upgrading tow vehicle tires ...

[yam240sx]

My short Trip tow vehicle / work truck ( nissan pathfinder ) truck chassis has michilen ltx tires standard load , my long tow vehicle nissan armada has good year also standard load ... both have very good quality springs in rear not sure if they are heavy duty but my issue is with my pathfinder and starting also with my armada is they are starting to severely wear out down the center of the tires to point of balding !! where fronts look great ... im thinking of upgrading to a stronger load rear set of tires but im told in non tow mode it will kill the ride quality of both ... i just changed both sets 15 months ago ago !!!

thoughts ?

 

[Troch1]

My short Trip tow vehicle / work truck ( nissan pathfinder ) truck chassis has michilen ltx tires standard load , my long tow vehicle nissan armada has good year also standard load ... both have very good quality springs in rear not sure if they are heavy duty but my issue is with my pathfinder and starting also with my armada is they are starting to severely wear out down the center of the tires to point of balding !! where fronts look great ... im thinking of upgrading to a stronger load rear set of tires but im told in non tow mode it will kill the ride quality of both ... i just changed both sets 15 months ago ago !!!

thoughts ?

Are the tires the appropriate load range per manufacturer spec?
Do you rotate your tires?
Have you determined your trailer tongue weight?
Have your vehicles had alignment checks?

The tire wear you are experiencing is not normal, IMHO. But, there are lots of potential factors that need to be considered.

 

[2kwik4u]

Had a Ford Ranger years ago that would wear the centers in the rear. I had too wide of a tire on there with too much pressure. Tire was turning into an "oval" at highway speeds. Only solution was to rotate them a bit more often, and run a lower pressure.

What pressure are you running? Are they stock size?

I like to run my select my tires based on axle weight rating found on the door jamb. Take that rating and divide by two, and that's what each tire needs to handle. "de-Rate" the tires by 15% if you're spec'ing a P (passenger) tire instead of an LT (light truck) Tire.

 

[Rumbo]

Tire wear in the center of the tire is typically from over pressure. Did you add air for towing without letting air out while you’re not towing? Rotating them is also critical to maintaining even wear.

 

[AZMark]

I used to run E rated tires and switched to the lighter duty C with my last set. Big difference in ride quality with the Cs and no difference in wear.
Michelin LTX are good tires and a boat trailer doesn’t add that much extra weight to a pickup so you shouldn’t be pushing the limits of those tires. As others have said your inflation is way too high or your tire size isn't right for your wheels.

Edit: I’m actually running P rated, not C range. Still no issues at all and capacity is still over axle and vehicle rating.