Tow Vehicle - Michelin LTX or LT?

[Meeks]

Hi Folks,

Thoroughly confused about tires for my 2014 Tundra CrewMax 4WD.

A week ago I purchased Michelin Defender LTX M/S 275/55 R20. I misunderstood Michelin's branding of "LTX" and thought they were LT tires. I'm wondering if I would be wise to swap these (I've only driven 20 miles on them and I believe Discount Tire would swap them for me given the discussion I had about using these tires for towing my 2015 25FB Airstream) for LT tires in some brand...if even available for 20" wheels. (By the way, I purchased LT225/75 R16 tires for the Airstream last year from the same Discount Tire location).

Miles per year towing with the truck is approximately 3,000-5,000 hoping for 6,000-10,000 a few years from now. The truck when towing the Airstream is typically loaded to it's maximum payload rating and coming close to the rear axle rating. We use an Equalizer hitch and have experienced no sway using the previous manufacturer supplied "P" rated tires.

I would welcome your feedback and education regarding the differences between these tires and what you recommend. I meet with Discount Tire tomorrow as they are replacing tires on another non-towing vehicle of ours.

Thank you for your help!

[dkottum]

We just recently put the exact same tires on our truck after running over broken bottle glass in a parking lot at the Grand Canyon, they have excellent ride, handling and are quiet. Really nice tire, there is no reason whatsoever to replace them with a LT tire and your half-ton truck, the LTX is rated to carry your truck's maximum load easily. The low profile 20" sidewall has very little side-to-side flex so are stabile when towing.

LT tires on your truck are overkill for no reason, which is common on internet forums. My friend put the Michelin LT tires on his Ram and the tire shop warned him he would not like the ride, he doesn't.

[Meeks]

Thank you for your quick reply! And for relating to me a couple of real world experiences. I have appreciated your balanced responses on this forum.

[xrvr]

Most tire shops will only install LT tires on one ton trucks, ltx tires should be fine on your half ton. They are good tires as long as they have the correct weight ratings. I'll check in the morning but I think my tires are defender ltx but the size is LT.

[Meeks]

Thank you! Yes, the tires are rated for well over what they need to be for the truck while towing.

[CRH]

Originally Posted by avionstream

Most tire shops will only install LT tires on one ton trucks.

Never had a problem getting LT tires put on my compact pickup or Jeeps.

[xrvr]

Originally Posted by CRH

Never had a problem getting LT tires put on my compact pickup or Jeeps.

you misread, I said the tire shops will only install lt tires on 3500 trucks, they will not install ltx. yes you can put lt tires on anything you want.

[RandyNH]

Originally Posted by avionstream

you misread, I said the tire shops will only install lt tires on 3500 trucks, they will not install ltx. yes you can put lt tires on anything you want.

Why would they stop at 3500? Is it a quota thing? ; )

[xrvr]

Originally Posted by RandyNH

Why would they stop at 3500? Is it a quota thing? ; )

I don't undertand your question.because my 3500 is considered a commercial vehicle in Fl, I must use LT tires/ you can install ltx ires on most everything else.3500 is the truck size, not the number of tires installed. 3500,2500,1500.

[tjdonahoe]

LT 225/75/16 michelins on my as, 80 max pressure, 17 2500 ram has LT, 80 lbs max pressure....LTX are 1/2 ton and suv's. 50 lbs max pressure?..a lighter tire heavy enough for 1/2 ton axle housings...

[MQF]

My 2014 F-250 came with Michelin LTX/AT2 275/65R20 and they were some of the greatest highway tires I have ever had. My only issue is in the spring thaw my truck could not move in the yard at all with those tires. I switched to Goodyear Duratracs and haven't looked back. But if never left pavement or had a 2wd truck I would have Michelins over anything else, they seem to never wear at all either.

[pcskier]

While it wasn't a pickup, I had the LTX tires on my Tahoe and it rode like a dream and handled great. Much quieter ride too. You'll love them on your Tundra.

[IAMGLG]

Originally Posted by Meeks

Hi Folks,

Thoroughly confused about tires for my 2014 Tundra CrewMax 4WD.

A week ago I purchased Michelin Defender LTX M/S 275/55 R20. I misunderstood Michelin's branding of "LTX" and thought they were LT tires. I'm wondering if I would be wise to swap these (I've only driven 20 miles on them and I believe Discount Tire would swap them for me given the discussion I had about using these tires for towing my 2015 25FB Airstream) for LT tires in some brand...if even available for 20" wheels. (By the way, I purchased LT225/75 R16 tires for the Airstream last year from the same Discount Tire location).

Miles per year towing with the truck is approximately 3,000-5,000 hoping for 6,000-10,000 a few years from now. The truck when towing the Airstream is typically loaded to it's maximum payload rating and coming close to the rear axle rating. We use an Equalizer hitch and have experienced no sway using the previous manufacturer supplied "P" rated tires.

I would welcome your feedback and education regarding the differences between these tires and what you recommend. I meet with Discount Tire tomorrow as they are replacing tires on another non-towing vehicle of ours.

Thank you for your help!

I did a little research on Michelin's opinion about putting truck tires on trailers and discovered that they are "not warranted for trailer use" Here's their exact script on the past page and paragraph of their warranty:
"This service does not cover the repair or replacement of your tire. Service applies only to motorized passenger and light truck vehicles and specifically excludes trailers, motor tricycles, recreational vehicles, commercial vehicles and any vehicle used for farm, ranch, agriculture,racing, or off-road service. Original Equipment tires are not included."

[IAMGLG]

Originally Posted by tjdonahoe

LT 225/75/16 michelins on my as, 80 max pressure, 17 2500 ram has LT, 80 lbs max pressure....LTX are 1/2 ton and suv's. 50 lbs max pressure?..a lighter tire heavy enough for 1/2 ton axle housings...

This service does not cover the repair or replacement of your tire. Service
applies only to motorized passenger and light truck vehicles and specifically
excludes trailers, motor tricycles, recreational vehicles, commercial vehicles
and any vehicle used for farm, ranch, agriculture, racing, or off-road
service. Original Equipment tires are not included.

[Meeks]

Thank you again for all of your replies!

[cando]

I went to Michelin LT tires on my 2012 Tundra and lasted about three weeks with them. Any changes in tires on both my 07 and 12 Tundra gave me the feeling the truck was rejecting a transplant. The LT tires seemed like a good idea but they caused so much noise and vibration I felt they ruined the truck I liked so much. After the third attempt to balance them in as many weeks (and replacing three of the four tires) the service manager said he would replace all four of them with the P metric tires that originally came on the truck for free. That was about 60,000 miles ago and unfortunately I wlll have to replace the lxt ms2 tires soon and feel it might be less hassle to replace the whole truck.

[davidrrand]

Originally Posted by Meeks

Hi Folks,

Thoroughly confused about tires for my 2014 Tundra CrewMax 4WD.

A week ago I purchased Michelin Defender LTX M/S 275/55 R20. I misunderstood Michelin's branding of "LTX" and thought they were LT tires. I'm wondering if I would be wise to swap these (I've only driven 20 miles on them and I believe Discount Tire would swap them for me given the discussion I had about using these tires for towing my 2015 25FB Airstream) for LT tires in some brand...if even available for 20" wheels. (By the way, I purchased LT225/75 R16 tires for the Airstream last year from the same Discount Tire location).

Miles per year towing with the truck is approximately 3,000-5,000 hoping for 6,000-10,000 a few years from now. The truck when towing the Airstream is typically loaded to it's maximum payload rating and coming close to the rear axle rating. We use an Equalizer hitch and have experienced no sway using the previous manufacturer supplied "P" rated tires.

I would welcome your feedback and education regarding the differences between these tires and what you recommend. I meet with Discount Tire tomorrow as they are replacing tires on another non-towing vehicle of ours.

Thank you for your help!

*******************************
This is very confusing! I found Michelin's website really confusing, so I looked at Tire Rack's. They sort Michelin's LTX offerings under "Light Truck" My half ton has 18" tires but I looked for 20s, as in your truck. The Defender LTX M/S is a all season highway tire and the specific one you purchased is rated for 2,535# per tire and max inflation of 44 PSI. If you are looking for a higher load rating, the LT275/65 R20 125/122 RE is rated for 3750# per tire and max inflation of 80 PSI. This appears to be a "E" rated tire that apparently qualifies as a "Light Truck (LT)" tire. I have Goodyear Wranglers on my F150 (came with the truck) have a 51 PSI max inflation and some are referring to these as "P" Passenger tires. There are no "P" designations on the tire side wall. Says SL (standard load) 2756# and I assume these are "D" rated. Michelin does not use "P" in describing their LTX tires either. I have found these tires perfectly adequate for my rig but have a preference for Michelin. I run them 46-48 rear and 42 front PSI.

I had Michelin LTX tires on my older F350 and they were "E" rated and designated LTX not LT. Excellent tires with long mileage. When my Wranglers fade, I plan to switch to Michelins, probably the Defender or maybe the all terrain version and not sure what load rating I should use. My '16 Airstream is a 25 and I ordered it with Michelin "Light truck" (vs. ST) LTX MS2 tires and these are 16" "E" rated, 80 PSI max inflation. They clearly say "LTX" on the sidewall. I read that the "Defender LTX M/S replaced the LTX MS2 recently in their lineup. By the way, tire information included in the Airstream papers were on the standard GYM tires, nothing on the Michelin's I paid $1700.00 extra for (including 16" Sendel wheels). Apparently no warranty on these tires on my AS.

Still confused and hope you sort your situation out and let me know what you learn.

Dave

[xrvr]

My tv tires are mich defender ltx . The size on the tire is lt. The ltx is only a description of the tires. Check what the actual tire size is. Mine are LT, yours might be ltx. Doesn't matter as long as the weight rating is high enough. My LT tires are true rough running truck tires, might not be what most of you want, hence the ltx..

[guskmg]

Discount Tire warrants Michelin LT tires on Airstream's. I have had them warranted.
guskmg

[IAMGLG]

Originally Posted by guskmg

Discount Tire warrants Michelin LT tires on Airstream's. I have had them warranted.
guskmg

All I can say is that Michelin doesn't warrant their LT tires on trailers. There must be a reason. My guess is that the sidewalls are not strong enough to take the twisting on turns. Also, they don't know how much load will be placed on them, trailers can and do weigh more than light trucks. Also, typical tire pressures are 35 PSI or so, 1/2 the typical tire pressure in a trailer.........I doubt that corporate Discount Tire would support this statement, they would be sued by Michelin if something bad happens.