Winter tire dillemma and hauling

[BILTIT]

So i am looking to take my truck to the mountains this winter with a sled deck and two sleds on it (7.5hrs each way). I have two options for tires:

1) Duratracs 285/75-16 (33")
3750 lbs.
80psi

2) Dunlop Grantrek Sj6 265-70-16 (31")
2490lbs.
44psi

I have run the duratracs year round and they work fine in the winter but the Grandtreks are a far superior winter tire, just not sure about the load rating being enough.

I am guessing the sled deck weighs in at 400lbs, sleds are 500 each and some gear/160L fuel/spare tire etc in the box.

I do have air bags and will use them if needed. Basically stock w250 with GV OD and aluminum front bumper.

I should add that i am going into B.C. and they are very sticky on GVWR's etc.

What is everyones thoughts?

[cougar]

Driving around Alaska I've had a lot better luck with narrower tires like the stock 235/85R16s. A lot more weight on a smaller contact patch gives better traction.

[PToombs]

I agree with Cougar. I always use skinnier aggressive tires for winter for better traction. On my '97 I run 285/70-17 on H2 wheels in the summer and a set of 235/85-16s on 1st gen wheels in the winter. The tires are the same height so my speedo doesn't change and I get great traction when it's crappy out.

[BILTIT]

I agree with the narrow tire being better, i just dont have any and not really looking to buy any at this time.

I am going to give the winter tires a shot and load up and weigh to see where i end up. I may be lucky and have a few shorter test runs before heading to the mountains. Now i just need to pick up a spare or two of that size.

[dpuckett]

For hauling, I would go with the load range E tires. The others sound like a half ton "standard load" tire that has no business on a 1 ton pickup