My truck has the Michelin LTX m/S2 tires sized 275/55R20

I am not really in need of new tires at 24k miles, but I don't like being unprepared.

I tow a Grey Wolf 26DBH so my TT is not short or light, and I was thinking that I could use LT tires.

My truck is 2wd and I have no interest in A/T tires. So, a highway tire for least noise but max capability for towing.

What tire is F150 forum recommended?

Or, will my current tires do plenty good for my need despite being a P tire.

One thing I noticed about the current tires while researching is that they only have a max inflation of 44 psi. By chance, I had already been setting the pressure at that since I did not know. Maybe I was just lucky

 

There is a sticker on the drivers door, or door jamb with a recommended PSI for tires. Some will show slightly different front and rear. That is best for a good ride in normal conditions. IIRC it should be around 35 PSI. There is also a max PSI listed on the tire. That is for max load carrying.

When I used P series tires I tended to spilt the difference and run around 40 PSI all the time. It rode a little more firm, but also got about 1 mpg better. And if I had to haul something I didn't have to stop and air up first then air back down later.

The P series tires you have are rated to carry more weight than the truck is rated for as long as you have the correct amount of air in them. You don't need 44 PSI all the time, but it wouldn't hurt if hauling near the max your truck is rated for. You don't NEED an LT tire, but might find it to be a little more stable. But if you do go to an LT, go to an E rated tire. The LT tires in C, and D rating don't offer you any advantage over the factory tires.

I use E rated tires on my 4X4 simply because they are a lot tougher tire that is less likely to fail when driven on rough roads or off road I don't need the weight capability. If you do decide to go that way the correct air pressure is a little more tricky. Most of the printed info is for use on heavy duty trucks with 7000 lb curb weights and 10,000+ GVWR. You'll just have to experiment to see what works best for your truck.

With E rated tires on light duty trucks you need a little less air pressure to achieve the same thing since the tires are a lot stiffer. I now run about 35 PSI for normal everyday driving and 40-45 when loaded heavy. The number stamped on E rated tires calls for 85 PSI for max loads and most guys running heavy duty trucks run 55-65 PSI empty. The wheels used on 1/2 ton trucks aren't even designed to stay together at 85 PSI.

 

You could, but not necessary. Your tires have weight capacity of over 5,000 pounds on each axle of the tow vehicle when pumped up to the max PSI on the sidewall. Your properly-loaded trailer will have tongue weight of 900 to 1,000 pounds. So you don't need more tire weight capacity unless you overload the F-150 over the GVWR.

Your current Michelin LTX m/S2 tires are the perfect compromise. Better traction than highway tread for wet or otherwise slick roads, and very little if any more highway noise than highway tread. That's what I have on my F-150 and when it's time to replace then I'll go with he same exact tread again.

Lots of folks insist on LT tires. I disagree. My P-Series tires when pumped up to the max on the sidewall are a good tire for towing my TT as well as running unloaded at 80 MPH on the superslab. Plenty of traction and quite ride

.Nothing wrong with a high-quality P-Series tire for towing, provided you pump up the PSI to the cold max on the sidewall. That means you must air up the tires first thing in the morning before you move the trailer even a few feet.

 

smokeywren,
I hoped to hear from you and you didn't disappoint.. I appreciate your opinion on this and other things.

Thanks for your insight.

I really do like the tires on my truck now. They ride good, get great mpg, and appear to tow my TT well. Too bad tire rubber is not cheaper! Good thing they last so long!!

BTW, it is good to have you back from missing earlier this year.

 

Why would you make this statement? As you progress from P to LT-C, D and E, max tire pressure increases as does tread and sidewall strength. With the strength comes roll stiffness, a desired trait for towing.

I moved from P to LT-C, and even though the P tires were almost to the wear marks, the LT-C's were (just barely) noticeably more firm at the same psi, with 1" more sidewall. At 50psi, the squirm I experienced with P's is completely gone. Enough strength for my 70% capacity tows, averaging within a few tenths of a mpg of the P's.

Maybe moving from a great P to a really bad LT-C might be a wash, but to declare all LT-C and D tires as having no advantage over P is a bit disingenuous, and implies that LT-C and LT-D exist for no reason.

 

I ran MIchelin LTX on my f150 in 10 ply. Didn’t care a lot for the traction as I live in the northwest. Plenty of rain, black ice and a bit of snow. In the end I swapped out for Falken Wildpeak AT3. While they are an all terrain the are about the same noise as my Michelin’s. I pull a 29 ft Travel trailer in the 7500 k weight range loaded. This brings my second answer to your questions. The air pressure rating on your door posts are for all tires on your rig. Even though your tires may give a higher pressure the door post is the standard. The tire pressure on the tires is considered max. On my Falken’s the max pressure is 80 psi. I typically run about 40 -45 max even when pulling my trailer. A compromise between good ride and towing capabilities. The 10 ply tires definitely help with stability when hauling the trailer.

 

Thanx for the flowers. We are moving, but bad timing meant our house didn't sell yet. Using our cargo trailer, we had already moved most of our stuff from Texas to temp storaqe in Tennessee when the oil field bust combined with the pandemic meant houses here in the oil patch stopped selling. We had already shipped our PCs and disconnected our satellite ISP when the bottom fell out of the market. We camped out in the small RV waiting for the house to sell, but it didn't sell. We had WI-Fi on my laptop, but the only nearby hot spot is the local library that uses a very slow telephone modem, and that was completely inadequate. So we moved the bed from the camper into the house and camped out in the house. Then I bought a cheap PC and reconnected HugesNet ISP. So I'm back on the forums until the house sells. We are retired on a pension and social security, so I can't afford a mortgage. So we must wait until the house sells and closes before we can complete the move. Then we will hook up the TT and make the final 1200-mile trip to eastern Tennessee.

 

That's a rough spot to be in, and unfortunately you're probably in for a long haul. Probably looking at another year minimum before a wide use vaccine is available, and once it is, who knows how long it will take us to return to something close to normal. The longer we live with shutdowns, the harder it will be to recover.

Restaurants are the canary in the mine for industry. Franchise owners have a lot less loose equity to hold on to their lease. We lost a few during the initial shutdown, and some more after because they weren't able to adapt to the distancing requirements fast enough. Of the remainder, those that are operating well under capacity will eventually fail. There are a lot of companies scrambling to downsize now, and not all will survive the transition.

Didn't someone have a question about tires?

 

the choice between p and lt is what do you plan to use it for MOST of the time. Do you value comfort and smoother(tires have more give, just a reality) or do you value the pure weight and structural rigitiy that has an upper leg for towing, but may not be necessary, for your application..

I use a P tire, but my loads stay in a certain range and you cant buy e rated 15s lol

 

Of course you can. Not for an F-150, but I hope you aren't trying to tow a trailer with an F-150 so old it has 15" tires. But there are a few 15" Load Range E tires for trailers. I have a set on my cargo trailer. Here's one: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...omCompare1=yes