Tire Size Choices for J20 tow rig

[The PIG Smith]

As some of you have read in previous posts, I loathe 16.5" wheels.
I have collected a set of 16" steel OE wheels from Ford products.
I had originally decided on LT 235-85-16 as the tire to use.

Then it was suggested to me to use LT 265-75-16 tires.
I have been studying this alternate tire size.

The 235 tire is 31.7" tall and the 265 is 31.6" tall.
It appears the 265 is a wider tire.
So, which tire is better for my tow rig?

Now, onto my question:
Where I work, I can buy LT 245-75-16 tires for $65 each.
These are 50K mile, load range E, 10 ply tires.
But these are Runaway brand, a Goodyear tire made in China.
A Chinese tire on a American Motors Jeep?
Will the Jeep gods frown on me?

The 245 tire is 30.5" tall.
I dunno how wide it it.

Which tire should I use?

[HOOT]

the 245's are 9.65 wide.
they are what I think is the original tire size for the J20 but I preferred bigger and wider.

I'm currently running 285-75-16 on my J20 and love them.

edit. I also ditched the 16.5 wheels.. They are for sale if anyone wants them.

[Sycho15]

Why not... 31x10.5R16s? Easy to find very good tires in this size. High-Tech Retreading also makes tires in this size...

[The PIG Smith]

31x10.5R16

I'll check out that size.

[The PIG Smith]

I'm currently running 285-75-16 on my J20 and love them.

The rear fender well of my flat bed sorta limits my tire size to 32" tall. :(
285 is approximately 32.8" tall.
It is the price I pay for having such a kewl bed.

[KaiserMan]

I'd go with the 235-85-16's. Very common size for both trailers and trucks. Means you could run one spare (I don't know if you could fit a wider tire under a trailer well). They are pretty cheap, and just about every tire joint will have them in stock. So replacements would be easy and fast. I think they have a good combo of height and width myself.

[incommando]

I don't know the original height of the tires on these, but you might lose a bit of towing performance of you go very much taller than stock.

235/85/16's, like stated above, are super common. If you ruin a side-wall while away from home, for example, it would be easy to pick up a servicable spare for cheap.

Those 245's are getting more common. They were the standard size on 4x4 1500 Rams and other trucks for quite awhile.

[The PIG Smith]

I don't know the original height of the tires on these, but you might lose a bit of towing performance of you go very much taller than stock.

The original tire size for my J20 is 9.50R16.5LT.
They are 31" tall.
I want to stay close to the stock size for one reason to keep the speedo from being way off.

Those 245's are getting more common. They were the standard size on 4x4 1500 Rams and other trucks for quite awhile.

I agree.
The tires on my '99 WJ are 245-75-16

[The PIG Smith]

I'd go with the 235-85-16's. Very common size for both trailers and trucks. Means you could run one spare (I don't know if you could fit a wider tire under a trailer well). They are pretty cheap, and just about every tire joint will have them in stock. So replacements would be easy and fast. I think they have a good combo of height and width myself.
I whole heartily agree.
This was the main reason I originally choose to use 235.
In fact, all my Ford donor wheels came with 235-85-16 rubber, of which one is in good enough shape to use as a spare.

But the suggestion of 265 has gotten me to second guess myself and now the ability to purchase cheap tires through work,
has gotten me to yet backtrack even more on my tire size decision.

[FSJeeper]

I learned a long time ago not to mess with cheap tires. Especially when towing. Whatever size you decide to run, make sure the tires you buy are up to the task of towing. Especially with tires, you get what you pay for.
I run D rated Bridgestone Revo II's on my Tahoe and E rated 10 plys on my Dodge 3500. These are the best AT road tires I have ever run. They are outstanding on wet pavement and I got to try them out in a snow storm last year in which they were excellent. They have proven themselves many times in South Texas Gumbo mud.

A few years ago I bought some cheap Chinese 10 ply trailer tires for my gooseneck. Every single one of them blew out on me at the wrong time and place with the last one blowing right before I arrived at a Dallas/Fort Worth FSJ get together. Very embarrasing to pull up to your FSJ buddies with a flat tire. We had to change it in the rain too! LOL

[jode]

What happened with the hummer rims?

[The PIG Smith]

I learned a long time ago not to mess with cheap tires. Especially when towing. Whatever size you decide to run, make sure the tires you buy are up to the task of towing. Especially with tires, you get what you pay for.
I run D rated Bridgestone Revo II's on my Tahoe and E rated 10 plys on my Dodge 3500. These are the best AT road tires I have ever run. They are outstanding on wet pavement and I got to try them out in a snow storm last year in which they were excellent. They have proven themselves many times in South Texas Gumbo mud.

A few years ago I bought some cheap Chinese 10 ply trailer tires for my gooseneck. Every single one of them blew out on me at the wrong time and place with the last one blowing right before I arrived at a Dallas/Fort Worth FSJ get together. Very embarrasing to pull up to your FSJ buddies with a flat tire. We had to change it in the rain too! LOL
Thank You.
This is kinda what I thought.
I did a Google search on Runaway and did not find much.
Note to self: Steer clear of el-cheapo tires

[Bob Barry]

I would say either the 235/85-16 or 245/75-16 in load-range E. You don't want taller for a tow-rig, just whatever is stronger and easier to find.

[ohioj20]

I have 265's on my J20, no complaints. My dad had 265's on his Dodge 250 Cummins, but now has 285 and it altered is speedometer, but makes his truck look, tougher.

[shackwrrr]

fyi 235 85s only come in 10 ply i think its load rating E. so they are a one ton tire

[The PIG Smith]

jobe[/left]]What happened with the hummer rims?
Those H2 wheels are in my garage for now.
They do not have the correct backspace.
Yes, I could run a spacer, but I chosen to run 16" steelies for now.
Besides, 16" rubber is cheaper than 17" rubber.

Check out my posting:
H2 Wheels on a J20 (http://www.ifsja.org/forums/vb/showthread.php?t=59012&highlight=hummer)

[johnwaynejeep2]

on another subject:

I'm not sure the type of trailer you are using but with a car hauler a dual axle is a must. If you blow a tire on a single axle then the drag could roll the trailer and pull your truck with it. At the same time you want to be sure to keep some extra chains with you. My buddy blew a tire on a dual axle on a Sunday. He didn't have a spare but it didn't matter. People were blowing 2 or 3 tires at a time on a 2 mile stretch of freeway on a sunday, something was up but we never found out what. We had to unload the Jeep and take off the other tire from the forward axle and chain up the axle so it didn't drag. Then we drove this old CJ-7 200 miles the rest of the way to our destination.

[The PIG Smith]

on another subject:

I'm not sure the type of trailer you are using but with a car hauler a dual axle is a must. If you blow a tire on a single axle then the drag could roll the trailer and pull your truck with it. At the same time you want to be sure to keep some extra chains with you. My buddy blew a tire on a dual axle on a Sunday. He didn't have a spare but it didn't matter. People were blowing 2 or 3 tires at a time on a 2 mile stretch of freeway on a sunday, something was up but we never found out what. We had to unload the Jeep and take off the other tire from the forward axle and chain up the axle so it didn't drag. Then we drove this old CJ-7 200 miles the rest of the way to our destination.

The trailer I borrow and use on a regular basis a tandem axle unit with a full tilt bed and electric brakes.
It is very heavy, tipping the scales at 3000 pounds plus.
I still have access to this trailer and when I get in a position to purchase one of my own, I like the full tilt feature.

[crispyboy]

I think I would go with the LT245 because it is closer to stock height. It would be better for towing and over all general use - I would not go any taller - that just increases your gear ratio.
Years ago my dad had two sets of tires for his J20. His truck is a 4 speed standard shift. His tires were a winter set (orignal size) and summer set - white spoke street tires. There was about 1 inch difference in height. It made quite a difference! Definitely stick closer to stock size - it works.

Take pics when your finished with the job - I may have to do this to my truck someday with the limited supply of 16.5 tires.

BTW - the E load range is going to pound your backside even worse! Definitely go with better made product - tires are not a good place to skimp since this effect the ride, reliability etc.....

[TexasJ10]

Is the center hole in the Ford rims the same size as the Jeep rims? IIRC the Ford center hole is slightly larger so all the weight will be on the wheel lugs. Something else to consider as you select tires and calculate load capacity.

I pulled some 235's off my j20 project. They looked terribly small on the truck. I have no idea how they performed since I wasn't able to drive it with those tires on. It turns out that some moron also managed to mount 16" tires on the stock 16.5" rim. Discount Tire said their older tire machine couldn't get them off, but their newest machine just managed.

[The PIG Smith]

Is the center hole in the Ford rims the same size as the Jeep rims? IIRC the Ford center hole is slightly larger so all the weight will be on the wheel lugs. Something else to consider as you select tires and calculate load capacity.

I pulled some 235's off my j20 project. They looked terribly small on the truck. I have no idea how they performed since I wasn't able to drive it with those tires on. It turns out that some moron also managed to mount 16" tires on the stock 16.5" rim. Discount Tire said their older tire machine couldn't get them off, but their newest machine just managed.

Center holes are the same.
I've not had a full set of 235 on my rig to look at them.
This is one reason why I made this post, feedback! Thank you!
What I will need to do, if it does not rain any more this weekend, is take my one good 235 that I plan to use as a spare and mount it on the rear.
I'll take pics and post them.
The rear fender well of my flat bed is smallish, so a smaller tire may look okay.
The front W/T fender well is a different story.
A smallish tire maybe lost in that huge fender.
May need to install a set of N/T fenders to make it look right....NAH..just kidding! :D

[Lindel]

My personal preference would be the 265's but I don't do any heavy towing. If you're doing it on a tow rig, get the 245's.

Pascal, I seem to remember getting a bit damp one day last year, something to do with tires and a trailer. Some heavy axles too!! ;)

[Jeep4myBoys]

width makes a huge difference in towing capacity. The height between the 235/85s and 265/75s won't be much different. Check the load rating. Stock on my F350 were 265-75-16 E, with a load capacity of 3305 lbs each . . . I switched to 285-75-16 D, with a load capacity of 3300 lbs each. D rated tires will have a slightly softer ride, and only take 65 psi instead of the 85 psi max for the E rated tires. Check the actual carrying capacity for the tires too, D and E load ratings vary by mfg.

Obviously, for a tow rig, I would choose the wider tires. BTW - my first set (265-75-16E) were BFG AT/KO - they lasted more than 60,000 miles.

[Towtruck]

I'm using 285/60-16's on my J10. BFG and Goodyear still make this size. 8x16 rims. I often tow a car trailer with 3000 pound car on it. No issues. Tire size works reasonably well with 3.31 gears and a 360 with RV cam. Once it's up to speed it seems to like 70 mph. Hate that large ratio gap between 3rd and 4th on a T18, however.

[fulsizjeep]

Flashback! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqyc37aOqT0)

We did not have ours at the time this thread ran. 77 J20, 4" suspension lift, 265/75-16

Your fenders came off this one Bryan. :thumbsup:
http://jubileejeeps.org/ourfsjs/artemis/07echobasin.jpg

[Ugly Truck Nut]

I have 17's on my J-20 now, but I kind of want a 16 or 16.5 inch rim. What is the back space so when I'm out farting around I can keep an eye out for some old style steel rims.

[Karl Streich]

Thread CPR really works!

I assume the tires have been purchased, used and worn out at this point :D

As far as tow rig tire selection, how much will be towed, how often, how far, and where?

Lots of highway miles? A tall, narrow tire with fairly smooth tread, either highway tread or M&S, avoid all terrain or mud tires.

Fewer miles, more dirt roads? Same hight, but wider probably an all terrain tread.

Something else? Adjust as needed.

Remember, Chinese miles are shorter than US miles, 50,000 Chinese miles are closer to 30,000 US miles, ask me how I know :banghead: