Can someone help me w another tire question.. "e load"

[thecraw]

Been lurking here for over a year, but never needed to post anything due to all the great info already on here. I finally found EXACTLY what I wanted and bought my first SMB back in October. I have a 10,450lb (when dry), 2006 6.0, voyager 4x4, EB, with black/grey and fresh tanks. To say the least it's a beast of a vehicle and I love it.
Two days ago, while wrapping up a 15k road trip, we blew a tire just outside of Chicago. It was a BFG 315/75/16. Learning now that this tire is a D load tire and also that others have had this issue... Very much a catastrophic full circle sidewall blowout. I have never seen this on any tire and have always had BFG AT's on my diesel trucks. They were not nearly as heavy a vehicle though!!!
I have read tons of tire threads on here looking for a better option that is E loaded and it appears from everyone's comments that BFG does not make an E load, but according to the tirerack website they do, but it's a 305/70, not the 315/75 I currently have.
Reading a bunch of posts has me leaning towards a toyo at the moment. Not sure about the M/T or A/T but bottom line I am not sure if I should walk from BFG's due to the fact that I had the wrong load on their to start with.
Am I missing something here? Although I would love to stick w 315/75, a 305/70 can't look that much different, my fuel mileage would be a bit better, and according to tirerack I would then have an E load to support the weight more.
Sorry, I know there are a ton of "what's the best tire" discussions, this is to clarify if BFG's indeed offer an E load tire and also if BFG's are just the wrong tire for a vehicle that size.

Thanks, Marty....

[BajaSportsmobile]

While an E rated tire would be better for the weight of your SMB, I highly doubt that the failure you had was due to the D rating. If not a puncture, it was more than likely due to heat build up from under inflation, perhaps short term under-inflation due to a leak.

How old were the tires and what was the condition of the valve stems?

You can see from the following BFG data that there are several sizes offered in an E rating:

http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/tire-sel ... spec_table

[JoeH]

The 305BFG is a 33" tire. Similar width as the 315 but smaller in diameter. It WILL look different if that is important to you. You gas mileage may not be all that better with a 33". You'll have higher rpms for a given speed.

The load rating for the 315BFG is 3195 at 50psi. You probably need all that pressure with a van over 10,000 pounds. Unless you want to run an MT I'd consider a Goodyear Duratrac if you want to stay with a 315. It has a E rating with 3ply sidewalls and a load rating of 3860 at 65psi. Just my opinion but I think it also has a better ride quality than the E-rated BFGs.

[BIGVANS]

Remember ALL Ford E-350’s come with load range E (10ply) tires from the factory. Then we add a lot more weight. If you ask any good tire shop they will tell you to NEVER down grade the weight rating.

[86Scotty]

+1 for Toyos! I blew a BFG E rated tire on my last truck and decided to go with a different brand. I can't fault the tire though since they were maintained by a previous owner and you never know what others do (or don't do, more importantly) in terms of tire upkeep.

[SierraHawk]

Use "E" rated tires or better. There are only 3 companies that make the carcas for tires that are sold in the US. BFG, Goodyear, Yokahama, etc just stick some rubber on the outside of the carcas and put their names on the sidewall. The style of the footprint and rubber composition of the tread are your choice. If you cannot find an "E" rated tire you like you might have to change wheels.

[Skywagon]

Do you know who the three companies are?
Bill

[MKRyan]

I just replaced my BFG ATs with Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs. The BFGs came with the SMB when I bought it and still had good tread but I felt much safer with a 10 ply tire. My SMB is just over 10,000 lbs when loaded. The BFGs were 315/75 16 and so are the Duratracs. The two tires are exactly the same diameter and the Duratracs are just .1" wider at the tread and cross section.

Put them on last Wednesday and we spent the weekend in Grand Teton National Park, about a 2 1/2 hour drive each way. Not many miles on them yet but the road noise and handling were no different than the BFGs. I feel much safer with the 10 ply (E load rating) knowing they can handle a much greater load. The Duratracs have a tread that is not as aggressive as an M/T but more so than an A/T.

Paid $1,480 for 4 tires, installed with lifetime rotation at a local tire shop. If you buy them yourself and have them shipped to you and have a local tire shop install them you can save about $150 to $200. I kept the spare BFG, which was new, and since they are the same diameter, I won't worry about putting the spare on until I get the Duratrac repaired.

I'd put the same size tire on, only in a 10 ply. It will look the same on your van which is a good thing, assuming you like the look of the 315/75 16 on your van. The Goodyear Duratrac is just one option.

Mike

[Charliesmom]

Should I rotate my new spare, into the mix?
I have always rotated all tires, including the spare every 5K miles. After returning from Death Valley this week, I noticed that my driver’s side rear tire was low on pressure. I took it for repair to Discount Tire who found that a nail had punctured through the shoulder and that the tire wasn’t repairable. They used the spare to replace the “flat” and ordered a new BFG KO2 245/70R17. I picked up the new mounted tire and put it on the spare carrier.
My question is: Should I rotate the new spare into the pattern when I rotate the tires next? The original KO2s have ~ 18,000 miles on them. My inclination is not to rotate the new replacement tire. Any suggestions?

[E-350]

I would put the new tire on the passenger rear so that you have “two new ones” on the rear.
Current rear passenger for me would be the new spare. Just check for damages ;-)