rstl99

Hi all.
The tires on my newly-acquired 96 2500 (4x4 auto 4.10 diff) will need replacement this year. They are LT 245/75/R16. Still a lot of thread but some age cracking showing (PO was an older man who pulled a 5th wheel 2-3 times a year).

I'm going to put a pop-up 10ft slide-in camper on the back (older Alaskan about #2000), and drive the truck on a combination of pavement highway, secondary roads, and lengthy gravel roads up North. Maybe the occasional mild trail to access remote camping sites.

I'd like a tire that will carry the weight of the camper well, and handle both pavement and gravel reasonably well. Not too noisy at highway speeds. Good mpg and wear.

I've heard good things about Toyo's (Open Country Tuff Duty, and the M-55).

1. any reason I shouldn't stick with the 245/75/16 profile?
2. what tire would you recommend for my use?

Thanks a lot.

SIXSLUG

Changing sizes in height will cahnge your speedometer a little.
Going wider may reduce load capacity a little.
For all around driving I run A/T's. The highway ribs aren't great off road and the Mudders are noisy and cost mileage, even though they look the best.
Anything Toyo or Nitto is high quality.
BFG has a new tread pattern on one of their A/T's that looks nice, kind of an aggressive rib.

rstl99

Thanks.

I was reading on some threads here that a higher tire (greater circumference) can affect transmission shifting patterns, depending on the diff gearing (mine is 4.10 so one thought is that a taller, bigger tire, could also reduce RPM's at highway speed).

I'll likely go with an A/T as you indicate, since the vast majority of my driving will be on pavement, except when I go up North (Labrador, eventually Alaska), where there are long stretches of gravel to traverse.

Glad to know Toyo is a good brand to go with.

Danderson

I had Toyo 285-75-16 M-55's on my '98.5 w/popup camper. They are super strong and precision built. They do sing a bit between 50-65 mph. A 265-75-16 wouldn't affect your power nor speedo much but would afford more flotation in the muck. I only wish Toyo'd release larger M-55 sizes in the 17" size.

rstl99

After some net research, I am now leaning toward the Toyo Open Country HT "Tuff Duty" tires.

Good review here:
http://www.dieselpowermag.com/tech/1...res/index.html

The final thing I'll have to decide is size. Either go stock (245/75) or try a different width (ie. 265, 285). Then try to pick some up on sale somewhere.

Cheers.
--Robert