Mixter7

I have a 2012 Ford F-150 FX2 with stock Bridgestone tires 275/55/20. I recently purchased a Jayco Travel Trailer that weighs 6000 lbs. What size dimension and tire would be a good fit for towing? And do i have to get "E" rated tires specifically?

uzikaduzi

you don't need load E tires most likely... a lot of people like the stiffer side walls with a load E when towing, but your stock tires will handles the loads your truck was designed for.

Michelin LTX is maybe the best tire in regards to towing you can put on your truck if you are at a place where you need new tires and towing is your primary concern.

Pikapp

So its not necessary to go to an LT tire on a truck that tow's heavy loads (over 7K)? Michelin, makes 2 versions of the Defender LTX, the SL version and the E Load version. I can agree the E Load is overkill, but the Michelin SL version specs out vey much like my OEM SL tire, except the Tread Wear is better on the Michelin (800 vs. 680). So it would be thrifty to just stay with the OEM? I also notice the Max PSI on the Michelin SL is 44 where my OEM is 51. Substantial difference?

77Ranger460

I have XL p-metric tires on one of my trucks. I tow a 6k+ travel trailer with it.

Pikapp

I'm not having any problems with the OEM tires, just wondering if they're the best that should be on the truck for the weight it tow's.

Siskiyou

I always put LT C rated tires on my truck. I swapped out my new stock tires for the stock size Toyo LT C rated tires and noticed a huge difference in towing. I suppose the reason why there is such a difference of opinion might be towing styles and conditions. If you tow mostly straight flat roads it may not matter too much but if you tow on windy mountainous roads and like to drive with traffic then you probably need better tires. With the original tires the best way to describe it was they weren’t very precise when turning on windy narrow roads. I would turn the wheel and it took a little longer to react. I have used E rated tires in the past and found them to be much stiffer than I like without improving towing.

kmlacroix

All you need for towing is the properly sized, properly inflated tires for your vehicle.

uzikaduzi

your stock tires will handle the loads you are asking of it... if you tow frequently getting tires with stiffer side walls will handle towing better for sure but generally aren't as comfortable riding unloaded.

as far as which set of Michelin's would be better would depend on what you are looking for because there is a trade off. my travel trailer is about that weight and i tow it ~6 times a year roughly which would not be enough on it's own for me to opt for stiffer rated tires... in fact, the only time I've put stiffer rated tires than the stock tires on a 1/2 ton was when i wanted a particular tire that only came in a higher load rating... if i towed more frequently i'm sure i would change my mind.

smokeywren

There is no such thing as a "better" tire for towing than the OEM tires on your F-150, especially if your F-150 came with Michelin LTX tires. The properly-inflated stock tires have plenty of weight capacity for towing any trailer that doesn't result in an overloaded F-150. If you don't exceed the GVWR and payload capacity of your F-150, then you're not going to find a "better" tire for towing.


Granted, LT load range E tires may cause the ride and handling to "feel" different, and you may prefer the feel of the stiffer tires. But that doesn't mean the tires are "better" for towing.

Pikapp

Thanks for the feedback, I'm always looking for more education with towing. I too tow only about 6-7 times a year and at most a 1K trip round way.