What about these tires?

[Oneleggedcowboy]

Hello out there. I have a 2007 Ford F150 4x4 pickup with a 8 ft bed and ectended cab. My tires have a pretty good tread. I am going to put my 1970s era slide in camper on and go out west. I will be boondocking a lot. The camper is also eight foot. My tires are just regular tires, they are not 10 ply or anything heavy duty. Do yall think I can go rving with these tires? I really dont want to have to get rid of these with their remaining tread. Plus money is tight. Thanks, Bill

 

[WheelEstate USA]

Are these the original tires?? What is the load rating on the tires?? What's the weight of your camper??

 

[Patrick46]

also, how old are these tires, and what ammount of tred is left on 'em??

 

[Malibusurfer]

Most tires have a date on them... Skimping on tires or not having the right load rating can spell disaster.. I had a front blowout on a truck while towing a car and had a near miss with a concrete bridge post... When I buy a used vehicle, I always put NEW tires that are rated for my intended use.... Tires and brakes I never skimp on.

 

[Oneleggedcowboy]

I have to wait untol I can go outside and read the sidewall of the tires. I will put the info on here but might be tomoro, very slopperry and icy outside right now. One legged people slip in a ice dtorm real easy. Thanks and I will get back with the info.

 

[akrvbob]

Most people guess at the weight of their rig and almost always guess low. Your life might depend on this, can you afford to invest an hour and $10? Put the camper on and load it up. Take it to a truck stop and get it weighed showing both front and back axles. How much weight does the back axle have on it?

Divide the weight by half and that is what you are putting on each rear tire. All tires have a maximum weight listed on the sidewall, what is it? It must be more than the weight of the truck/camper.

Don't overload the tire!!
bob

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Step One: Get the load rating, maximum weight, and date code off of the tires that you have.

Be aware of the fact that tires more than 5 or 6 years old probably need replacing regardless of how much tread is left, ESPECIALLY if you are going to load them to nearly their max weight capacity.

If they appear to be ok in both age and weight rating, proceed to

Step Two: Find the nearest commercial scale for weighing vehicles. Put your camper on the truck, fill the water and fuel tanks, throw a realistic amount of your junk in the camper, and slowly and carefully drive down to the scale.

Don't just get the total weight, you want to get the front and back wheels weighed separately, in case one end or the other is too heavy for the pair of tires on that end.

Regards
John

 

[arlon]

Excellent advise John.
Also consider what you call boon docking. If you mean walmarts parking lot, it's pretty forgiving. If you mean dirt roads around Big Bend, nothing short of 10 plys and 3 ply sidewalls will last a weekend. You should also carry 2 spares if you plan to get in further than you can comfortably walk in the heat of the day. Theres boon docking and there's BOON DOCKING

 

[Oneleggedcowboy]

I am gonna weight it, we have a truck scale here. Its free too if you dont.need a ticket. I intend to boon dock.in both Walmart/Flying J and also prefrrable out there with mother nature. Guess I am.going for the x10 ply right? Still got to look at my tire numberd tomoro.

 

[arlon]

I'd sure check the tire numbers/truck weight. Anything off the road can be tough on tires and just more so when you add a ton of camper to the bed. I have an old AWD Astro van and finally went to E rated BFG TA/KO tires with the 3ply sidewalls because of sidewall punctures from rocky roads in SW Texas. Roads around here are pretty tough on tires, hopefully not so bad where you're heading.

 

[highdesertranger]

so if you are going to go off road, imho you should have e rated tires. make sure to get good ones not the cheapest china junk you can find. for your safety in the long run you will be glad you did. on another note make sure that you don't overload that f150 not just the tires. stay safe my friend. highdesertranger

 

[Oneleggedcowboy]

Stip workin on gettin thru this ice storm here in NC. Will pist tire numbers as soon as ice is off truck. Its super thick!

 

[WheelEstate USA]

Cowboy, stay safe.
Our friend out that way said they closed the WalMart in their town. Gotta be bad when Wally closes the doors.

 

[Oneleggedcowboy]

The walmart in Fayetteville, thats Fort Bragg, closed! Iknow I am gonna get those numbers!

 

[Oneleggedcowboy]

Ok forget the numbers....... Went to a used tire place and it was run by a fellow cowboy that had seen me ridin and dancin on my stallion! He set me up with four matching LT245/75R17 E Firestone tires with half the tread left and only a couple years old!!!! Yee haw!!!! And I say and they were $35.00 each including mount and computer balance!!! Plus he took my spare down and put the best one of mine on my truck as a spare!!!! I am ready for tge desrt!!!

 

[highdesertranger]

good to hear. where about are you heading. highdesertranger

 

[Oneleggedcowboy]

Hey desert ranger I am going straight to Quartzite. I hope to get some instruction on lapidary at the gem club there before they close for the season. Hope to leave Feb 27 & arrive the 4-5th.

 

[WheelEstate USA]

Cowboy...we'll still be in Q when you get here. We're near Pilot truckstop, so give a shout on PM and we'll have a cold one.

 

[WheelEstate USA]

Cowboy...you may already have this info, but here's a link to Q Gem Club.
Note that Thursday is sign up and orientation, a must for classes.

http://qrgmc.org/membership/index2.html

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Congratulations on the new tires.

Even though they have an E rating, I would still have both ends of your truck weighed when it is fully loaded.

It's amazing how easy it is to exceed a vehicle's GVW.

Regards
John