"Roger Johnson" <rjohnson@friendlynet.com> wrote:
> The likely (guessing here) OE tire was a P235/75R15XL,
> with pressures at 35f/41r, for a load capacity on the
> rear tires of 1985#.
> Going to the LT235/75R15 tire requires 50 psi rear to
> maintain the same load carrying capacity.
Incidently, Old Clunky ('91 half-ton 'burban) came with exactly that setup.
After an unfortunate (and scary) blowout with the indeterminate-age P235XL
tires, we went to a Michelin LT235/75R15 on all 4 corners, and it made a
HUGE improvement to the way the truck handled.
The P-XL tires may be rated to carry the load, but they were soft and
mushy, and I suspect prone to injury when actually used as a truck, not as
a soccer-mom station-wagon wannabe.
The next big improvement was replacing the shocks - nothing fancy, just
Monroe's upper-midrange shocks. In the rear, we used the coilover models,
but that was more to help a nose-up attitude from a set of sagging rear
leafs than anything else.
With this setup, plus a load-levelling hitch, the trailer sits dead flat (I
have a level stuck just aft of the ball) and with a full load, a full tank
and 2 people up front, the truck sits slightly nose-high. Driving, you'd
never know the trailer was back there, except for slightly longer stopping
distances and a little lugging going up bigger hills. On a flat, I can keep
up with Marcus' F350 turbo-diesel (now that he's hauling that big airbrake)
We also added a big trans cooler as a precaution, and given that the trans
hasn't lunched yet, I'm gonna claim it worked. I'm also going to claim this
bannana in my ear keeps the alligators away. ;)
A 350-powered 'burban makes an awesome tow vehicle in my books, but the
keys are:
1) Real truck tires
2) Decent shocks
3) a load-levelling hitch
4) proper weight distribution when packing the truck
5) Never tow in (O)verdrive.
Oh, for those keeping track, when we got back from Florida/Meridian, I
replaced the rad, water pump, rear axle brake lines, rear wheel cylinders,
and rear brake shoes. More shiny bits!
DG
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