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Ever wonder why they call these trucks “1 Tons?” I mean, 1 ton = 2000 lbs. My 1 Ton is payload-rated for 5733 lbs. So why don’t they call these trucks 2.87 Tons?
Anyways – For those of us truck campers who were led to believe that a 1 ton dually series truck from any manufacturer would be “enough” to carry the payload of any truck camper made, only to find that the dealerships were lying like a rug, here’s the tire that will lessen your fears of being overloaded.
Our 2015 RAM dually diesel has a GVWR of 14,000 lbs. Who would have thought that our Eagle Cap 1165 would break its payload barrier? Certainly not our dealership and certainly not me, as I was completely new and ignorant of such important details. But, when we Cat-Scaled our loaded rig, we were handed proof that our rig was in fact, 1500 lbs over our GVWR. What to do?
So we looked into upgrading our wheels and tires to the 19.5 inch series at a cost of just over $6K. That plan died a sudden death. We added air bags and TorkLift Stableloads and our rig pretty much behaved itself. In fact we ran it on factory tires all the way up to Alaska and back. A 14,000 mile trip with no issues except for a valve stem that came loose and caused a rapid loss of air but we were lucky in that we were in Fairbanks at the time and easily found a truck shop to make the fix. Several times at fuel stops, however, we were approached by concerned campers, stating that our tires looked like they “needed air.” They didn’t. The sidewalls were just not stiff enough to hold up their load.
Several trips thereafter wore the tires to the point where they surely needed replacement but again, what to do?
We knew that a set of 19.5 wheels and tires would be a great upgrade because of the increased max load per tire which would have put our payload well above our Cat-Scaled weight of 15,500 lbs …. but – hmmmmm — $6K – nah!
So we searched for a commercial grade factory sized replacement and settled on the Bridgestone Duravis M700 HD tire. Installed cost of $1600.00 for 6 tires at my local Discount Tire shop.
We ran these tires through a 30 day tour of the Utah National Park system, traversing over some very rough off roads.
They stood up to the worst conditions we could safely throw at them.
So – yeah – I’m a big fan of these tires and if there are truck campers out there that are facing the same predicament regarding an overloaded 1 Ton, and you just don’t want to spend $6K on an upgrade, nor do you want to upgrade to a 550/5500 series truck, you may want to check out these tires.
We are taking our rig back to Alaska next Spring and these tires should carry us nicely over The Top of World Highway without any issues.
But still, we are overloaded and the key to safe driving is “no sudden moves!” Always drive at least a ¼ mile ahead of yourself. Trucking 101!
Best to you all!
Dan
Hey Mr. Mike. Thanx for the reply. The Max. Load on the Bridgestone Duravis M700 HD is 3,195 lbs. Not sure about the load capacity of the axle on my RAM. It’s been a while since I communicated with the manufacturer but it’s substantially over the published GVRW rate weighting of 14,000 lbs. It’s a CYA thing with RAM and the other big 3 truck manufacturers to understate the weight ratings. Every wonder how Ford, Chevy and RAM can simply increase their weight ratings every year without changing any gear? This is how they do it. It’s all a marketing game.
Hey Dan, I’ve seen lots of 1165’s on 3500’s, but just curious to know what kinda air pressure you are running?
Sorry for the late response Dan but this site and my computer have not been working together properly for over 6 weeks. I am glad to see you have recognized the problem and have taken steps to increase your margin of safety. I would also upgrade your spare so you don’t have a weak link.
Be grateful for that 14K rating, my 2016 GMC only has a 13025 rating. The new GMC’s for 2020 have much better payload numbers as well tow ratings. The same truck as I have in 2020 will carry slightly over a half ton more and if you opt for the non extended cab version you can gain 1800lbs of payload.
I am assuming you now have read all that is posted on this site by now and understand that while your attempts to decrease your risks is commendable they will be a non issue if something happens on the road.
Enjoy your trip to AK, if I were you I would hang a rabbits foot on your rear view mirror arm
Hey Dan, I’ve seen lots of 1165’s on 3500’s, but just curious to know what kinda air pressure you are running?
Sorry for the delayed response. I’m not getting notified when someone replies to my posts. Anyways, I run my PSI at 76 all around – all 6 tires. They’ll heat up to 90 PSI in really hot weather but usually they’ll inflate to about 84-86PSI under normal driving conditions.
Best ….. Dan
Thanks Dan, FWIW, I believe the Duravis are possibly the best tire available…
The weakest part of a tire is the sidewall, and the Duravis (though costlier and about 9# heavier per tire) also have steel belting in their sidewalls, thus their Commercial rating – Great Choice, and thanks for sharing your journey info!I run my PSI at 76 all around – all 6 tires. (65 PSI when the camper is unloaded.) They’ll heat up to 90 PSI in really hot weather but usually they’ll inflate to about 84-86PSI under normal driving conditions.
If you can afford up-sized wheels and tires, ie the 19.5’s – it would be a great upgrade and would surely put you will in the safe zone for just about any triple-slide camper out there. But you’re probably looking at a $6K expenditure when all is said and done. Is it worth it? Lots of opinions about this upgrade out there for sure.
d.
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