Chevrolet Silverado pickup tires for pulling a camper

My 2015 Chevrolet Silverado Crew cab 1/2 ton came with Goodyear Wrangler SRA tires. I believe they are 275 60 20's. These are not LT or 10 ply tires, just probably rated at P or passenger. I had really good luck with the factory set and did put another set on last year. Now I am having more gravel impact damage. Then you patch the damage and the next thing the tire gets a little bulge they size of your thumb on the tread due to fact the cords were damaged. My wife and I also just started pulling a 26 foot camper that probably weighs around 6000 pounds loaded. I do use a Blue Ox load transfer hitch. I just am not feeling safe about pulling this camper across the country with P rated tires even though a national tire shop chain said there was no problem. I don't know whether to put LT (light truck) or 10 plys on. Probably LT tires would be a big improvement and still offer a decent ride over putting 10 plys on. There have to be many of you pulling campers. Yes, I probably imagine many of you are pulling with 3/4 ton pickups. I am happy with my 1/2 ton. Just want to figure out my best tire option. Thanks everyone.

You are confusing the terminology. "10 plys" are LT tires.

I had a 2015 Silverado Crew Cab Z71 with factory bumper pull tow package. I also installed the front end leveling kit. I put Firestone Transforce AT II tires on. I went up 1 sidewall size when I went to the Firestones. It drove like an entirely different truck and for the better - big improvement on handling and braking. I pulled a 4 ton landscape trailer with 6000 lbs. of grain on it with the truck multiple times and the Firestone tires made a huge difference. I had Goodyear Wrangler SRA originally and I barely got 30k out of them and did not like them at all. I will put the same tires on our new to us 2016 2500 HD when the current tires wear out without thinking twice about it.

A 1/2 ton p/I is minimal for this, but will work if you do not ask too much of it...
Remember that 8 Ply tires are really only at most 4 Plys.
You want Heavy Duty Rims, or higher tire pressures will Split the Rim ...and, you want stronger side-walls to take tire wall flex out that causes Swaying.
Which also lets you run more pressure and that makes still Less Swaying..
Is this a Bumper hitched trailer or a Goose-neck..?
Either way, ALL the rear weight Rides ON the Axles, where a 3/4 ton has full-floating axles and are greatly Stronger...
Bridgestone Radial LT Tires at 80- 90 lbs would be adequate on the Rear, at least..the soft 1/2 ton suspension will still ride well.
Adjustable Air-Shocks can be a nice addition if the Tonque-weight makes the tail ride lower..
Take the advice on the Heavy- Duty rims...I have seen them BLOW OUT with no warning...

I have always put LT tires on my pickups and have pulled bumper pull and 5th wheel trailers with no problems

Definitely upgrade to E-rated or 10-ply rated You will feel much more stable on corners and bumps and you won't have to worry about tires anymore. I like Sumitomo Encounter AT for a grippy tire. www.simpletire.com has consistent good deals with free shipping.

Yes, I remember now that LT tires are 10 plys.

LT rated 17 inch tires on my 2018 Silverado 4x4 double cab. Pulled a 22 foot 4500 pound trailer over 20000 km to Alaska and back. No problems. Tires now have 60000 plus km on them and still appear as new.

Ben

(quoted from post at 13:52:12 05/05/21) Yes, I remember now that LT tires are 10 plys.

Click to expand...

That is still incorrect. Not all LT tires are 10 plys. There are LT tires in load ranges such as C, D, E, etc. Load range E happens to be the 10 ply equivalent.

LT, E-rated, and 10-ply are all obsolete terms. Nowadays tires go by load index (number 1-150) and speed rating (letter A-Z), though the old terms are still imprinted on the tire.

A tire with a 120Q rating for example is rated for 3086lbs and a 100MPH maximum loaded speed. That would be a typical LT245/75R16 LR-E 10-ply rated tire.

I have the EXACT same tire, brand, model, and size on my '18 RAM 1500 4-door with the towing pkg. Last summer I towed a U-Haul enclosed 6 ft x 12 ft x 6 ft tall tandem axle trailer around 250 miles with probably 6000# gross, U-Haul trailers are tremendously heavy, pull like your dragging them sideways, and I was amazed how much gas I burned! I didn't use cruise control, had some BIG hills to pull, the 8-spd ZF trans dropped 3 gears on a couple hills, I figured 3500 RPM was a good speed for a minute or two to climb the hill. MPG was 10.85 mpg.
I bought the truck off the lot, it had lot's of options that didn't even exist when I ordered my '96 F-250 diesel.
I've used a couple sets of Firestone Destination 2 tires on SUV's with all wheel drive. I figured I'd put a set of those on when these Good Years fail.

(quoted from post at 12:50:35 05/05/21)
A 1/2 ton p/I is minimal for this, but will work if you do not ask too much of it...
Remember that 8 Ply tires are really only at most 4 Plys.
You want Heavy Duty Rims, or higher tire pressures will Split the Rim ...and, you want stronger side-walls to take tire wall flex out that causes Swaying.
Which also lets you run more pressure and that makes still Less Swaying..
Is this a Bumper hitched trailer or a Goose-neck..?
Either way, ALL the rear weight Rides ON the Axles, where a 3/4 ton has full-floating axles and are greatly Stronger...
Bridgestone Radial LT Tires at 80- 90 lbs would be adequate on the Rear, at least..the soft 1/2 ton suspension will still ride well.
Adjustable Air-Shocks can be a nice addition if the Tonque-weight makes the tail ride lower..
Take the advice on the Heavy- Duty rims...I have seen them BLOW OUT with no warning...

Click to expand...

Where might one find a set of " heavy duty rims" for this 2015 Chevy Silverado???
When you find them, please provide a link.

P.S.
It would be better to install load bearing air bags in the rear suspension designed to carry weight.
Shock mounts are not designed as load bearing components.

Centash ..... Tires now have 60000 plus km on them and still appear as new. Time to call Mr Guinness for an inspection and a possible certificate for your garage wall.

I just checked my Ram.265/70-17 factory P rated,the rears are now 10 ply. The truck was helpless on grass and snow this winter, and I told my tire guy to get me rough treads and I would be there Saturday morning. He then told me the only mud tires in 17 inch were 10 ply. It drives fine till you get up about 80,it gets a little bit squirrely at high speed. Part of that is brand new tread and lots of it. I have seen old Blazers that were almost undrivable with new tires till you drove them six or seven miles on gravel,then they were fine. The only thing that might be an issue with 10 plys I can think of is the sensors. I am running 45 psi,towing heavy I will bump them to 70 at least.

Oh, I'm sure they are worn down a bit, just never measured the thread depth. And they do take a holiday when the snow tires are on....

Ben

I bought my 2018 Silverado 1500 Club Cab 4x4 with a 5.3 variable displacement V8, automatic transmission and 6 and 1/2 foot box, in January, 2018. The following week I replaced the original tires with Michelin LT 275/65 R18 Load Range E tires on the original rims. Then I had air bags installed on the rear axle with in cab control to inflate/deflate them.
I have a 6 and 1/2 foot slide in camper that weighs 1300 pounds, dry. It has a furnace, microwave and cook stove, no A/C, no potty. Add a few clothes, groceries, 20 gallons of water bedding and some odds and ends probably pushes me to 16-1700 pounds.
I then hook to my 24 foot, 10,000 GVW enclosed trailer with cargo totaling (estimate) 6000 to 6500 pounds. I pump the tires up to 60 PSI and the airbags to about 40 PSI.
My hitch has weight transfer ability and on level ground, it sets straight and level.
I can easily cruise 60 to 65 MPH and get 8 to 9 MPG. I do not pass semis unless we are starting out from a traffic light.
My only complaint? The Michelin tire tread has wide groves and picks up stones. I put 4 mud flaps on to counter some of the dinging of the lower panels.
In February I bought a 30 foot 2015 travel trailer with one slideout. The seller had a 2017 Chevy 1/2 very similar to my truck. Even the same color.
His setup was a bit different. He was using the original load rated C tires. His hitch receiver was a bit lower than mine. When I hooked up, the trailer was a bit nose high even with my airbags deflated.
I pulled that trailer from south of Marblehead, Ohio to Ypsilanti in some stiff cross winds and some slippery spots. Drive for the conditions. No problem.
I'm preparing to pull that trailer 170 miles, in about a week, to my son's property for the summer and park next to his trailer. I will take wife up a week later after it is setup.
My plan also allows me to use it as a staging place to go to tractor shows pulling my 24 foot trailer.
ALWAYS, NO HURRY!

I would do an LT tire and air them up to support the heavy load. Bridgestone Dualers with highway tread is what I use. Michelin are good also. Nothing wrong with overkill on the highway.