19.5's vs dually safety and other factors

[EricBu12]

That unit is solid to the truck so you can back it up... . it is not like a dolly on a commercial truck..... look at the video... .





High speed connection link... ... http://hitch-buddy.com/Files/menvuroability-MPEG_high.mpg



Low speed connection link..... http://hitch-buddy.com/Files/menvuroability-MPEG_low.mpg

 

[PatrickCampbell]

I am guessing these guys don't sell too many of these.

 

[Peter Campbell]

I agree must be the $$ and the narrow market. The place between reasonable tag alongs and fifth wheels when someone has to have a cap for his truck. Or HAS to tow a fiver with the excursion/chevy subdivision/H2 type heavy SUV and not a pickup.

 

[HBarlow]

jwduke:



I was on the road for a few days and didn't see your post about the Iowa state patrol. I'd have to agree with you.



I was west bound on I-80 one bright sunny morning pulling a modest-sized fifth wheel bound for the west coast. I was well under gross vehicle weight limits, under the speed limit, in the outside lane, little or no traffic, had my magnetic company signs on my truck, my transporter license plate on the trailer, equipment in good shape, listening to a conservative talk show host on XM satellite radio, minding my own business and bothering nobody. I saw an eastbound IA trooper across the median look at me but didn't think much about it, I was legal (I thought). A couple minutes later I looked at my mirrors and saw him coming fast with his lights flashing like he was chasing a fleeing murderer. I pulled over on an exit ramp and stopped. He asked me if my windows were tinted and I replied in the affirmative. I told him they were legal in my home state and pointed out the installers certification on the glass. He scoffed at my explanation and pulled out a fancy light emitting/sensing device. He held the device against both sides of the driver's door window to read the amount of light passing through the tint and told me it was illegal. I was not aware that federal DOT regulations make any aftermarket window tint illegal. Iowa troopers, and possibly that particular trooper, are the only people on the planet who care. I've crossed dozens of scales, encountered hundreds of enforcement officers, and nobody ever noticed or commented about tinted windows. I've passed two DOT vehicle inspections with tinted windows including another one two days ago.



The Iowa trooper seemed real proud of himself and seemed to think he was doing the citizens of Iowa a big service by taking a dangerous felon off the road for the unspeakable crime of tinted windows.



During our pleasant encounter he bragged to me about stopping and busting other transporters who try to look like private non-commercial drivers by leaving their ICC/DOT signs off and skating past the scales. He bragged about chasing them down.



I got the impression the trooper derives great satisfaction from harassing commercial drivers for minor infractions. In his mind he's probably doing work equivalent to FBI agents finding and arresting terrorists plotting to bomb big American cities.



Oh well, it takes all kinds.



Harvey

 

[PatrickCampbell]

Ouch. What do they bang you over the head for tinted windows?

 

[HBarlow]

$63 for tinted windows and the trooper directed me to remove the tint. I sent in my check for the fine but have not removed the tint film. The next trip I made west I traveled I-90 to avoid IA. In the future I'll either chose a route that avoids IA or try to go across at night to avoid the overenthusiastic trooper(s).



Harvey

 

[CUMMINZ]

Over friendly troopers

I think you guys in these states that seem to be a little over the edge need to do a little research. Remember the troopers are not judges, they are the enforcers of the law. I don't think you have to put up with any attitude of bragging. Find a trooper with an attitude inform him you don't have to listen to his bull. Write the ticket and in the right manner complain to the proper Director of motor vehicles in that state and also the congressman in that state. It will take a while but if enough of you guys complain the officers in the field might start getting their hands slapped. Different states have aggreements with other states. But what do I know?

 

[MMeier]

So Harvey, that was just considered an equipment violation, correct? Sort of like when I got busted with a bird dog in my truck in NM a year ago. $175 for that one !! :{ Damn thing was given to me many years ago by a buddy.

 

[DTroy]

Pat,



If you're coming to the PA Meet -n- Greet you can drive a couple of trucks and get a feel for what it's like.



Mine is an extended cab with 4x4. My father's is a regular cab with 2 wd.



Mine is heavier, a lot higher, turns slower, and wanders more. Big difference between the two.

 

[HBarlow]

MMeier:



I don't know much about DOT tickets for commercial violations but I hope you are correct. The window tint citation is probably not treated as seriously as a speeding violation or exceeding driver hours of service rules.



Harvey

 

[DBazley]

Patrick, I don't haul commercially, but I do tow a '38 bumper pull, double slide RV with about 4,500 # load in the bed, and here's my set up that works well: 2500 4by4 SRW, with Firestone Air lift airbags, Rancho 9000X adjustable shocks & Steel Rickson 19. 5's running Michelin XDC Load Range 'G' 14 ply (Mud & Snow Retreads).



This set up is super stable in all road conditions. The only time it wasn't was when I was still experimenting with shock settings & air pressure and I had the pressure way too low. These tires need at least 90 # front & 95 # rear.



I don't doubt that a similarly equipped dually with 16's would also tow very capably, but I seriously doubt that my rig as equipped, has any less capability than that would.



Plus, factor in the cost of burning up those puny 16's frequently ! I do agree with the fellow who said, "Hey why not go dual 19. 5's !" Now that would be something... ...

 

[Ol'TrailDog]

"Hey why not go dual 19. 5's !" Now that would be something... ...

Yep, Installed a set last weekend.



Not near as rough as I thought they would be. They tend to follow the road ruts a little more with the fronts. Fronts are balanced very nice, i. e. no shimy. Overall impression thus far = nice.

 

[PatrickCampbell]

Which wheels did you go with? I have read/heard/seen that you can get some step van 19. 5's for cheap. This might be the way to go but it is going to add some serious weight to the truck!

 

[PatrickCampbell]

I found out that in my town I can't park a "commercial vehicle" on the street at night I see plumbers vans do it all the time, but an econoline van is not 101" wide. I might be able to get away with it, but I might not. If I tried it and then got harassed, I would have no where to park the dually (I can't fit a dually in my driveway... can barely fit the single rear wheel).



I don't really love the Vision Type 81 wheels. The offset is a little wacky and is going to cause the wheels to stick out almost an entire inch more (or is it almost 2" more??). They are also too wide to run 225's... I really have no need or desire to run 245's. This leaves the Rickson steelies at $2500 for a set OUCH.



EDIT: I went for a set of 5 black steel Ricksons. My CC is hurting right now. At least it will be a tax write off. I got Goodyear G647 RSS 225/70R 19. 5 LRG rated to roughly 4000# each @ 110 PSI. While this is not a TON more than 3415# per tire Load range E but this is a whole different ballgame than a LT tire. Overall cost was a few hundred more than my last set of Rickson's. The price of mount/balance is up from 37 to 55 per wheel. I got tires that were $50 more each and finally the wheels are $30 more each or so with a steel surchage. The tires were made by request for FedEx's trucks. I think they will do well. We geta lot of crappy rain here and the last tires I had definitely scared me a few times.



I am having USAFLAP make me some custom mud flaps so hopefully it doesn't look too dopey. "Single rear wheel tractor".

 

[HBarlow]

Patrick:



I did a little looking at 19. 5" wheels and tires on the web recently and learned a couple of things that surprised me and that might be of interest to others. I noticed that some if not all of the 19. 5" x 6" wheels have a maximum load rating of approximately 2500 pounds with a maximum inflation pressure of, I think, 90 psi. Even with a set of LRG tires installed with maximum load capacity of 3500 to 4000 pounds and maximum inflation pressures of up to 110 psi the tires, whatever their maximum rating, are still limited to 2500 pounds because of the wheels. That rating is less than the rating of the OEM factory Dodge 16" wheels. Where's the gain? What am I missing here?



Another thing I discovered while having my Michelins rotated and balanced recently, my local SAM's Club has a sign displayed informing members that special order truck tires in various 19. 5" or 22. 5" sizes can be special ordered. The prices are very attractive compared to some of the prices I've seen reported from Rickson and other retailers. SAM's Club only charges $9/wheel for single rear wheel trucks and $11/wheel for dually trucks for mounting, balancing, road hazard warranty, and lifetime rotate and balance.



Harvey

 

[DBazley]

Hello gents:

It's good to hear it's all working out.



I just drove 200 miles today on my new tires, Michelin XDC 245/70R19. 5 Load Range 'G' -Retreads ($ 120 each !) - I wouldn't have the truck without 'em. They still need to be more finely balanced, just a bit. Darn good for re-treads - I needed a more aggressive tread than my former Bridgestone M724, which were very slippery in the wet, horrible in snow.



HBarlow, I think my steel rickson rims say either "3500" lbs limit or "4500" - can't see it cause the simulator covers are on, too much hassle to remove. But I know its way over 2500 lbs, which if that were the case, what would be the point of having 19. 5's ?



I think, though, that the rim capacity was a bit below that of the tire, which struck me as odd, excepting of course that I'll never load my truck that heavy in any case.



I think the Sam' Club idea is sound. I heard some RV guys on a 'woodalls' forum talk of getting Hankook Super Traction DH01's for around $ 200 - I bet that's where they got them at that price, most likely.



If I had gone with new tires, those Hankook DH01's would be the ones - they appear to be the best combo of all weather, long wearing super tough 19. 5's at a lower end price.



Drive safely gentlemen - Merry Christmas to all !

 

[Ol'TrailDog]

The Ricksons I picked up off the classifieds had the Hankook DH01 on the dually drivers and the AH06s on the fronts. Albeit, I was somewhat skeptical of the hwy design on the fronts (being a 4x4 knobby nerd. ) I have been impressed on how well they have performed here in snow country, thus far. Plus, there isn't even a whisper of a shimmy on the front at any speed.



Will know more later as winter progresses, it actually was raining and melting the last couple of days - yeesh.

 

[PatrickCampbell]

A lot of the step van wheels are indeed only rated to 2500 lbs. I don't get it either. The Rickson steelies are now rated to 5K pounds per wheel. These particular tires are 4K per tire. You can find up to 4940# per tire. I checked a local tire chain and the prices were the same, around $250 per tire. I considered a few things. . including tax and shipping. The last tires I got (Can't remember what they were at the moment) were only $200 each. I was paying $150 shipping regardless of whether or not tires were attached so I went with it. If I got them locally I'd have had to pay tax. Convenience. I had no bed any longer, so no way to get 5 huge wheels to a tire place. Rickson gave me a little discount because this is my 2nd purchase. $9 seems too low for a mount/balance on a 19. 5", but $55 though is a bit(way) high though. When I run through these wheels I will probably throw retreads on the rears. If a $100 tire lasts you 30K miles and $250 lasts you 75K miles you breaking even and still have the convenience of not dealing with more frequent tire purchases and rotations.



Just checked my old e-mails and I sold my old Ricksons for only $700 :{ That was with 3 retreadable tires, 1 brand new tire, 1 garbage tire. WOW, what was I on. Also the tires were Dunlop SP351 Load range H.



Anywho, I should have a 1000 lb. safety margin.

 

[HBarlow]

I went back and looked at the Rickson website again and cleared up my own confusion.



The narrowest wheels Rickson offers for duallys using 225/70 19. 5 tires are 6" width and that wheel is only rated at 2540#. (The buyer can step up to a wider 6. 75" rim and use larger tires. )



For 2500 series Rams Rickson does not offer the 6" wide 2540# wheels. Rickson offers only 6. 75" width wheels which are rated at 5000# as you said. Apparently you can only mount 225" tires on the 6" wheels for dually applications, nothing wider, but for 3/4 ton applications you can mount a 225, 245, or wider tire on the 6. 75" wheels.



In my opinion standard steel Rickson wheels or GM step van dually wheels wouldn't be very useful on a dually hauling heavy due to the 2540# weight capacity. Factory steel 16" wheels have a greater capacity regardless of the maximum rating of the tires.



Harvey

 

[EricBu12]

I went with the 19. 5 X 6. 75" Forged Aluminum Rim which is lighter for trailer capacity and it looks wonderfull



Here is a link to all the pics I have in the RR



https://www.turbodieselregister.com/user_gallery/displayalbum.php?&userid=3978&albumid=17495



Heres the Eliminator Aluminum Rim that is polishes and almost looks Like a Dodge rim. .



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The tires are Michelin 245/ 70R 19. 5 "F" rated 12 ply. These do well for my trailer



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