I am planning to change my 285 70R17s (Off Road SE OEM tires) to the same size in LTs. My question is do I need to change rims? I can't find any specs as to what the OEM rims can handle in terms of tire pressure. LTs such as Silent Armor require higher PSI. Those of you who made this switch, did you keep OEM rims? Any issues with the axles or other suspension components...I have seen some people recommend staying with P rated because that was what the vehicle was geared for. I am doing this because towing is supposed to be greatly improved with LT tires.

the rims will handle any tire pressure you would want to run. but keep in mind that just because you are going with an LT tire doesnt mean you have to run a crazy amount of air. i have 325/60-18s in an 8-ply and i run 30psi. in those 285s i wouldnt run any more than 35psi with no load, maybe 45 in the rears once you hook the trailer up. really, the trailer isnt putting that much weight on the truck, just the tounge weight. so you shouldnt have to go nuts with the air in the tires. and the more air you run, the less contact patch you have, the less your tires will grip the road.

I thought underinflating was a key way to build up heat towards tire failure? I won't have the tire loading sticker for these tires so how do I determine a "safe" pressure? Is the 65 PSI for the Silent Armor at tire rack .com a max pressure or recommended?

I recently put on the Silent Armors at the LE's spec size P265/70R18 so hope I can help. Just checked sidewall: max = 44 psi. Of course you are looking at LTs so I suppose 65 max is possible. Max pressure is the absolute max the tire can take, with an engineering safety factor built in. I don't think you should ever take it that high. As Matt wrote above, trailer is only putting tongue weight on truck. For example, let's use the Madas max of 9100 with tow package (yours is SE so may be less if no tow, but let's go max). Tongue weight approx 10% give or take depending on setup = 910 lbs. That's only 460 per tire. Therefore, I think should just make sure you are at 35 psi per the door post, maybe a tad higher if it feels better. Heck we would blow way over that 910 lb tongue weight with 8 adults in the Mada, and don't think anyone would boost pressure before being chauffeur.

BTW, are you sure you need the LT ratings? Back to my sidewalls - P ratings give max load 2601 lbs. Four tires = 5.2 tons. GVWR is 7100 lbs - so you can't load her up to the max load for those tires. Last LTs I had were on a F250 with a beefed up 1 ton rear axle to pull a gooseneck trailer. Just my 2cents.

that 65 is max. that would be an 8-ply tire. no need at all to run that much. remember, the armadas towing capacity was given assuming the vehicle would have 4-ply tires inflated to the recommended pressure, which is around 35. so really as long as you stay at 35 or higher, you'll be just fine. there is no reason at all to run to much air; as i said before, it makes the tire not handle as well and ride like crap. yes, with to little air you will build up heat faster and risk a blowout. but as long as you run 35 or higher, you'll be just fune.

Weight-wise, my stock Off Road SE tires are fine for the weight. I have read a lot of comments how P rated tires are not great for towing due to softer sidewalls.

Weight-wise, my stock Off Road SE tires are fine for the weight. I have read a lot of comments how P rated tires are not great for towing due to softer sidewalls.

that is exactly right. the 4-ply tires do tend to squirm around a bit when fully loaded (i've towed a toy box with 3 streetbikes in it on my factory tires, they did ok, not great). so for that reason going with a higher load rating would be great. a 6 or 8 ply is going to give you more control for sure. but that will be negated if you run way to much air. you want your tires to be somewhat soft, to be able to absorb some of the bumps and side-to-side motion of the vehicle. like i said before, upgrading to an 8-ply is fine. i would just keep the air around 40psi while towing, 30-35 while unloaded.