19.5's

[JimKing]

Those of you that have switched to 19. 5's on your SRW. Like em'? do they ride OK. How about mileage ?? Found a set of 305 Michelins on Alcoa wheels for sale. Not real cheap, $1600. look new, seller says they have less than 1000 miles. He really didn't say why he is selling them.

 

[PatrickCampbell]

JimKing...



19. 5's are heavy but they ride great. The safety factor is amazing. I got 70K out of my tires but I didn't take care of them very well (kept them inflated too high when I was empty... lazy bones here)



I am over here in Mesa and I would love to sell you my Rickson 19. 5's... I have 5 wheels, 1 brand new tire mounted/balanced (spare) and 3 bald tires that can be used for retreads. All 245/70/19. 5 SP351 load range H.



Here are the Ricksons on my truck:

http://xj.cdevco.net/photos/rickson/



If you get these, you could get 2 virgin tires, put them on as steers, 2 retreads as drive tires and put the spare back in the spare location for UNDER $700+tax+my wheels... or get 4 virgin tires if you don't trust retreads.



See retread.org for retread info (I have been converted to a believer in retreads from the person who runs this website... very nice guy named Harvey Broadsky (sp?) and stands behind the retread industry, will also give you a FREE $20 high pressure truck gauge if you merely give them a call and ask for it).



Last time I checked, 305 was not a 19. 5" Tire... . what are those Alcoa's?

 

[SRadke]

305/70/19. 5? That's almost a 37" tire. You planning to lift?



-Scott

 

[JimKing]

Well I went back last night to look and measure, but the seller has a deposit so I wont be buying this set.



I did look them over. . The tires are Michelin XZA's plainly says 305/70X19. 5 load range H on the side wall. Owner says he bought his truck used in 2002, wheels were on it, Alcoa aluminum 7. 50X19. 5 no model number. . But they have 8 round holes.



Guy showed me the receipt for the tires, bought in April 2003 from Camping World, cost 467. 90 Each.



Now he says he sold them because they rub in the rear when hauling his 5er.



Oh Well... . I may still look for a set of 245-265's on polished aluminum.

 

[Buffalo]

You might want to check into the 19. 5's a little more. I've heard and talked to a number of people who have had them and didn't like them. I don't know if it was balance problems or they screwed up the geometry of the vehicle. If i'm not mistaken, Fred Swanson, from Wadell, AZ. had them on his truck and took them off. Fred posts here quite often. Also, the owner of the "Buffalo Chip Saloon", in Cave Creek, AZ. had them on his truck and as I recall, didn't care for them. I'm not trying to "bust your bubble" but, they may not be all theyr'e cracked up to be. Hope this helps. Joe.

 

[jelag]

I'd like to find steel wheels like I have on an F-550... . we have 19. 5's on that truck and get 100K miles on the tires. . I don't care for looks just function... If someone see's steel wheels for a 04 and a 05 3500 dually I'm interested... but I don't want the alloy wheels... the cost is too high...



BTW we buy Michlin RVX tires from Costco... for the 19. 5" for about 190 each... the goodyears for my 17" were 240 each..... so in the long run, the tires go longer and are safer and less expensive... ...



Jim

 

[Loren]

Jim,



I've had Rickson 19. 5's on my 2000 truck for several years and like them. Some comments:



I had hoped to get better fuel mileage and higher gearing from them. The gearing increased by only 4%. There was no noticeable change to fuel mileage. I installed a Superlift speedometer correction box that I bought from Rickson when I got the tires. It was expensive, but there are almost no other options.



I expected a rougher ride because of the additional unsprung weight. I haven't noticed any significant difference in the ride. My factory wheels were the 16" aluminum wheels.



The Rickson's were made for the earlier 2nd generation trucks. They fit my 1995. They have slightly less offset than the newer 2nd generation truck wheels should have. Therefore, on my 2000 truck they stick out farther than they should. This isn't as significant as I thought it might be, since the factory wheels had wider tires than the Rickson's. I had 245/70R19. 5 tires installed on the Ricksons. These are about as big as I can go without rubbing on something. They stick out about 1" farther than the factory tires did.



The Toyo tires didn't wear well. I intend to get a set of Michelins soon. I got about 60,000 miles out of the Toyos, but expected much more considering the design load for these tires. They aren't completely worn out yet, but will be soon. Although they are re-groovable, the cost of having them re-grooved makes this impractical.



My steel Rickson's have the big, stainless steel wheel covers. These are not easy to put on nor to take off. It's a pain to rotate the tires, so it doesn't get done often. (See above about tire wear. ) They do look great however.



I intend to sell these steel wheels and Toyo tires soon and replace them with Rickson's alloy wheels. His alloy wheels also have insufficient offset for the newer 2nd generation trucks, but I'll have the same setup I have now. The alloy wheels will eliminate the nuisance of the wheel covers. I need tires anyway, and if I can get close to $1000 for four wheels and four worn (but not worn out) tires, the new aluminum ones won't be that hard to buy.



All in all, I like my 19. 5's.



Loren

 

[PatrickCampbell]

I had Ricksons on my truck until recently. I wouldn't have expected better fuel mileage out of a 100# wheel vs a 50# wheel. Thats a hell of a lot of rotating mass. I got 70K out of my tires and they saw lots of towing and offroad use and was horrible with rotating and proper inflation (ran over inflated too often). Yeah they are heavy as hell and it makes rotating a PITA.



I recently swapped them off for SLT alloys for better mileage (3. 73 auto trying to get RPMs back up and ease of install/uninstall).



Ironically, my truck was stolen yesterday... I've been trying to sell my Ricksons for a couple of months NOBODY would buy 5 Ricksons with 1 brand new tire and 3 retreadable's for $700?!?!?! That's HALF off Rickson's price. Well good, because now I want them again. If my truck is not found, I will get a 6spd and put the Ricksons back on.



I will be getting retreads to put in the rear and virgins to put in the front and see how that works for me. Retreads cost $83 vs $200... Pretty good savings I think. And when you put actual TRACTION tires in the rear, instead of steers, I expect to get better mileage out of them. The rears is really what wore fast.

 

[jelag]

On the 550 we own we use the Michelin tire I mentioned above on the front steer axle... ... We deal with UPS and they use a retread on the rear of the UPS delivery trucks that is outstanding... .



We always see over 100K on them and the tread is a mix between highway and off road so they function well in snow... . and because of the numbers of 19. 5 that they use, the retreader and tire store they use always has them in stock at a great price...



Just thought I might add this... . piece...



Jim