I have been researching tires for the last couple of days here, and I have a question that needs to be clarified. During my tire information search, I pulled this quote from the forum:

"I weighed my truck today with a half tank of fuel. 7,160 lbs. 2890lbs rear 4,270lbs front."

My questions come from these specs I pulled off the manufacturer's site:

Cooper SST 285/75R16 "D" - Max Load 3305
BFG Goodrich AT 285/75R16 "E" - Max Load 3750

1. If these are the max loads of the tires, where does our front end weight of 4,270lbs have an effect?
2. Is the difference between a D and E tire that significant (445lbs) if I am not towing ever(maybe 200 miles per year)?

 

I wouldn't worry too much about the "D" and "E" rating myself. You just gotta be sure the weight if the drivers and/or the front axle doesn't exceed the tire max weight. So basicly what does your front axle weigh when fully loaded? Take that wieght and divide it by two. Does that exceed the max weight listed on the side of the tire? Do the same for the rear axle. It's all about wieght distribution.............. Hope this helps ya...........

 

Multiply the max load per tire by 2 and get total weight for axle.

 

The discussion about D and E range tires has come up before. Some people say it doesn't matter whether you run a D or E as long as your weight is within spec. I personally disagree. I think an E tire is much more robust than a D tire and at least for safety's sake, I wouldn't run anything but a E tire when towing. If you run around empty all the time then a D would be fine. But if you're in the market for new tires, why not just get all E's?

 

That weight rating is per tire. You have four, so multiply by four to get the total max load. Get 'E' rated tires.