very dangerous tire bounce

[calvin1]

Originally Posted By: vance1
I am not looking around the internet trying to find somebody to tell me it is o.k. I am asking would the tires cause this problem. I understand the tires are not the tires specified on the door jamb. I am no tire expert and that is why I am asking if it could be the tire that is causing the problem. Once again I just bought the truck and I did not put these tires on it.


The door jam sticker IS a tire expert and you should do exactly what it says. Get back to us after you have the correct tires on this rig if the problem persists.

Calvin

PS: This forum has a pretty good reputation for being B S free and I want it to stay that way. Hopefully nobody at all chimes in to give you a pat on the back for keeping this truck on the road in it's current condition. Good for you to notice that no one has given you the time of day since you told us the truck had the wrong tires on it. I might be more patient if you weren't trying to find an excuse to endanger everyone with whom you share the roads.

 

[vance1]

I had no idea that I was looking for a pat on the back and people have responded since I stated that the truck had the wrong tires on it. i also stated that I just got the truck and that was the tires that were on it. I did not put the tires on it. When finances permit I will put new tires on the truck. I have barely driven the truck since I got it. When I noticed the problem that is when I posted the question and asked for some advice. I have done a number of things people have suggested and plan on continuing to do more, INCLUDING THE TIRES! I have yet to have anybody say that the tires could be the problem for the tire bounce. They have said that the tires on the vehicle are the wrong size, I AGREE. THEY NEED TO BE CHANGED! I AGREE. When have I asked for an excuse to endanger everybody on the roads? I have asked if it could be the tires that are causing the problem. I am the one that noticed the tire size issue. I am just looking for someone to say yes it could be the size of the tire that is causing the problem. I had no idea that an incorrect tire size could be a safety issue and/or cause this problem. I have not meant to offend anyone. I have asked a question because I did not know. Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

 

[vance1]

I spoke to the owner of one of the major tire and front end shops here in town. He is good friends with a fellow officer I work with. He stated that the tire that I was running was far superior to the tire that was on the truck and has a much larger load rating than the old xl tires that came on the truck. He said that the tires were a common upgrade from the tires that came on the truck. He said that in no way would that be the cause of the problem. I will take the truck to him and let him look at it. He stated it could be a number of things, some that were suggested by others in this thread, including you to begin with.

P.S. I have worked more wrecks in my job than you have probably seen in a lifetime. I would not do anything to endanger anyone. In my job I do just the opposite. The majority of accidents are from driver in-attention, not faulty equipment. If you would like for this forum to remain B.S. free, as I would, I would suggest that you not comment on something you have no idea what you are talking about. I think I will go to the tire section and start a poll and see who runs the tires on the placard and who does not. Please come and put your two cents in. Moderator, please forgive me if I have over steped the bounds of this forum.

 

[calvin1]

Do what you want. You asked for our advice and we gave it. You asked for more advice and we gave it again. You asked for more advice and we even gave you that. The internet is no substitute for an experienced mechanic and I'm glad you have one you trust.

You only need to look at Ford's experience with their OEM tire choices to see that even slightly over worked tires can cause serious issues. The Firestone tires they spec'd for the Explorer were just barely strong enough to do the job and started to fail if not kept fully inflated. Nobody has any way of knowing how much pad the engineers put into what they spec'd for your truck. Combine an overloaded truck with under-inflated, under-rated tires and you WILL have problems. The placard says what you need to do the job right. How can we recommend anything less?

Calvin

 

[vance1]

So do you disagree that the l/t tire is not superior to the xl? It is my understanding that the tires on the truck now are stronger and better than the ones that came on it. The oil cap also says what it recomends should go in the engine and I think a number of people on this site use something not recomended. The majority of people that responded did not mention the tires, only a couple. So do disagree with what the qualified mechanic said?

 

[Cup of Joe]

You replaced the shocks which was most likely your only problem. Have a tire shop do a courtesy check of the suspension and move on. OEM for your truck is either 245/75/16 265/75/16 or 275/75/17 strictly looking at tirerack. I don't see a problem in that case.

Perhaps you should look at the placard again it could be a listing for the spare.

2000 Ram 1500 OEM tires

 

[vance1]

Thanks. A voice of reason. Be careful responding to me though. You might be branded as internet searching, put other people on the roads in danger, B.S. spewing, corruptor of BITOG as well. You are right though, I need to move on. I will post a survey on the tire section and see what happens. Hopefully somebody will dare to cross the mighty Calvin and respond. Whoops, I said I was going to get over it.

 

[calvin1]

Originally Posted By: vance1
So do you disagree that the l/t tire is not superior to the xl? It is my understanding that the tires on the truck now are stronger and better than the ones that came on it. The oil cap also says what it recomends should go in the engine and I think a number of people on this site use something not recomended. The majority of people that responded did not mention the tires, only a couple. So do disagree with what the qualified mechanic said?


Load rating is only part of the tire's specs. If you can't put enough air in the tire because of the Max PSI stamped on the sidewall then you can't give this tire the same footprint. The P tires will also not be as stiff in the sidewall. So nobody, not me or your mechanic, can say definitively whether your P tires are good enough vs. an LT. Changing those parameters will have an effect on ride and handling.

BTW, I do have experience with incorrect tires on a truck. I was VERY disappointed with how my new-to-me Bronco handled. I swapped out several suspension bushings, the ball joints and all four shocks but only saw a little improvement. I replaced the wrong tires later only because they were getting thin and winter was coming. I couldn't believe how much of a difference having proper LT tires made. I no longer have to chase the front end around my lane or worry I won't still be pointed straight once I get across a rr crossing. The truck now rides straight and stable without the wobble or wiggle it had before. Now you may get brand new tires and still have the same problems. I'm not promising you that's the problem but from all the way across the internet that's what I'm recommending. Maybe - and I don't say this with any sarcasm - you could get that tire shop to mount up a used set of LT tires that seem to be in good shape just to see if that is the problem. Then you would know for sure.

This site is a testament to the fact that oil performance is not well understood. On the other hand tires technology is much more static.

Calvin

 

[vance1]

Are you reading what I am writing, are we in the same world? I have said that the tires on the truck now are TOYO OPEN COUNTRY A/T tires which are light truck tires. The owner of the store stated that the l/t tires are superior to the old xl tires which came on the truck. Therefore I would say the tires on the truck are an upgrade. Thanks to TaterandNoodles for pointing it out, if you go to the tirerack.com you will see that the size of the tire that is NOW on the truck is one recomended by tirerack.com! Maybe you should read the whole post and responses before responding. That goes to ELJEFINO as well.

P.S. ARE YOU ADMITTING TO DRIVING WITH AN IMPROPER SIZE TIRE ON YOUR VEHICLE, ENDANGERING EVERYONE ON THE ROAD, AND NOT REPLACING THEM UNTILL THEY WERE WORN OUT? BE CAREFUL, ANYTHING YOU SAY OR DO MAY BE HELD AGAINST YOU!

 

[calvin1]

Originally Posted By: vance1

P.S. ARE YOU ADMITTING TO DRIVING WITH AN IMPROPER SIZE TIRE ON YOUR VEHICLE, ENDANGERING EVERYONE ON THE ROAD, AND NOT REPLACING THEM UNTILL THEY WERE WORN OUT? BE CAREFUL, ANYTHING YOU SAY OR DO MAY BE HELD AGAINST YOU!


Easy there copper, this isn't a take-charge type of situation. You could try, but you won't. Looking through all the posts I can't tell which tire it was that had the 35psi stamp on it. That's the tire I am referring to. However you did say
Originally Posted By: vance1
I am asking would the tires cause this problem. I understand the tires are not the tires specified on the door jamb.
.

Assuming that it's the Open Country A/T that has the 35psi on it, go here: http://marktg.toyotires.com/file/18971.pdf

Toyo's datasheet shows their MAX psi for each of the tires under their Open Country A/T brand which includes BOTH P and LT types. You will see that the P2x4/75 has a max psi of 35. The LT2x5/75 has a max psi of 50-80, depending on load rating. If what you have on the truck has a max psi of 35, then it isn't an LT.

Calvin

 

[The_Jeff]

Here is the pdf from TOYO:

They make open country a/ts in both Passenger, XL, and LT.

You'll note the "P" prefix sizes have max PSI of 35, the XL 41, and the LT of 50-80.

You've got passenger tires on that there truck.

 

[kingrob]

It would appear that the tire shop owner bamboozled you.

 

[Zaedock]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
Do it right or get off the road. You have poor equipment and are looking around the internet for people to tell you it's okay not to spend money on this. It doesn't matter if it's just around the house, you're driving 70 MPH. Most accidents happen div>


Originally Posted By: calvin1
The door jam sticker IS a tire expert and you should do exactly what it says. Get back to us after you have the correct tires on this rig if the problem persists.

Calvin

PS: This forum has a pretty good reputation for being B S free and I want it to stay that way. Hopefully nobody at all chimes in to give you a pat on the back for keeping this truck on the road in it's current condition. Good for you to notice that no one has given you the time of day since you told us the truck had the wrong tires on it. I might be more patient if you weren't trying to find an excuse to endanger everyone with whom you share the roads.


Wow, look at the awesomely helpful posts. This guy wasn't being a jerk. He was asking nicely. Why not just discuss it correctly and help the guy out? So much for B S free.
I'm glad there are so many helpful hands here at BITOG. Sheesh.

Hey Vance, your tires(unless defective) are not causing death wobble or your truck to bounce on the highway. Maybe they're not the right size, but they're round, all the same size, and they hold air.
This style of Ram is very popular for modifying for off road use and there are plenty of people driving around on 35"+ tires with no death wobble or endangering other drivers. It looks like you changed the shocks, next you should check out the front track bar. If the bushings are worn (I believe there is a ball joint at the frame end) this can cause wobble when you hit a bump. Check your control arm bushings too.

Good luck dude.

 

[Zaedock]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
Here is the pdf from TOYO:

They make open country a/ts in both Passenger, XL, and LT.

You'll note the "P" prefix sizes have max PSI of 35, the XL 41, and the LT of 50-80.

You've got passenger tires on that there truck.


So what? My '03 Z71 came from the factory with P265/75R16

His truck is no heavier than a full size car.

 

[Ken2]

Some misinformation being thrown about.

Every 150/1500 series pickup & SUV, so-called half-ton, comes with "P" light truck tires. What?...only LT tires are light truck!...nope. Every Toyo Open Country tires is a light truck tire. Ditto for every Goodyear Wrangler, ditto for every Michelin LTX, etc., etc. "P" on a pickup tire does not mean the same thing as "P" on a car tire. All this assumes that the new tires are the right size and equal or greater load capacity.

Those Toyo tires are a great choice for any 150/1500 pickup or SUV. Of course, a 250/2500 or 350/3500 needs the tires with the "LT" markings to handle the extra weight. Keep in mind that not all "P" pickup & SUV tires are equal. Some of the real cheapos do have soft sidewalls, and some of the top brands, including Toyo, are fine.

Consider inadequate caster as a cause of the instability. If that truck has adjustable caster, at the next alignment have it set at the max allowable within spec, not just anywhere in the spec range. If the caster is not adjustable, see if a worn or bent part could have caused the caster to change. Inadequate caster can make a vehicle wheel wobble just like a bad shopping cart wheel.

 

[vance1]

When I get home I will read the tires see exactly what it says and post it. If these are not lt, xl, or p tires I will let you know. I am big enough to let you know if I am wrong. Unlike a couple of others who refuse to. I beleive the tires also had the load rating on them. I will try to remember to post that as well. I beleive I have found a consensus that most everybody agrees that these tires are not my problem, they are good tires, they are the tires the tirerack.com specs for this truck, and I am not endangering anyone by continuing to use these tires. Calvin and Eljefino suggested, no said, I was endangering others on the road by using these tires. You are both wrong and I think the consensus of this post proves that. Calvin, you also stated that you ran a tire that apparently was not what the placard stated. You told me that I endangered the public by doing this. Even though you have been proven wrong on this, that means you have done exactly what you accused me of doing. That in and of itself speaks volumes. Thanks to everybody that has given their opinions and advice. Thanks to everybody who has risked being branded as I have to respond to this post. I agree with what somebody said, its the internet, everybody THINKS they are an expert.

 

[calvin1]

Hey, you're the one with radical handling issues. What's left to change on the truck anyway?

I got rid of the questionable tires as opposed to having a shop put questionable tires on it. Mine was more bouncy than I wanted with not even a hint of death wobble. Also, my tires were the correct load ratings but a different size. As I'm sure you know it's very common for truck owners to try to go as big as possible on tires, especially on an off-road capable vehicle like the Bronco. If you the placard says >40 but the tire says line.

Calvin

 

[The_Jeff]

If it's not the tires (we're all getting sidetracked myself included

) it's possible you have front end slop at ride height that won't get noticed up on a lift with the suspension drooping down. Stuff like ball joints get wear patterns at the most typical positions. The smaller dodge durangos had issues with upper ball joints at 30k miles!!

This also applies to some bushings that'll get ovalled.

 

[kelpie]

^^^I agree with the ball joints being suspect. Tires won't cause that kind of problem, esp. if the truck is empty. He should be well within the weight capacity of the tires with an empty Ram 1500. The empty tire pressure for this truck is 35 psi anyway, with 41 being with a load on. I agree with the other poster that there seems to be a lot of nasty know-nothings on this site.

 

[kelpie]

Vance, if you take the truck in for a front end alignment, they will do a check before they align and tell you if anything's worn out. Try jacking ONE front wheel off the ground, place a 2X4 board about 4' long or longer under the tire, and pry upward looking at the ball joint to see if it has any slop in it.