty Dodge Ram]

I also say no. LT tires have additional strength built into the sidewalls (regardless of the # of plies) in addition to the differences in tread, etc. My buddy who worked for Bridgestone for a bit told me “P” rated for comfort, “LT” rated for work.

 

[rubberlegs]

P rated tires are supposed to be derated 10% for light truck use. But if you are on roads without sharp rocks with a relatively light camper, why would you need macho tires? It sounds like you are well within the load specs -- your camper is hundreds of pounds lighter than most. P tires usually get better mileage on pavement. I can see light truck tires needed for severe roads, with sharp rocks or where you need to air down a lot. Even airing down on many gentle gravel roads seems overkill.

When I was in mountaineering, the common advise was to use heavy boots. This was for ankle support and ease of walking over rocks. Then Ray Jardine wrote his book on hiking the Pacific Crest Trail using running shoes. Wow, the improvement in hiking miles per day went way up for me. I hever had problems with ankles or rocks, even with a heavy pack. Then I read more of his book and lightened my pack by half, and was able to double my original miles per day. It's easy to choose the most conservative solution, but it's not necessary in all cases.

 

[ntsqd]

The tires he is suggesting have a load rating of 2750 lbs per tire - so they should be totally fine for a 4500lb truck and 700lb camper. There is almost a factor of 2 safety margin.

It is wise to do the math before jumping to conclusions.

Given as general advise, I've no idea what the tires are the OP wants to use and don't care.

Just because they're an LT tire doesn't mean that will have a 'macho' tread on them. They'll just have a sturdier carcass that is better equipped to handle the weight on any type of road.

Beware that some tires, even LT's, are "Ply Rated", not actual plies. Does it make a difference? Probably. An "8 Ply Rated" tire with fewer actual plies will probably ride better and get better mileage than one with all 8 plies, but that's only my guess. One aspect of this that may or may not be important is that a 'Ply Rated' tire will usually be easier to side-wall cut than one with the actual plies. That's a generalization based on real world experience with 'Ply Rated' tires, not a hard and fast truth.

 

[Mighty Dodge Ram]

ntsqd is correct. As just one example, Michelin offers several LT tires with a tread pattern that is decidely geared towards highway use.

 

[CaptRussia253]

I've looked at Michelin in LT as well. The tires are considerably lights than most LTs in the same size. Might consider going that route.