Stock Tire Size E Rating

CPT Davenport

CPT Davenport

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2021
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672
Location
Davenport CA
Prepping for my July Hawk delivery. I have 285 70 r17 Toyo AT3 open county tires. 34,000 miles on them and still good tread and performance. Looking to cut weight to make room for the camper and stuff. I plan to not really get too twisted off road in the truck with the camper. Just wanna ride off into the sunset with my wife and camp as we aim our bows toward retirement. I'm thinking of going back to stock 255 70 r17 to save weight to the tune of 75 pounds. Still E rated Toyo, but smaller. Will I regret going down in size more than the advantage of saving the weight? Again, I'm not intending on going ham with this rig. I got a k5 for that and if I feel the need to wander further with the camper, I'll get a bigger truck as a base.

Anyone running stock size but E rated tires and what is your opinion?
 
Cpt Davenport said:
Prepping for my July Hawk delivery. I have 285 70 r17 Toyo AT3 open county tires. 34,000 miles on them and still good tread and performance. Looking to cut weight to make room for the camper and stuff. I plan to not really get too twisted off road in the truck with the camper. Just wanna ride off into the sunset with my wife and camp as we aim our bows toward retirement. I'm thinking of going back to stock 255 70 r17 to save weight to the tune of 75 pounds. Still E rated Toyo, but smaller. Will I regret going down in size more than the advantage of saving the weight? Again, I'm not intending on going ham with this rig. I got a k5 for that and if I feel the need to wander further with the camper, I'll get a bigger truck as a base.

Anyone running stock size but E rated tires and what is your opinion?
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Well, the numbers are - 1.7 inches smaller in diameter, and - 1.2 inches wider, and liighter, as you have said. But none of that means much without knowing what these tires are attached to. What are you putting your new Hawk on? What's the payload of your truck? What's it rated for? How much do you expect your camper, cargo and passengers to weigh in at? Are you really worried that 75 lbs. will be too much extra weight? If you are, you're rig's payload capacity is probably too close to the edge. If you're simply running highways and moderate dirt/gravel forest service and BLM roads with ocassional mud, sand or snow, then it's probably safe to say you can run good, A/T stock E-rated LT tires on your rig. I doubt you'll be exceeding their rated capacity, even with a loaded Hawk. Good, stock size 10-ply E-rated tires will get the job done. The bigger tires will give you an extra 1.7 inches more clearance, without a lift, and that's a good thing. You might get slightly better MPG with the stock tires and your speedo will be accurate. But really, more info with regards to your rig would be helpful to determine the pros/cons. Most people are trying to figure out if they can go up a size or two without tires rubbing while turning hard, etc.. Going back to stock tires shouldn't be an issue for you if shaving a few pounds here and there is your biggest concern. I went up from stock size LT245-75-16 to LT285-75r16 Nitto Ridge Grapplers. Personally, I wouldn't want to give up the added 2.4 inches in height/clearance. The tires don't rub and I didn't need to lift the truck. Yeah, the tires weigh a bit more but I have a 2500 Cummins diesel and it's a heavy beast and the extra weight wasn't really an issue. Just depends on what your running. -- Rich
 
The only tire that will affect the amount of payload you're carrying is the spare. Tires on the ground are unsprung weight and 75 pounds isn't alot of rotational mass so you'll likely not notice how it will affect MPGs. I would stay with the additional inches of ground clearance as ri-f mentioned
 
Beach said:
The only tire that will affect the amount of payload you're carrying is the spare. Tires on the ground are unsprung weight and 75 pounds isn't alot of rotational mass so you'll likely not notice how it will affect MPGs. I would stay with the additional inches of ground clearance as ri-f mentioned
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Great point! I did not think of the weight as being "unsprung". The Hawk will land on a 2017 Silverado 1500 with 1816lb payload. Bilstein shocks, Super Springs and RideRite bags/Daystar cradles. Hawk is pretty loaded, so weight was the main concern. Being that the weight sits on the ground my main concern now is seeking better mpg and taking some load off the motor, transmission and rear axle (EcoTec3 5.3L V8, 6 speed transmission with trailer/haul mode, and extra cooler, auto locking rear differential with 3.42 ratio).

Smaller/lighter tire would also shave 75lbs off of my GVWR which is always a good thing.
 
Cpt Davenport said:
The Hawk will land on a 2017 Silverado 1500 with 1816lb payload.
Smaller/lighter tire would also shave 75lbs off of my GVWR which is always a good thing.
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Yes, I'd be shaving weight, too if I had a 1,816 lb. paylod capacity with a fully loaded camper. Your airbags and Billsteins will help to stabalize the ride, but the bottom line is that you have a 1/2 ton pickup with a modest payload capacity. When you go to the scales to wiegh the rig you'll be close to the limit, if not over. Just saying.
 
Trust me I would love a bigger rig, and this topic has been hammered here on WTW. I already own this vehicle, it's paid for, has only 30k miles on it and all of the suspension mods were already done to support my previous rig. I have a higher payload than most Tundras and based on the successful reports of Tundra/Hawk owners, I'm gonna run with what I have.

I did go look at 3/4 and 1 ton trucks last week. They start at 60-70K and up! Not to mention the long lead time to get one. I also have friends that have acquired new bigger trucks and they seem to have a TON of issues as of late.

I hope to lighten the load as much as I can and hope for the best.
 
I carried my Hawk on a first gen Tundra for 3 years. I added super srprings, HD shocks and E rated tires. You'll be ok with those upgrades if you respect the braking capabilities of your truck and don't push it on the steep grades. While the supersprings worked ok for me, complete new spring packs would be an even better upgrade. HD sway bar would be worth considering also. Keep your gear to a minimum(less is more)
 
Keeping it light is the path I'm on, and I think that 75lbs is a good amount to shed to lower my GVWR. I'm hoping the air bags will help with some of the sway if it's an issue. Although it does seem a wider tire would also help with sway? My tires now are 12" wide. The ones I'm looking at would only be 10". Is that enough to make any difference with my highway handling?

Anyone running stock size tires with a camper and happy with it??????
 
Cpt Davenport said:
Good news Vic! I'm guessing they are already pretty beefy on a 3500? What size tire?
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265/70R18. Brand new Yokohama Geolander A/t G015 installed just before our trip to Utah. Driven some interesting roads this past month, lots of washboard, some pretty rough forest & BLM roads. I air down for those and aired down even more for the sand we had to drive through to get to White Pocket Az.
 
That said, I would put on taller tires in heartbeat if they fit more easily on a Chevy. Washboard and rough roads are smoother with bigger tires.
 
Vic Harder said:
That said, I would put on taller tires in heartbeat if they fit more easily on a Chevy. Washboard and rough roads are smoother with bigger tires.
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My 285/70s rub when hitting a hard bump on a down hill turn in the front. You happy on 265s and a 3500 give me comfort in the notion of going back to a 255/70s for my 1500 chevy.
 
I really like the idea of going back to stock size and E rated tires. In addition to having a lower rotational mass the benefits will include better braking (always an issue with heavy rigs), less wear and tear on your transmission etc.

Only you know how rough a road you’ll want to handle, but it sounds like the stock set up will take you just about anywhere you’ll want to go.
 
smlobx said:
I really like the idea of going back to stock size and E rated tires. In addition to having a lower rotational mass the benefits will include better braking (always an issue with heavy rigs), less wear and tear on your transmission etc.

Only you know how rough a road you’ll want to handle, but it sounds like the stock set up will take you just about anywhere you’ll want to go.
Click to expand...
Can I get an AMEN!
 
Sad news. The tires I want are on a national wide backorder ( like everything else).

I ordered 265/70 17s. Only gonna save me 32 pounds but I'll take it! At least my front wont rub anymore.
 
I went with the stock tire size when I replaced with E rated tires, I like that the speedometer is accurate and I didn't take a hit with the gas mileage.
 
Returning to this topic, here’s a great video by a very experienced Overlander, Dan Grec who is currently touring Australia in his recently built Jeep Gladiator on why he’s using stock tire size…



 
Great information indeed, thanks Eddie. Dan is speaking my language for sure. I do not intend on "off roading" my camper rig. I have my K5 for that kind of fun. His choice of tire size also makes me feel better about my decision to down size. With an original size of 255, I think that my new 265's are going to be perfect. No more rubbing the front end on bouncy down hill turning like I experience with my 285's. I might even squeak out a little better MPG as well.
 
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