17" tire vs 18" tire - RV-Dreams Community Forum

DebbieM · RV-Dreams Family Member

17" tire vs 18" tire

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

if your not going to be doing alot of off roading and mostly towing they would not be worth the extra money and fuel expense that it costs

also I dont think it was taken into consideration the weight requirement on the rear tires due to the coach.....I dont believe they make that type for off road use.

sounds like an up-sell salesman.................IMHO......

DebbieM · RV-Dreams Family Member

To clarify, the dealer puts the 17" tires on for $200 (that is what Dodge charges for the upgrade) extra on all the trucks they get. Their reasoning is the 17" tires are less expensive to replace later and the off-road functionality of the 17" tires offers better handling in bad weather.

I can't tell by both of your answers which tire you prefer, the 17 or 18in tire?

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

I can say this.....I had a 3/4 ton 4x4......I bought 4 on and off aggressive tires and a year later needed to replace them because they wore quickly on pavement.......the next year I bought 4 all season hi-way tires they lasted 3 years and were used in a snow enviroment.....the all seasons were narrower and increased my mileage alot...

the odds are you will not take your tow vehicle anywhere that you will not tow your trailer within reason....you bought it to tow the trailer, so your not going to jeopardize scratching up and messing up your truck for a 10 min. ride off road......which will leave you and your coach truckless for any duration........IMHO

biggrin biggrin biggrin .......If you dont believe this...Just ask the wife....she will explain it in a short version!..... biggrin biggrin biggrin confuse

DebbieM · RV-Dreams Family Member

Mike,

I (Steve, hubby) agrees. From what he can tell the 235/17R seem narrower than the 275/18R. I know that it's about percentages, but I'm not sure which tire is actually narrower. Though I do agree the off-road tire is probably softer. From the rim size the 17 inch are 6 inches wide and the 18's are 8 inches wide which makes me wonder what options I'll have later for replacements? With your thought of narrower being better for gas mileage, it does sound like the 17 inch would be better.

FastEagle · RV-Dreams Family Member

My Dodge dually is 10 years old. I got it new in 2004. It came stock with LT235/80R17E tires. They were Goodyear Wrangler highway all season tires. At about the 40,000 mile mark they started breaking out on wet roads and on steep inclines. I replaced them with General AmeriTrac highway all season tires. At about 40,000 miles they acted just like the previous Goodyear’s did. Plenty of tread left. They just started breaking out on wet and hilly roads. My current set (50,000 miles +) are Goodyear Silent Armory pro-grade with Kevlar. Like the ad says. They are very durable tires and with about 60% of their tread left at 50,000 miles they are still firmly gripping the roads for me. I thought the would be noisy. They are not. I thought they would wear out faster. They have not. I thought they might be replaced by now. They’re still on there and look great and perform great.

http://findnsave.kansas.com/offer/Goodyear-Wrangler-Silent-Armor-Pro-Grade-LT235-80R17E-120-117R-OWL-All-Season-Tire/26690481/

FastEagle

-- Edited by FastEagle on Saturday 12th of April 2014 10:58:45 AM

DebbieM · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thank you all. We'll be reading up on replacements for when the time comes. These are all comments that we find helpful.