Need tire advice - C or E load rating

[MontanaRick]

Need new tires for my 2014 4Runner, have decided on BFG A/T Ko2, went to Costco to order the tires (sale going on), and the salesperson threw me a curve when he asked whether I wanted 6 ply load C rating or 10 ply load E rating. He thought the E might be better for towing.

I am towing a 195RB Baja (about 3750 lb), so quite light trailer, but not insignificant for this vehicle. I'm tending to think, based on my research that E would be overkill and have adverse mileage effects (and perhaps comfort), but I'm pretty ignorant on these issues, so would appreciate thoughts from more knowledgeable out there. We do go on lots of forest roads, some pretty rough, but no rock crawling or that sort of thing. Also, FWIW, I have an Andersen WDH.

Thanks in advance for sharing your expertise.

[RAurand]

E would be OVERKILL. Also, I honestly don't know that the rims would be able to handle E rated tire pressures. What is stamped on the inside of the wheels?? You do need to know this!

I have e-rated tires on my GVWR Trailer of 9250 pounds.

[clutch]

Either a C or D rated tire should be enough for your combination.

[MontanaRick]

RAurand, thanks for the quick reply. Wheel question is a good one (I might check in the morning), but probably moot, because of your advice about E being overkill in any event.

[MontanaRick]

Clutch, thanks for the quick reply, much appreciated.

[JFlightRisk]

The 10 ply tires would ride hard. Just for grins, stop into a dealership, and test drive a pickup with 10 ply tires. You'll probably feel more of the road than you wish to.

[MontanaRick]

Originally Posted by JFlightRisk

The 10 ply tires would ride hard. Just for grins, stop into a dealership, and test drive a pickup with 10 ply tires. You'll probably feel more of the road than you wish to.

Thanks, I might do that if I'm bored someday, but looks like I'll just go with the Cs.

[Mark S]

When I wa towing my my 7,500 lb toyhauler with my F150 I got tired of getting pushed around when being passed by a semi. I put Michelin LT “E” rated tires on the truck and it made a huge difference in the handling. Much more stable.

Since getting my Seneca I don’t tow with the truck anymore but I am still very happy with the E rated tires. The ride may be a little stiffer, but in a good way. And the improvement in towing was worth the difference.

On another note, I got new 35” tires on my Jeep. I did not know the new tires were E rated and replacing D rated. I was worried about the ride but once driving it, I did not notice any difference.

[Colorado]

Originally Posted by MontanaRick

Need new tires for my 2014 4Runner, have decided on BFG A/T Ko2, went to Costco to order the tires (sale going on), and the salesperson threw me a curve when he asked whether I wanted 6 ply load C rating or 10 ply load E rating. He thought the E might be better for towing.

I am towing a 195RB Baja (about 3750 lb), so quite light trailer, but not insignificant for this vehicle. I'm tending to think, based on my research that E would be overkill and have adverse mileage effects (and perhaps comfort), but I'm pretty ignorant on these issues, so would appreciate thoughts from more knowledgeable out there. We do go on lots of forest roads, some pretty rough, but no rock crawling or that sort of thing. Also, FWIW, I have an Andersen WDH.

Thanks in advance for sharing your expertise.

The problem you’re most likely running into is the tire you choose to run doesn’t come in a load D so your option is only Load C or E in THAT tire. IF you went with the Load E option it doesn’t mean you NEED to run the tire at 80 psi. The pressures are recommendations from the manufacturer BASED on the MAXIMUM load capacity of the specific tire. So you can run a Load D or E at lower pressures based on your vehicles weight and increase it when towing...increased tongue weight means increased vehicle weight. And you’ll benefit from the stiffer sidewalls when towing. We ran a Load C on the Commander and towed with it, the vehicle was squirrelly because the sidewalls flexed, this was a nonissue when we upgraded to the Load E tire. You could choose a different tire or a slightly different size and find an option in Load D. I will never tow again with a Load C tire...

I run Falken Wildpeak AT3W tires on my Dually in a Load E. The front tires are set to 75 and the rears are at 65 psi, We run Hankook Dynapro Load E on our Jeep Commander, when not towing we run them around 40psi, when towing we bump the pressure to 65 psi...the Commander becomes substantially more stable while towing Because there’s no sidewall flex NONE! And I run Mickey Thompson MTZ’s load E on my Jeep Wrangler, I run the pressure around 26-30 psi. The Jeep Commander and Wrangler just like your 4Runner are light vehicles and don’t need 80 psi in the tires to support the vehicles. These (Non towing) pressures are determined by a chalk test with a full tank of fuel and driving approximately 50 yards.

[MontanaRick]

Even with stock tires, my combo doesn't get pushed around, so that's not an issue for me. Thanks for sharing your experiences.