Hey everyone. New member, first thread. I have a question to ask about tires that I recently installed on my 2004 Ford E350 Extended Cargo Van.

My van was in need of tires. Due to funds, I had to wait it out till they hit the wear bar before replacing. BUT...lucky for me I was able to get a set of BRAND NEW P265/70 16 BFGOODRICH RADIAL LONG TRAIL T/A for FREE...YES that is the key word, FREE..LOL

After getting them install and admiring how good it looks after replacing the LT245/75 16...Had a big smile on my face for the rest of the day. Till later in the day I started to read about tires and found out that my van requires LT tires.

This is my work van as I use it for my upholstery business. I carry furniture that I pickup and deliver as well as stuff that I create at my shop.
I don't believe my cargo load ever goes beyond 1500lbs total - I probably average around 800lbs to 1200lbs with driver and pass + cargo. Most of my driving is city. I would say I do 80% city and 20% highway. There are very small trips that I go out of state (probably once a month) that is no more then 2 hours long each way.

Am I safe to keep these tires?? Or do I need to replace them with LT's??
I love the ride on the P compare to the LT.

Oh, one more thing. The LT tires I had before (General Brand) where rated with a max psi of 80 and the new BF are rated at a max of 44psi.

Any thoughts would be great.
Thanks

 

Welcome to the site.

In a nut shell of sorts..

All 250/350+ should have 'E' rated tires to be able to carry the loads their rated/advertised for. P ratings are more passenger application and do cover light trucks, even the F150 in 4x4,quad cab applications run P's as the stock hoop. Although I run LT's on our 150 as well.

That being said, and given the weight differences empty between 150/350 (fuel, passengers, gear etc), the P tires do severely reduce the amount of load the van can carry. Problem may be, if anyone other than yourself were to unknowingly load the van heavy and have an issue. The P series will suffer from more noticeable sidewall sway under loads and tire squat from less pressure and belting of an E. Heat and stress are the tires enemy. But, would they do a light duty job (?),, probably but dependent,, and the risk is always there should they exceed their application/weights individually (F/R) and as a set. Not sure I'd go that way since I tow/haul quite a bit, but since their mounted, you might load an 'average/heavy' load, and have it weighed on a truck scale (each axle) and compare scale weight to the weight rating on the tires sidewalls. If the tires are over loaded, or too close for comfort, maybe not worth the personal and property risk.. I used to see quite a few fleet trucks that the owners installed bargain under rated tires on the trucks, happens, but P's are way at the bottom of the truck tire scale.. Actually,, surprised a shop would mount them if E's were removed without question. If the axle 'weigh out' is reasonably under the tire max load, keep a very sharp eye on them as they run.. I'm sure most would say absolutely not to a P on a 350, but 'conditionally' they may work as long as their overloaded..

My .02

 

Hi. Thank you for the quick response.

I understand!! My intension wasn't to go cheap, just currently my budget isn't ready for a new set. The tires that were on the van where at there limits, the thread where very low and very noticeable cracks all around the tire. A friend of my had a brand new set of tires that were removed from a 2012 Nissan Xterra (he had less then 2 miles on the clock when he removed them for some bigger off-road tires) - he had no storage space and gave me the tires.

Not knowing about ratings and figured it came off a 4500 lbs SUV I didn't think much of it but that it was FREE and NEW.

The shop that installed it was a hole in a wall type that basically does what you tell them to do. I only realized that something seem off was that the van tire PSI recommendation is 60 psi front and 80 psi rear and the tires that were installed had a max psi 44.

Safety is my goal and I truly believe saving isn't worth the damage that can accrue if something happen.

Do you think if I used the tires for a year or so with local driving and maybe once in a while driving out of state with no more then 1500lbs of cargo (including driver and pass) would I be OK?????

I believe my van weight is 5400lbs (dry) with a 9400lbs (gross)
Lets say with my heaviest load with a total weight of 7000lbs...do you think I will be OK???

 

Didn't mean to sound insulting if it came across that way.

A lot of times I've seen shops sell a set of 'D' rated tires to owners of 250/350 class rigs that require E rating to be able to tow/haul within their rigs weight limits. Same with the spare, could be any tire class that fit the rim and sometimes was rotated into the run mix.

Owners either never knew of the change, or, they settled for a lower priced/rated tire thinking of only fit/look and a correct sizing. The E tires 'factory fill' of air was generally set around 50lbs or so for a smooth/soft ride, so owners again never really noticed the rate changed unless they read the tire pressure suggestion/warnings on the tire sides.

I'd never say that the tires were safe for a 350 given the weight guess and the possibility of another driver/load,,, but a for instance,,, a late F150 4x4 King Cab with P rated tires has a GVWR of about 7200lbs. So the number range you hope to stay in may be just within the tires max load rating depending on what that load rating/load index is printed on the sidewalls.

However,, with the variables, I would certainly scale check the rig and load you feel you'll be hauling regularly. Tires/manufactures all differ in the Max tire rating/load index to a degree, and should be checked to see if they can carry the rig and load within their specific rating. If its within the tires capacity, and not exceeded, well...

One of the things to consider is, if there was a tire failure at speed, the conditions/weights the remaining tires are subject to. You see this on RV trailers where their loaded up with gear, water, fuel, toys etc. and one tire fails, the other in row now carries the brunt of the weight. You see a lot of owners switching to LT tires in RV applications because the factory mounts will do the job, but variables being added weights, age, and road conditions including hazards can change the game.

If the P's you've mounted will carry the load, (scale checked to the indicated weigh rating/load index rating on the tires) keep a close eye on them as they run, make sure the loads stay within the tire specs. Not knowing the load index used on an Xterra, I wouldn't guess what they carry max..

 

Most tire places won't install anything lower than an E rated tire on this type/size vehicle. There can be legal implications and they refuse to take that chance !

 

Once again thank you for the quick reply.
I found that there is a truck weight station only a few mins from my shop and so I will take a ride there next week to see if I can get on the scale and see what the van total weight empty and total weight with some cargo.

So I checked the numbers on the side of the tire. It says 1090KG (2406 LBS) MAX. So does that mean each tire has a max weight of 2406 lbs?? If that is correct, that would mean with an even cargo weight all around - total weight of 9624 lbs Does that sound right???

P265/70R16 111 T 2406 lbs @ 44PSI MAX

 

The load index/max weight is per tire.

The P series tire was more for passenger carrying vehicles which does include light duty trucks. Even though the P load index will seemingly carry the limited weight/s you mention, the carcase/belting of the E is much stronger construction.

Something to consider running P's on a 1 ton van is with the higher center of gravity (more so loaded) sidewall sway can come into play at only 44lbs of pressure and a lighter build. A tire at 44lbs carrying a moderate/heavy load will also have a higher rolling resistance where the tread footprint flattens against the road (squat) then a heavier belted tire would at 80lbs. The P series tire stresses and deformations may increase if underclass with a higher rolling resistance=heat due to carrying an elephant on their back

Being the load/s may not always be equal, or 'even distributed' axle weights Front/Rear, under the max tire carrying weight would be extra insurance given the variables. I wouldn't think higher load index P series on a 350 would leave much buffer, and would be under rough working conditions as a lite weight contender.. Doable at a gamble, but I'd be cautions and watchful as they run...