I see what you're saying, Denny. However, I'm more speaking from experience dealing with customers that insisted on too low rated tires on their trucks. One case in point, we had a customer bring in a '72 C20 pickup, 307 4 speed with 17.5 split rims. He wanted to go with 16" wheels to get rid of the splits, which was no problem. But then he insisted on a 225/60/16 tire, because he thought is was "cool". We warned him about the load capacity, and that he woulnd't be able to use it to haul anyhting as the tires he wanted were just barely enough to handle the weight of the truck empty. About a month later, he shows up demanding a warrantee tire, as the sidewall had blown out. Over the course of the following weeks, we ended up replacing all 4 of the tires we had originally mounted, plus a couple of the replacements, all for the same reason.
My suggestion really has more to do with getting a tire capable of carrying the weight of the truck itself, plus maybe a ight load (passengers, cooler, etc.). Those lower profile tires tend to not be up to the task.
BTW, the 235/70/16 tire I suggested is the base tire for the '99-'05 Silverado C1500. It's a 4 ply rated tire, sufficient for any 1/2 ton.
