Garrett

Pleased to say that I've got 60,000 miles out of the original tires on my 2005 Dodge Ram 2500 (265 70 R17).

90% of my time is spent on the pavement in Southern California with an empty load. The other 10% of the time, I'm towing an 8,000# travel trailer.

I was thinking about putting a leveling kit on the truck and going to 285s. Is that advisable?

What's a long-lasting tire that I can tow with, but still be comfortable with driving around empty?

I was thinking BF Goodrich Rugged Trail or All-Terrains.

Any thoughts?

SundayMoney

Alot of guys will tell you that all that matters is the load capacity of the tires. They'll say that a D rated 285 will carry the same load as an E rated 265. Thats all well and fine,but IMO tire construction is also important. A D rated tire is a lighter duty tire than an E.

A 285 will be fine (thats what I run) but I won't run a D rated 285. I'll only run an E rated 285. The problem is,there isn't a ton of choices in an E rated 285.

I have Nitto Terra Grapplers. They look good,have excellent traction in wet/snow (not a concern for you),but just don't last long.

Nitto has a new line called the Dura Grappler,which sounds like its exactly what you're looking for. Its more aggresive than a "street" tire,but not as aggresive as an all terrain like a BFG or Terra Grappler.

Personally,I think leveling kits look terrible. I haven't seen one yet that was actually "level". They all have that broken down rear suspension look,where the rear is lower than the front. Towing with a leveling kit only makes it worse. The rake the manufacturers give a truck is for a reason,when you put a load in the truck it will ride level.

The 285s will fit fine without a leveling kit.