# Need Advice Buying Tires



## Trevino4 (Aug 1, 2011)

Hello RVer's-

We are new 250RS owners as of July and need advice buying tires for our tow vehicle: a 2006 Ford F150, 5.4L V8. The tires from the factory are P255, 65, 17. We have learned that LT rated tires are recommended for pulling an RV due to the thicker sidewalls, however they are not available in this size and the owner's manuel states not to put any other size tires than recommended. Our question is: has anyone put different size tires than the factory and did you have any problem with them.

Thanks so much


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## Insomniak (Jul 7, 2006)

Trevino4 said:


> Hello RVer's-
> 
> We are new 250RS owners as of July and need advice buying tires for our tow vehicle: a 2006 Ford F150, 5.4L V8. The tires from the factory are P255, 65, 17. We have learned that LT rated tires are recommended for pulling an RV due to the thicker sidewalls, however they are not available in this size and the owner's manuel states not to put any other size tires than recommended. Our question is: has anyone put different size tires than the factory and did you have any problem with them.
> 
> Thanks so much


I was just in a similar situation last month with my 275/55/20 tires. There's no load range "E" tire that would fit the 20" rims that came with my truck, so it was either get new rims, get the same size as stock, or change to a 285/55/20 which is just slightly bigger than stock. Keep in mind that if you drastically change the size of the tire, it may not fit (especially in the front), and will affect your speedometer and possibly your acceleration and gearing effectiveness. The load range E tire would have run me close to $400 per tire, and in the end, I just went with the same size I had. I got the Michelin LTX M/S2, which is a load range "D", and it seems to be a great tire so far. Cost was about $275 each with mounting. While the load range E tires may be stronger, I figured I realistically can't load the truck beyond the axle weight rating anyway, so it's probably overkill that I don't really need. Lots of good information at http://www.tirerack.com


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## Collinsfam_WY (Nov 9, 2006)

Trevino4 said:


> Hello RVer's-
> 
> We are new 250RS owners as of July and need advice buying tires for our tow vehicle: a 2006 Ford F150, 5.4L V8. The tires from the factory are P255, 65, 17. We have learned that LT rated tires are recommended for pulling an RV due to the thicker sidewalls, however they are not available in this size and the owner's manuel states not to put any other size tires than recommended. Our question is: has anyone put different size tires than the factory and did you have any problem with them.
> 
> Thanks so much


We had an '02 F150 with 3.55 gears and for the second set of tires I put on it, I went one size larger. It was a tradeoff. 
The good: The slightly larger tires looked a little better to me - nobody else could tell the difference. 
The bad: I lost mileage, acceleration and power to the ground due to the larger diameter tire effectively making my rear end ratio something more like a 3.23.

For the last set of tires, I went back to stock and was glad I did so. I used Firestone Destination A/T's in the "P" rating. With a camper as light as a 250RS you may not welcome the tradeoff in ride quality for whatever difference a higher load rated tire will make vs. the P rated given that you are towing that particular camper. If you plan to upgrade (who does that??







) that is another story.

Good luck!!!

-CC


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## Trevino4 (Aug 1, 2011)

Thank you both for your input. We were leaning more toward putting the recommended size back on, so this confirms our decision.


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