Tire rotation on a 2wd RWD Pickup

[Hermann]

I recentely rotated the tires on my PU for the first time at about 18K. I was hesitant to do so because I was not experiencing any problems with balance or strange steering charateristics. The rear tires when moved forward still had 10/32 of the 11/32nds original tread. The fronts were about 8.5/32. What do you do on a similar truck setup.

 

[bullwinkle]

I always cross the fronts when putting on the back (RF-LR & LF-RR) & bring the rears up & keep them on the same side (LR-LF & RR-RF), I'm sure others will chime in here, IMHO the risk of reversing rotation on a modern radial is exaggerated (unless the tires are directional, of course)

 

[Hokiefyd]

I do exactly as bullwinkle described above. I've done my own rotations forever and it's always worked out just fine. I keep the drive wheels on the same side, and cross-rotate the other two. For RWD, that's move the rears up, and cross the fronts back. For FWD, that's move the fronts to the back, and cross the back tires forward.

 

[gizzsdad]

Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
I always cross the fronts when putting on the back (RF-LR & LF-RR) & bring the rears up & keep them on the same side (LR-LF & RR-RF), I'm sure others will chime in here, IMHO the risk of reversing rotation on a modern radial is exaggerated (unless the tires are directional, of course)


Ditto for me!

 

[kkreit01]

Odd -- that your fronts had more wear than rears. My 2wd is the opposite. You must do some hard breaking/cornering, and never spin the rears?

To make things simple, I usually just move Fr Rr (same side). I know this isn't the preferred method, but it's also accepted, and your only option of you have directional tires.

 

[Hermann]

Originally Posted By: kkreit01
Odd -- that your fronts had more wear than rears. My 2wd is the opposite. You must do some hard breaking/cornering, and never spin the rears?

To make things simple, I usually just move Fr Rr (same side). I know this isn't the preferred method, but it's also accepted, and your only option of you have directional tires.


After 18K the rears looked new. I don't think I have ever spun the rears except maybe in the snow. The truck handles real nice once the truck takes a set in the curve. On my daily commmute there are several interesting curves. On FWD cars I have owned I religiously rotated tires, sometimes with good and not so good results. I looked in the owners manual and the preferred pattern on the truck is Frt to Rear not swapping sides.
At 20K the truck tonight got fresh oil and a freebie Fram OCD.

The truck is really breaking in nicely, the steering is spot on, the motor uses no oil, gets real good gas mileage, and performed quite well on a 1500 mile vacation trip carrying my motorcycle and 2 people and luggage. I figure the load was 1200-1300 lbs. Even with this load it averaged 23.5 MPG over 4 tanks of gas. The worst was 22 and the best was 25 MPG. In the future I will probably rotate at about the same frequency, as it will take a while to square off the tires that are on the rear. Sorry to ramble on.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: Hermann
I looked in the owners manual and the preferred pattern on the truck is Frt to Rear not swapping sides.


Every Toyota/Lexus that I know of is the same way. They only recommend rotating on the same side. I'm not sure why. Maybe it just makes it easier as a blanket recommendation, in case the user has unidirectional tires.

If you can, a cross-rotational pattern would probably be best, since the directional wear that you will typically get on the front tires (from the steering geometry) will get "worn the other way" and will keep the tread area of the tire smoother overall. If the tire stays on the same side of the truck, that steering pattern (if you indeed have it) will continue to get set in deeper and deeper, as that tire being on the rear is likely not enough to completely scrub that wear flat before it rotates back to the front.

 

[Sayjac]

Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
I always cross the fronts when putting on the back (RF-LR & LF-RR) & bring the rears up & keep them on the same side (LR-LF & RR-RF)
Yep, I X the fronts on the way back, backs come straight up. Optional, front to back and vice versa on same side. Front drive just the opposite of first choice, except with directional tires which is the same as second choice.