Tacoma Tires

[camper101]

Just wanted to come back and say thanks again. All good to hear.

 

[RC Pilot Jim]

SLOwag,
I too run the Hankook ATM's 20k miles now an am very satisfied. At the time we bought the truck it came with "P" rated tires and Toyota tire dealer would only give me $65 credit each toward what I needed. Hankooks were $125 ea. BF Goodrich close to $ 200 each. Since they came with a steel belt and I heard good things about them I bought a set.

Happy I did.

 

[camper101]

OK, I went with E rated Cooper AT3s. It was a toss up between those and BFG KO and KO2, but the BFG wasn't available in my size (I wanted to stick with the stock size to keep it simple).

So now I'm curious what kind of air pressure you all use? The tire place put them at 40 saying I'd be good there, and my understanding is that higher pressure gives more load capacity (at the expense of a rougher ride).

I can feel the slightly rougher ride but that doesn't bother me. Only complaint is there seems to be more porpoising on cement sections of highway, but I don't expect to spend much time on those sections.

 

[Foy]

Your maximum load rating intersects with max pressure. Accordingly, when you're laden, you need to be vigilant with your tire pressure. Camper off, you can run lower TPs for comfort.

Foy

 

[GroovyDad]

OK, I went with E rated Cooper AT3s. It was a toss up between those and BFG KO and KO2, but the BFG wasn't available in my size (I wanted to stick with the stock size to keep it simple).

So now I'm curious what kind of air pressure you all use? The tire place put them at 40 saying I'd be good there, and my understanding is that higher pressure gives more load capacity (at the expense of a rougher ride).

I can feel the slightly rougher ride but that doesn't bother me. Only complaint is there seems to be more porpoising on cement sections of highway, but I don't expect to spend much time on those sections.

When I had my AT/3's installed, the tire store set my pressure at 30 psi, which is what is listed on my Tacoma's door panel plate. After Googling around on the Internet, I found a lot of examples of AT/3 users going with 40 psi when loaded and lower psi's when empty.

 

[Foy]

Interested to see where this goes. My understanding is as noted above--max TP as noted on the sidewall is required for max load in lbs as also noted on the sidewall.

Anecdotally, my friend with the 06 Taco had the Michilen LTX A/Ts mounted where purchased at Discount Tire. He was lightly laden then, and they sent him away with whatever the door sticker said (35 psi?). Months later, he loads her up, weighs her at certified scales, and sees he's right at the Toyota rated limit on both front and rear axles. Heads off on a Seattle to North Carolina run, with stops in CO, NM, TX, and OK, and emails me that he's not quite as happy with the tires once loaded up to full rated weight. I asked him what TP he was running and he replied with the 35 psi. I suggested he run them up to at least 65 (sidewall says 80 psi max). He took them to 65 psi and reported a "night and day" improvement in drivability and handling on the Interstate.

My Superduty stays (too) full of tools and power equipment, which when added to the weight of the heavy fiberglass topper, puts me at 8,840 lbs total weight before passengers. I run my 80 psi max rated tires at 70 front and 65 rear all the time, where despite the load of crap in the back, the diesel still tips the balance forward. When I hitch up the camper trailer, I bump the rears on up to 80 psi.

Foy

 

[pvstoy]

Air pressure is unique to each combination. Factory door sticker has what is "recommended" for stock tire size and rating. It may have loaded weight and empty values. Once you change anything from stock like going from a "C" to "E" rated sidewall then now you need to make a new door sticker for you. It could be as easy as a simple chalk line across the thread and drive straight forward on smooth surface and see where the chalk wore off. Wear on the middle, then too much air. Wear on the outer, than too little air. You can do this test for every day driving unloaded and loaded. Now you have a better "recommended" door tag that is closer to reality for what your combination is now.

After all that you still need to watch the tire wear to make sure wear is even and adjust as necessary. Rotate your tires to help them all wear out together. And notice your driving habits and where you drive. If you drive a lot of mountainous roads or city driving with a lot of turning, then you may wear the fronts out faster and rotate tires more often.

 

[pvstoy]

Interested to see where this goes. My understanding is as noted above--max TP as noted on the sidewall is required for max load in lbs as also noted on the sidewall.

Each tire has a maximum tire pressure at a rated load in pounds measured at a cold PSI. This measurement is molded into the side wall of every tire.

Look at it as your truck weighs 4,000 pounds and this weight is distributed evenly at each axel end. So each tire will see 1,000 pounds.

Your tire has a rating of 40 psi cold for 1,000 pounds. So for your tire to carry 1,000 pounds you need to fill your tire with 40 psi when the tire is cold.

Now look at a truck that has all the weight on the front, say a split of weight 2,000 front and 1,000 rear. Same tires rated as above. front axle per side is 1,000 pounds and rear is 500 pounds per side. The psi for the front would still be maxed out but the rears will have less psi to allow the tread patch to lay evenly on the driving surface.

Now I know that most of the loaded FWC with all the added accessories has much more weight on the drivers side. Some of you have air bags and can adjust each side have more psi in the drivers side. Just as air bags, tire pressure on that side could have some more to support the load.

So, know what your tires load carrying capacity is and do not exceed it and remember your weight of you truck is distributed to four corners and may not all be the same.

 

[takesiteasy]

Air pressure is unique to each combination. Factory door sticker has what is "recommended" for stock tire size and rating. It may have loaded weight and empty values. Once you change anything from stock like going from a "C" to "E" rated sidewall then now you need to make a new door sticker for you. It could be as easy as a simple chalk line across the thread and drive straight forward on smooth surface and see where the chalk wore off. Wear on the middle, then too much air. Wear on the outer, than too little air. You can do this test for every day driving unloaded and loaded. Now you have a better "recommended" door tag that is closer to reality for what your combination is now.

After all that you still need to watch the tire wear to make sure wear is even and adjust as necessary. Rotate your tires to help them all wear out together. And notice your driving habits and where you drive. If you drive a lot of mountainous roads or city driving with a lot of turning, then you may wear the fronts out faster and rotate tires more often.

Toyota issued a recall on the Tacomas that were equipped with light truck tires from the factory to revise the door sticker to a higher tire pressure- I think 40 lbs from memory. Since I put LT tires on after the fact, I took the truck in to the dealer and they put the new sticker on for me and recalibrated the tire pressure sensors. Now when the truck is serviced, it gets the higher pressure in the tires. I have noticed a harsher ride when the truck is empty, but it doesn't bother me and drives fine. It feels better when the camper is on and loaded.

 

[MidAtlantic]

Like camper101, I really appreciate all the good suggestions being offered.

I'm about to get my first pick up with pop-up camper - an ATC Bobcat on a 2014 Tacoma TRD Off-Road with access cab and long bed. As per the many recommendations in this forum, I plan to right away add Biltstein 5100 shocks, Firestone RideRite airbags, and E-rated tires (maybe Yokohama Geolander AT-S LT245 75R 16 120R). Might later add 2" of lift and a better spring pack (like OME Dakars).

My question is about wheel size. Should I stick with the stock 16" wheels or go with a bigger 17" like on the TRD Sport? What are the pros and cons of larger diameter wheels for mostly highway driving with some moderate 'off road' stuff while carrying a maximum load?

.

 

[camelracer]

I believe larger wheels may be great on a Porsche but not a good idea on a truck that may see a rough road. The larger rim means a lower stiffer sidewall which is great for cornering but sucks on most trails or rough roads. The bigger the sidewall you have the better the tire will air down for improved ride and better traction.

 

[MidAtlantic]

I believe larger wheels may be great on a Porsche but not a good idea on a truck that may see a rough road. The larger rim means a lower stiffer sidewall which is great for cornering but sucks on most trails or rough roads. The bigger the sidewall you have the better the tire will air down for improved ride and better traction.

Thanks camelracer. It didn't occur to me that one would sacrifice side-wall height with a larger diameter rim, so will definitely stick with the stock 16s.

As both a Tacoma and camper newbie, I found this page about Tacoma tires quite useful.
http://www.tacomahq.com/161/original-tacoma-tire-size/

 

[MidAtlantic]

Thanks camelracer. It didn't occur to me that one would sacrifice side-wall height with a larger diameter rim, so will definitely stick with the stock 16s.

As both a Tacoma and camper newbie, I found this page about Tacoma tires quite useful.
http://www.tacomahq.com/161/original-tacoma-tire-size/

And, as the article points out, one loses low-end torque with a larger diameter wheel. Also, a “plus 1″ tire size increase is a reasonable way to get little more height. (But you guys probably already knew this.)