Hi everyone, I've been lurking for a while and finally bought a truck to begin exploring with!
It's a 2003 Ford F250 with a 6.0L diesel 6spd manual that I affectionately call "Tonka". It has a 4 inch lift. You can see pics of it at http://go.danielodio.com/tonka
The previous owner also put some really big tires on it -- Mickey Thompsons, 325/65 R18 tires. Here are pics:
I"m looking for some tires that are more long-distance travel friendly. These might be great in the mud, but they're not great everywhere else. I'm planning on putting a pop-up camper on the truck, so I figure I'll probably need E-rated tires.
These are my priorities in tires, from most important:
1) Best possible highway travel (handling, gas mileage, road noise) while still somewhat capable offroad
2) Lifespan of tire
3) Cost of tire
Here are some tires I was looking at -- does anyone have any suggestions about these or other tires? I'd like to buy them at Sam's Club or Costco if possible but I'm open to others.
Oh also, I don't really know exactly what tires will fit on the vehicle... I know they're 18" rims, but I'm not sure how narrow or low/high profile I can go. For example, if I went narrower, say 275 instead of 325, should I keep the same "65" height? Or would some variance in either direction be OK? Any advice there would be appreciated as well.
265 width (is this too narrow considering I have 325s on right now? ... the stock F250 tire is a 235/85 R16!)
BF Goodrich Rugged Terrain T/A P265/65R18 (I can't tell what load rating these tires have): http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=prod3670218&navAction=
All Terrain KO http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=BFGoodrich&tireModel=All-Terrain+T%2FA+KO&partnum=765R8ATAKORWL
Dueler AT Revo: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Bridgestone&tireModel=Dueler+A%2FT+Revo+2&partnum=765SR8REVO2OWL
DuraTrac (might be too hard-core offroa for my needs?) http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Goodyear&tireModel=Wrangler+DuraTrac&partnum=765QR8WDT
Any other suggestions? Any advice is MUCH appreciated!
I like the B.F Goodrich myself but the Toyo's are supposed to be a pretty good tire also. Since you were looking on the Tire rack plug in a 2005 F-250 Lariat with 18" wheels to find what comes stock on this truck. I Don't know if they came on the 03 but there is little difference between the two. The 265 width would be fine but I would concern myself more on what the load rating is on the tire. The tires on mine are 275/70R18 and have a rating of 3640 lbs. and the wheels have a rating of 3525 lbs. just for a reference.
Before I went out and bought new tires I would research the wheels that you have now to see what size range will fit and what there weight rating is. If they are to wide the smaller tires may not fit. Also depending on the camper you find I would bring along some 4" high blocks in the off chance the camper jacks won't get high enough to get the truck under. Then there is the question of what type of lift is on the truck. Did they replace the springs or put blocks under the perches to raise it? I hate to bring all this up but if you want to use this truck to it designed use then you need to be at least aware of its limits.
I carry a pretty fair load on mine(see sig at bottom),the previous camper I had was a Lance 835 which was alot smaller but even with that I was aware that there was more than just me and the truck to contend with while traveling around.
Should you want to talk more about your truck, engine maintenance/problems etc. just send me a PM and I can give you my phone number, I am only across the Golden Gate from you, "O" and welcome to this site it is the single best place to get information. Happy Camping
You might also want to take a look at those rims and see if you can locate a weight rating. The original owner may not have taken that into consideration and you may have rims woefully underrated for carrying any kind of load. Take a good look at the back of the wheels, there's usually a load rating stamped on them and probably the width as well. Once you have the rim width, you'll be able to get much better advice for tires sizes.
Can't really offer any advice on the tires you mentions. All I can say is I'm very happy with my Toyo Open Country A/T's.
BFG All-Terrains are an excellent tire for both on and off road use. They are very quiet and well mannered on the highway and have excellent traction in most off road terrains, dirt, sand, gravel, grass, etc, as well as wet/icy pavement. They don't do well in very clay-rich mud, due to packing up too easily in the treads and not throwing the clay out of the treads. The Mud-Terrains are better for mud.
As far as the tire size, since you already have the 18" wheels, I would stick with an 18" tire, but go a bit smaller than what's on there.
265/65-18 will get you back to the stock ~31.5" tire diameter 265mm width of the original 265/75-16 tires that most '99-'04 F250/350SRW trucks came with.
Yes, 235/85-16 was the stock size for XL model F250's of that era. Many F250's got the optional 265's instead.
I've been looking at the "Rugged Terrains" not the "All Terrains" as I'm looking for something that's more road-firendly than the ATs, since most of my travels will be highway, with just some offroading. So does what you said about the ATs also apply to the RTs? Here's the exact tire I'd probably go for based on your feedback: http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=prod3670195&navAction= and also http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/tire-selector/category/truck-tires/rugged-terrain-t-a/tire-details
I looked on the inside of the rims for anything about load rating but I can't find anything. I'll ask the previous owner if he knows.
The Rugged Terrains will not have the same traction characteristics as the All-Terrains. I have no experience with them to comment any further.
You may want to look at the BFG Commercial TA Traction, as it is more of a winter highway tire than an all-terrain and should have good wear and highway characteristics.
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