Towing experience with 275/70/17 or 285/70/17?

awd.nv

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Hello,

Looking for insight for those towing with 275/70/17 and 285/70/17. Planning my next tire upgrade from 265/70/17 and don't want to regret going with a taller tire if towing gets a big hit in performance.

Currently have a mostly stock Tremor and it does great towing a Geo Pro 19BH single axle travel trailer, ~3200lb dry and estimate 4200-4500lb loaded (no water in tanks). Towing in the Vegas to surrounding states means I have a couple hills to deal with but nothing the truck can't handle without ease. Adding 1" wheel spacers helped more than I thought it would in stability.

How does gearing feel with those taller tires? I suspect 275/70/17 will feel super close to what I already have so I am leaning there but if the 285's dont hurt towing, might as well. Would appreciate the width when in sand.

Thanks!

PXL_20210531_180313595.jpg
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Hello,

Looking for insight for those towing with 275/70/17 and 285/70/17. Planning my next tire upgrade from 265/70/17 and don't want to regret going with a taller tire if towing gets a big hit in performance.

Currently have a mostly stock Tremor and it does great towing a Geo Pro 19BH single axle travel trailer, ~3200lb dry and estimate 4200-4500lb loaded (no water in tanks). Towing in the Vegas to surrounding states means I have a couple hills to deal with but nothing the truck can't handle without ease. Adding 1" wheel spacers helped more than I thought it would in stability.

How does gearing feel with those taller tires? I suspect 275/70/17 will feel super close to what I already have so I am leaning there but if the 285's dont hurt towing, might as well. Would appreciate the width when in sand.

Thanks!

PXL_20210531_180313595.jpg
i would be more leery of towing with spacers
 

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If power loss with the new tire is a concern you have two factors. Weight, and height.

I don't run 275s or 285s, but my tires are slightly taller than 285/70 17s. My 33"s (255/80 17) weigh 51 lbs a piece. Heavy considering the factory kooks were 35 lbs.

I haven't towed with them yet. But I have carried about 1100 lbs in the bed. I can't say that performance was altered much loaded or unloaded when I upgraded. The biggest performance difference was the ride due to tire weight. And that was a minimal change.

The big deal was mileage. My average dropped by about 1.8 mpg. The Ranger isn't the most efficient tow vehicle stock, might want to consider that.
 


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awd.nv

awd.nv

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i would be more leery of towing with spacers
Good quality hub centric spacers wont cause any issues. Probably have over 2k miles on mine already which includes towing and off-road fun. Last time I checked them they still maintained their tq spec.

I have BFG KO2 275/70x17 and it tows great. No issues at all for me.
Good to hear. Thanks

If power loss with the new tire is a concern you have two factors. Weight, and height.

I don't run 275s or 285s, but my tires are slightly taller than 285/70 17s. My 33"s (255/80 17) weigh 51 lbs a piece. Heavy considering the factory kooks were 35 lbs.

I haven't towed with them yet. But I have carried about 1100 lbs in the bed. I can't say that performance was altered much loaded or unloaded when I upgraded. The biggest performance difference was the ride due to tire weight. And that was a minimal change.

The big deal was mileage. My average dropped by about 1.8 mpg. The Ranger isn't the most efficient tow vehicle stock, might want to consider that.
Excellent point, contact patch also increases drag, lowers mpg. While I do like the Grabber ATX that came on the Tremor, switching to the Toyo Open Country AT3 275/70/17 should actually be roughly the same weight. They seem to be on the lighter side of E rated tires but I do trust Toyo as a manufacturer so they are on my radar. Stock tires on the Tremor are 52lbs.

I do want to gain in height some but equally after a wider tire too since I find myself on sand from time to time. Not that the current 265/70/17 didn't do well, I think for peace of mind I would like a slightly wider tire. Did good playing at Sand Hallow Park, UT but I did not get into the dunes since I was solo on that trip. Just messed around on the lake side without issues. Their sand is quite powder like when it is dry out there.

Also thinking of 275/70/17 on stock Tremor with 1' wheel spacers. Would like to see pix of this size if any out there.
There was a thread in the tire/wheel section that had some pictures of 275/70/17 mounted on some rangers. Think one was on the Raptor wheel too but the guy had a 3" lift.
 

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Good quality hub centric spacers wont cause any issues. Probably have over 2k miles on mine already which includes towing and off-road fun. Last time I checked them they still maintained their tq spec.



Good to hear. Thanks



Excellent point, contact patch also increases drag, lowers mpg. While I do like the Grabber ATX that came on the Tremor, switching to the Toyo Open Country AT3 275/70/17 should actually be roughly the same weight. They seem to be on the lighter side of E rated tires but I do trust Toyo as a manufacturer so they are on my radar. Stock tires on the Tremor are 52lbs.

I do want to gain in height some but equally after a wider tire too since I find myself on sand from time to time. Not that the current 265/70/17 didn't do well, I think for peace of mind I would like a slightly wider tire. Did good playing at Sand Hallow Park, UT but I did not get into the dunes since I was solo on that trip. Just messed around on the lake side without issues. Their sand is quite powder like when it is dry out there.



There was a thread in the tire/wheel section that had some pictures of 275/70/17 mounted on some rangers. Think one was on the Raptor wheel too but the guy had a 3" lift.
I have zero experience on sand. So I'm not sure what it takes to successfully navigate it. But if airing down to increase contact patch is the key to flotation you might want to rethink your width.

I do know that in general a taller aspect ratio, skinnier tire WILL provide a larger footprint than a shorter aspect ratio wider tire when deflated. It's all about sidewall height in that regard.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.motortrend.com/features/1811-skinny-vs-wide-tires-versus/amp/


Didn't even think about the Tremor factory tires weight. You've got a heavy tire there, so that probably won't be something that effects you when upgrading.
 
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I have zero experience on sand. So I'm not sure what it takes to successfully navigate it. But if airing down to increase contact patch is the key to flotation you might want to rethink your width.

I do know that in general a taller aspect ratio, skinnier tire WILL provide a larger footprint than a shorter aspect ratio wider tire when deflated. It's all about sidewall height in that regard.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.motortrend.com/features/1811-skinny-vs-wide-tires-versus/amp/


Didn't even think about the Tremor factory tires weight. You've got a heavy tire there, so that probably won't be something that effects you when upgrading.
Thanks for sharing the link, I am always looking to learn more but it does not seem apples vs apples. They seem to be considering wide, something a lot wider than what we are talking about here.

I am going to monitor my RPM during towing a lot more closely, maybe document it and figure out the gearing headroom. Have a trip to Utah towing our TT, will be the perfect trip to do this on.
 

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I have zero experience on sand. So I'm not sure what it takes to successfully navigate it. But if airing down to increase contact patch is the key to flotation you might want to rethink your width.

I do know that in general a taller aspect ratio, skinnier tire WILL provide a larger footprint than a shorter aspect ratio wider tire when deflated. It's all about sidewall height in that regard.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.motortrend.com/features/1811-skinny-vs-wide-tires-versus/amp/


Didn't even think about the Tremor factory tires weight. You've got a heavy tire there, so that probably won't be something that effects you when upgrading.
Given similar diameter and usable rim sizes, increased sidewall will not increase foot print more than additional width.

In theory it's possible, but not within the 1 inch of sidewall variable that is realistic for 16-18 rims of the Ranger.
 

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Given similar diameter and usable rim sizes, increased sidewall will not increase foot print more than additional width.

In theory it's possible, but not within the 1 inch of sidewall variable that is realistic for 16-18 rims of the Ranger.
You're right in that 275/70 17 vs 255/85 16 is about an inch of sidewall difference.

Although that difference is not significant, every little bit helps.
 

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You're right in that 275/70 17 vs 255/85 16 is about an inch of sidewall difference.

Although that difference is not significant, every little bit helps.
Changing the outside diameter unnecessarily, reduces efficacy of the comparison.

Given equal diameter, additional sidewall gained from downsizing the rim, will not will not increase the foot print at lowered PSI more than the width lost.
 

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Changing the outside diameter unnecessarily, reduces efficacy of the comparison.

Given equal diameter, additional sidewall gained from downsizing the rim, will not will not increase the foot print at lowered PSI more than the width lost.
Of course. But it's near impossible to match outside diameters completely accross different widths.

The increased contact patch comes from length of the patch, while the width may be reduced slightly, the length is greatly increased.

This debate has gone on for decades. There are arguments for both sides, in the end it really boils down to preference.
 

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I've towed over 3k on my toyo open country AT3s 45lbs when maxed out in the rear 40 all other times
 
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I've towed over 3k on my toyo open country AT3s 45lbs when maxed out in the rear 40 all other times
Oh that's your truck? haha I remember watching that when it came out thinking how impressive that MPG was. I can't get that in my region. Good to see the 33" tall tire does well towing though, kinda forgot about this video.

Guess I shouldn't worry about it then, other than the MPG ding from a wider than 255 profile tire.

Man, the Toyo look so good in video, photos those sidewall look so much more flat than they do in video, more aggressive looking in video.
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