Over the past 6 months or so, I've been pulling out my hair trying to figure out what tire/wheel combo I should use in order to create the most stable towing platform as possible for my bumper pull travel trailer. I'm not interested in mileage. On road stability is my A1 goal and priority. Currently, I've got 285 75/16 BFGs on the stock 16X7 wheels...not the best combo. I've been torn between going with a more narrow tire to fit the existing wheel or ditching the wheels and going to a 16X8 wheel which is better suited to the 285s.
Then I started thinking about why all the newer trucks have ditched the 16X7 wheel in favor of something that has a wider diameter. I think it's time to begin the head scratching once again. Would I get a few chuckles if I asked for a concensus on what tire/wheel combo makes for the better towing platform? I believe the Ex has a higher center of gravity than the F Series, so a wider footprint may provide for more stability.
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'04 Excursion EB, 6.0 PS, 4X4, Magnaflow Performance exhaust, Isspro gauges (boost, pyro and tranny), Bilsteins, aFe intake, front and rear leaf spring upgrade w/ bags, 30mm rear sway bar, SCT Xcal2, Red-Head box, Jordan brake controller, Arctic Fox 29V - 20,420# GCW, Everything haulin' me, the wife, the 5 Amigos, Millie and Yogi (our 2 Berners).
As far as stable. I think you want the tire that will give you the lowest center of gravity, highest weight capacity, and heaviest load range. doesn't matter how wide the tire is if it doesn't have the load capacity you put on it.
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1996 F250 4x4 ext. cab, long bed 5 spd. 3.55ls, Tymar Intake, Tymar 4" downpipe and 4" exhaust. AIC, B&W turnoverball, EBPV brake, tranny temp gauge, boost gauge, and egt gauge. 2.5" axle drop bracket, F350 springs up front, and F350 rear axle blocks. 260k miles. RETIRED.
NEW (to me) 2005 F350 FX4 Crewcab shortbed, SRW, Lariat, auto, V10. 5600 lbs front end.
I go along with NickKent the height of the tire affects stability. I would put forward that 10 ply rated 265 75 16 tires would be more stable than the taller 8 ply rated 285 75 16 tires with the more flexible sidewalls. For that matter, some 245 70 16 tires like is on my dad's truck would be even more stable. Same would go with your trailer tires, moderate sidewall height, high count ply rating equals more stability, tall sidewall height, flexible low count ply rating equals less stability. On the other hand wider wheels, while maybe more appropriate for the wider tires will not make the sidewalls any less flexible.
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GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS!! - GOD BLESS AMERICA!!
I' m towing the TT in my sig. TT weight is approx. 12K. No serious problems as I've pretty much fixed all of the issues that have given the Ex a bad name in towing circles. She can get a little squirrelly at times and I attribut this to the sidewall bulge from the 7" wide OEM wheel. I would think the 8" wide wheel would make the sidewall stiffer, no?
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'04 Excursion EB, 6.0 PS, 4X4, Magnaflow Performance exhaust, Isspro gauges (boost, pyro and tranny), Bilsteins, aFe intake, front and rear leaf spring upgrade w/ bags, 30mm rear sway bar, SCT Xcal2, Red-Head box, Jordan brake controller, Arctic Fox 29V - 20,420# GCW, Everything haulin' me, the wife, the 5 Amigos, Millie and Yogi (our 2 Berners).
I don't recognize an equalizer in your list of equipment. (Sorry. I'm old and have trouble keeping up.) Are you using one?
The other thing about stability is to keep the weight of the stuff in the trailer over the ends as much as practicable while maintaining the hitch weight. This increases the rotational inertia of the trailer. (Making it harder to start swaying. The anti-sway device will help dampen it out once it begins to sway.)
Crank down on the anti-sway-device friction.
Are you over the manufacturer's GCVW? Do you have a weigh ticket, or is that just the total placard weights plus the weight of the other stuff? What are the steer and drive axle weights?
Art
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2000 F350 7.3 PSD 4x4 six-pack dually. All Stock.
Ride Rites with "Big Red" on-board Compressor.
DynaTrac Free-Spin conversion.
Hellroaring Battery Isolator for T-145 house batteries.
Flex-A-Lite 900 CFM tranny cooler (for those special 100 Deg./5 MPH-traffic
Florida days) with Magnefine filter.
FleetGuard coolant filter. Mod Photos AE Plots
Sun-Lite slide-in camper.
31-foot Holiday Rambler TT.
29-RLS Jayco TT.
wider wheels will help but i got 285 75 16s on my truck and it handles fine not much flex run 65 psi and see if its a difference youre tire pressure is probally too low
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88 F-250 body,550 rear frame setup, 7.3 idi, back up camera, class 5 bumper hitch welded to frame and gusseted, front mount hitch and off road lights,93 front clip, headache rack, 37" humvee tires, ac power converter,factory buckets from quadcab, power windows and locks,cobra 29 cb w/ 102" whip, high lift jack behind seat, toolbox for the junk, visor, running lights, huge front bumper, oba,
in progress western style mirrors, holset turbo, airhorns, and some other goodies
19.5" tires and wheels. F, G, or H rated and a steel sidewall ply.
I put a pair on the back of my van, and now the suspension is doing its job rather than the tires being the weakest link - squashing and squirming around.
Airbags, overloads, heavier leafs, or better swaybar should be helpful also.
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97 E350 SRW minibus, E4OD/D70/4.10, 19.5 whls, BD trans pan, 3 batteries & inverter, tach dash
93 W250 6BTA/5spd/D60/D70/3.55
90 D250 6BT/5spd/D70/3.55
Other rigs I wrench on:
95 F350 CC 4x4 ZF 4.10 Lockright/Detroit, T444E J/W pump, hydroboost, EBPV brake, straight pipe, 5.6k mod, 4" lift, 35" Toyos
Ford 6.9/7.3/IDI/turbo/PSD, 89-02 Dodge CTD
Marine Engines I mess with:
Mitsubishi S6U, S6R, 6D14; Mirrlees National KVSSM; DDC/MTU 12V2000; Cat 353, 398, 3306, 3406
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) Are you using one?
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