I could use some advice from towing experts.

[hardlymoving]

I am hoping so. We just ordered our trailer and its supposed to be here mid month.

Lots of work prepping the parking spot, trimming trees, getting gear etc.

I'm not worried about weight, I dialed that in before ordering the truck. I know the limitations to stay inside of. But I am wondering about the tires. On a 300 ish mile trip last weekend, with about half of it on twisty turnies, I pushed the truck harder than normal to get a feel for the limits and I have to say it felt a little soft. in the turns.

My truck came with the 18" Goodyears.

They have mixed reviews. Good ride, quiet, good traction and mileage but prone to punctures and some have mentioned softness in towing.

So, depending on what I find in the coming months, I'll be perusing the changes you made to yours to improve that.

I won't be going radical. No E rated tires, because I don't want to give up the qualities named above but I'm open to tweaks.

You say that you don't want E rated tires and I understand why but my experience with the standard P rated tires versus the E rated tires is that the E rated tires make your F150 much more stable, with no squiggle feeling, they just go straight done the road. No harm in trying the tow with the standard P rated tires, just pump them up to 50 PSI or so and go, and that will let you experience the handling. I have a hard time with hearing about folks towing at 75-80 mph, I wouldn't do it. The trailer tires do have a speed rating and wouldn't exceed it. For me I tow no faster than 65mph even though the speed rating of the Goodyear trailer tires is higher.

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[Snakebitten]

^^^ agree


While E rated tires represent a hit in luxury (comfort) and fuel economy when you are NOT towing, they deliver a remarkable improvement in packmule composure when you are hitched up and rolling.

 

[Davexxxx]

You say that you don't want E rated tires and I understand why but my experience with the standard P rated tires versus the E rated tires is that the E rated tires make your F150 much more stable, with no squiggle feeling, they just go straight done the road. No harm in trying the tow with the standard P rated tires, just pump them up to 50 PSI or so and go, and that will let you experience the handling. I have a hard time with hearing about folks towing at 75-80 mph, I wouldn't do it. The trailer tires do have a speed rating and wouldn't exceed it. For me I tow no faster than 65mph even though the speed rating of the Goodyear trailer tires is higher.

The door jam says 35psi. I forget what the tire says but planned to boost them to that once under laad.

And yeah, while the tires coming on the trailer are good to 80mph, I have no intention of seeing that. 65 mph (+-) will be plenty. If you can average near enough to a mile a minute, I don't know what anyone would have to complain about. Easy planning and if it gets me 10 or better mpg, easy planning for fueling stops too.

 

[Jus Cruisin]

My Florida to Michigan and back runs were 19 hours straight through without a trailer. That was running 7-8 mph over the posted limits. With the trailer in post #20 and the other ones I owned I would at least run the speed limit and even that would add 2+ hours of straight through driving. Dropping to 65 or less would have added another couple of hours of driving. When you're putting 1200-1300 miles in straight through 5 mph makes a huge difference in total drive time.

Now, I have a fair amount of towing experience with these. So, a little enclosed trailer wasn't a big deal for me.

 

[Polo08816]

You say that you don't want E rated tires and I understand why but my experience with the standard P rated tires versus the E rated tires is that the E rated tires make your F150 much more stable, with no squiggle feeling, they just go straight done the road. No harm in trying the tow with the standard P rated tires, just pump them up to 50 PSI or so and go, and that will let you experience the handling. I have a hard time with hearing about folks towing at 75-80 mph, I wouldn't do it. The trailer tires do have a speed rating and wouldn't exceed it. For me I tow no faster than 65mph even though the speed rating of the Goodyear trailer tires is higher.

^^^ agree


While E rated tires represent a hit in luxury (comfort) and fuel economy when you are NOT towing, they deliver a remarkable improvement in packmule composure when you are hitched up and rolling.

Another thing to mention is that Load Range E tires tend to be more puncture resistant and have greater durability. Over the long term, they will probably cost you less time if they are able to resist a puncture that an other P rated tire would have you on the side of the road changing out to your spare. Changing out a tire of a tow vehicle with a trailer attached is a bit more annoying than an unloaded tow vehicle.

 

[Davexxxx]

Another thing to mention is that Load Range E tires tend to be more puncture resistant and have greater durability. Over the long term, they will probably cost you less time if they are able to resist a puncture that an other P rated tire would have you on the side of the road changing out to your spare. Changing out a tire of a tow vehicle with a trailer attached is a bit more annoying than an unloaded tow vehicle.

I've been running Cooper Discoverers for a couple decades, in harsher conditions than all but the most hard core off roaders see.

Cut rock on grading sites etc. Outstanding durability and they aren't E rated tires.

There is a lot of in between, between a passenger tire and E.

And I need to pay attention to weight.

 

[Samson16]

My Florida to Michigan and back runs were 19 hours straight through without a trailer. That was running 7-8 mph over the posted limits. With the trailer in post #20 and the other ones I owned I would at least run the speed limit and even that would add 2+ hours of straight through driving. Dropping to 65 or less would have added another couple of hours of driving. When you're putting 1200-1300 miles in straight through 5 mph makes a huge difference in total drive time.

Now, I have a fair amount of towing experience with these. So, a little enclosed trailer wasn't a big deal for me.

Oh it's one of those contests now eh?

Is that refrigerated?

 

[powerboatr]

I've been running Cooper Discoverers for a couple decades, in harsher conditions than all but the most hard core off roaders see.

Cut rock on grading sites etc. Outstanding durability and they aren't E rated tires.

There is a lot of in between, between a passenger tire and E.

And I need to pay attention to weight.

3 summers in a row... we blew out or LOST a tire on the hauler trailer from ROAD debris. we abused coachnet and discount tire . only bad thing was sitting an hour or maybe more on side of road, once in wally world , waiting on tow truck and big jack to lift up trailer and swap out spare.
1st trip we lost all 4 in less than 4 months . discount tire ( the supplier on the new axles, bumped them up to e rated for a small fee so they could stop paying for tires )
have not had any more issues in texas heat since upgrade

if you order the trailer new...insist on stronger tires on the trailer. not the ones they put on it stock as they are JUST within specs.

 

[Polo08816]

3 summers in a row... we blew out or LOST a tire on the hauler trailer from ROAD debris. we abused coachnet and discount tire . only bad thing was sitting an hour or maybe more on side of road, once in wally world , waiting on tow truck and big jack to lift up trailer and swap out spare.
1st trip we lost all 4 in less than 4 months . discount tire ( the supplier on the new axles, bumped them up to e rated for a small fee so they could stop paying for tires )
have not had any more issues in texas heat since upgrade

if you order the trailer new...insist on stronger tires on the trailer. not the ones they put on it stock as they are JUST within specs.

There is a reason that we call most factory trailer tires "china bombs".

When my friend was towing his RV across Ohio, one of these china bombs blew up and took out the undercarriage of his RV. He was about done with that RV and was going to move up to a 5th wheel RV anyways. So he called Ohio State Highway Patrol and asked them, "What is the fine for leaving an abandoned vehicle on the highway?" Once he heard the amount, he asked, "Where do I send the check?"

 

[Davexxxx]

if you order the trailer new...insist on stronger tires on the trailer. not the ones they put on it stock as they are JUST within specs.

Its supposed to come with Goodyear Endurance tires, which is a pretty popular upgrade from the usual.

 

[Aron]

Excellent suggestions! Thank you for taking the time to contribute. Looks like I have the answer I'm looking for. I will definitely look for the best WDS.

Good call! I'm partial to the Blue Ox Sway Pro myself, but there are lots of good brands out there. The important thing is that you have one.

 

[Aron]

You say that you don't want E rated tires and I understand why but my experience with the standard P rated tires versus the E rated tires is that the E rated tires make your F150 much more stable, with no squiggle feeling, they just go straight done the road. No harm in trying the tow with the standard P rated tires, just pump them up to 50 PSI or so and go, and that will let you experience the handling. I have a hard time with hearing about folks towing at 75-80 mph, I wouldn't do it. The trailer tires do have a speed rating and wouldn't exceed it. For me I tow no faster than 65mph even though the speed rating of the Goodyear trailer tires is higher.

I know that it was @Davexxxx that mentioned P vs. E tires, and that you're just responding to that. For the sake of others reading this thread, I also wanted to point out that Load Rating C and D tires exist as well; you don't necessarily have to go from one extreme to the other. There is a middle ground.

You (and @powerboatr) are correct also that most trailer tires are rated ST, and shouldn't generally exceed 65mph. I replaced my trailer tires with LT truck tires, so the speed is less of an issue, at least as far as tires are concerned; I'd be scared of going past 75-80mph primarily because turning and braking are more difficult at higher speed.

 

[UGADawg96]

I have Goodyear ST205/75R15 D load tires rated for 65psi cold and 87mph. I would NEVER go 80mph with these LOL.

https://www.discounttiredirect.com/buy-tires/goodyear-endurance/p/32602

 

[Polo08816]

I know that it was @Davexxxx that mentioned P vs. E tires, and that you're just responding to that. For the sake of others reading this thread, I also wanted to point out that Load Rating C and D tires exist as well; you don't necessarily have to go from one extreme to the other. There is a middle ground.

You (and @powerboatr) are correct also that most trailer tires are rated ST, and shouldn't generally exceed 65mph. I replaced my trailer tires with LT truck tires, so the speed is less of an issue, at least as far as tires are concerned; I'd be scared of going past 75-80mph primarily because turning and braking are more difficult at higher speed.

So while there are Load Range C and D tires, I haven't seen that many in common sizes for high way all season tires. I think I've seen most of those Load Range C and D tires are all terrain or mud terrain tires.

As for ST vs LT tires, one thing that I'm not sure about is how LT tires do after sitting around for an extended period of time. I don't know whether ST tires handle that scenario better than LT tires because trailers do ... a lot of sitting around which cause flat spots in tires. However, passenger and LT tires go through a LOT more testing and QA/QC than trailer tires.

 

[Jus Cruisin]

Oh it's one of those contests now eh?

Is that refrigerated?

I always pulled refer's when I was running long haul. I ran with paper logs. Not sure I'd have liked electronic logs. Also pulled for a company out of Florida and typically hauled plants north to the Home Depots around the country. An interesting profession. I just wanted to see if i could do it. Pulled close to a million miles without any accidents or incidents then called it quits and moved on to other things.

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