Newbee 4W "Fleet" owner: truck tire question

[scappoosebrad]

Will take delivery on a "Fleet" camper 12/16 ...will mount on 93 Nissan SE V6 (old but only 72,000 miles and in great shape)...have already installed air bags(Airlift P/N 5906) ... running stock wheels @15" and tires: 235/75R 15XL 108S HK H724 (4 yrs. old w/ 3,000 miles) from Les Schwab...

My comment/question is: am thinking of using the above tires (4 ply) for now... only 6 ply tires available for 15" wheels--with the low miles on my current tires, did not think it worth buying new tires or new 16" set to install 10 ply which many here seem to use...

do you think my current size tires will be ok? we do not plan on any off road running (maybe gravel to campsites)? will appreciate any/all comments / feedback...thanks

 

[tree]

is the fleet a "shell" model? or loaded model?

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Will take delivery on a "Fleet" camper 12/16 ...will mount on 93 Nissan SE V6 (old but only 72,000 miles and in great shape)...have already installed air bags(Airlift P/N 5906) ... running stock wheels @15" and tires: 235/75R 15XL 108S HK H724 (4 yrs. old w/ 3,000 miles) from Les Schwab...

My comment/question is: am thinking of using the above tires (4 ply) for now... only 6 ply tires available for 15" wheels--with the low miles on my current tires, did not think it worth buying new tires or new 16" set to install 10 ply which many here seem to use...

do you think my current size tires will be ok? we do not plan on any off road running (maybe gravel to campsites)? will appreciate any/all comments / feedback...thanks

IMO. With my ATC Bobcat I started with a 06 Ford Ranger V6 2wd. Installed Supersprings and Michilen LT 15",I think a size about same as yours.
Kept the air around 45 rear and had no problems. only "off road" would be some gravel forest roads.
At some point yes you could go to 16" rims and 6/8 ply tires. How has the truck handled now? What is the load weight of the tire?
IMO somewhere above #2400 load range should work for now. Change when you get the camper and see how it drives.
I now have a 02 Tundra with LT 265/75/R16 "c" rated tires and like the larger higher rated tire.
One important thing is that you have LT tires not "P" rated ones.
There are a lot of good opinions that will be posted,and give you some extra help.
Frank

 

[scappoosebrad]

Tree,
We are getting the "loaded" model... we are estimating wt. at around #1200 (less supplies) with 2 6-volt battery system, thermal pack, fan, side awning, furnace, camper Jacks(but will remove while running), solar panel (roof), frig/freezer...

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Brad, I put E rated Toyos on my '07 Ranger, and I think it was overkill. I was looking for puncture resistance. They give a little rougher ride, slight vibration above 65, and mileage slightly down with the bigger, heavier tires. I'd talk to the folks at Schwabs and get their recommendation given your load and terrain requirements.

Congrats on your soon to be delivered Fleet.

 

[Seth]

I'm on a much newer Frontier V6, a bit lighter with an Eagle. The previous owner did a serious off-road tire upgrade without new wheels, and I'm sure they work great on the trail, but my use is much like yours. He did a 2" lift on the front to level the truck. I'm thinking stock wheels are 17" on my 2013 mid-trim fronty.
***Edit***
Nope, they're 16" 10-ply Toyo Open Country from Schwab.
*********

I thought about a tire downgrade, remove the 2" lift on the front, but every time I went to a tire shop they'd scratch their heads and say "well... I think you've got that just about where you want it."

After I mounted the camper it was clear that I needed air bags - installed ride-rites. As it turns out, 45 lbs. is my magic number...

It's also clear after a season that the next step would be a beefier rear anti-sway bar. Or, maybe not, just keep driving conservatively, which is a good idea anyways, and good for the gas mileage. In fact, I'm only reminded about that wheeling out of my driveway with an immediate turn onto the street, because that slight depression for rainwater is the deepest pothole I see in normal driving, including camping. No curbs/gutters in my neighborhood.

I'm not coming back to the tires question until these wear out - will take a very serious look at LT with a good load rating. I'm not encountering rocks on trails, and would prefer a better ride on pavement. The current setup isn't bad, but could be a little less live in the back with no camper.

That's my experience, for what it's worth. Were it me I'd get at least a few miles on the rig with camper before taking next steps. I recently went from an 05 fronty crew cab to the 13 king, they are the same generation of trucks, but certainly are set up differently and feel different to drive.


Sent from my iPad using Wander The West

 

[SCUD]

Short Answer

For now, your tires should be fine as far as age. Most manufacturers recommend replacing tires after 6 years, the maximum is 10 years. You won't know if they will carry the weight of your truck, camper, and load until you weigh the combination.

Long Answer

You did not include a "P" or "LT" prefix in your tire description, but to my knowledge, only P-metric tires have XL load range descriptions. I'm assuming that yours are P-metric. In your 235/75R 15XL 108S tire marking description, the XL indicates "extra load" which is a stronger tire than an S or SL , and maximum load rating is obtained at 42psi vs 35psi for the S or SL. The 108 is a load index rating of 2205# maximum (Hankook & Toyo show 2183). When P-metric tires are mounted on a truck, the maximum load should be divided by 1.1 to de-rate them for light truck use, so the max load is reduced to 2005# (or 1985# for Hankook or Toyo) maximum each tire. Raising the XL pressure above 42psi will not increase the tire load capacity rating, nor will raising S/SL above 35psi.

Your camper will probably weigh close to 1400# dry; have your dealer give you a copy of the MSO. (My Fleet without solar panels and with 2 batteries is 1400# dry.) Let's say your truck weighs 4500# with you and a passenger in it, full of gas, and the rear axle weight is 2000#. The whole 1400# of the camper will likely be born entirely by the rear axle. Add 150# for full propane & water. Add 150# of food & gear for two people. That's 3700# that two tires with a combined capacity of about 4000# have to carry. Change the numbers as needed. If my assumptions are right, your tires should be sufficient. You will probably exceed your truck's GVW, but that's not what you asked about.

To determine future tire selection you should weigh the truck front & rear axles with the camper on, with full gasoline, water, propane, gear, driver and passenger. If possible separate left rear and right rear weights should be obtained (so you can set air bag pressures individually and and find the maximum individual tire load); they will probably not be the same. Many landscape rock outfits will let you use their scales for free, if there are no highway department scales near you. You stated that "only 6 ply tires available for 15" wheels" but there are many available 235/75x15 S/SL/XL/LT tires that are 4-ply rated. They may or may not have a high enough load index. Once you have real world weights, you can determine your minimum load index.

The load index number is critical

The load index of 108 for your Hankook XL range tires is very good. In your tire size, P-metric load range S/SL tires have LI's from 102-105 before de-rating, light truck metric load range C tires are usually about the same but are not de-rated, and light truck flotation tires (29x9.50x15LT) are usually around 101. Here's a partial table from Discount Tires;
Load Index Load (lbs)
100 1764
101 1819
102 1874
103 1929
104 1984
105 2039
106 2094
107 2149
108 2205
109 2271
110 2337
111 2403
112 2469


Hope this helps,
Scott

 

[scappoosebrad]

Scud...you scored again with this post(along with my other question about GAWR)...

I couldn't get that kind of info from a tire dealer! have printed it out and will ponder your thoughts and analysis...most of it I understand, but so much appreciate all the details...and yes the current tires are "P"235s(forgot to include that in my original entry)...you were "right on" also with the 2183#/tire rating--what Les Schwab gave me about a month ago when I asked about my current tire setup...

appreciate your suggestion to get to wt. measures from dealer and truck stop (we have one just a mile down the road on Hwy 30) and your suggestion about adjusting left/rt side air bag levels--a thorough analysis! and probably helpful to other members on this chat site.

your entry will remain my prime tire entry in my "camper notes" folder for future reference... thanks a bunch!