Feedback on 19.5 Tires

[Marty1]

If I were considering them again, I'd probably look closer at the Rickson's. The Alcoa's I had were 7. 5 inch wide wheels, which the 265's fit nice on. They stuck out a few inches past the fenders, whereas the Rickson's stay under the fender.

My take exactly. I had the 7. 5 Alcoas on my 93 & that, & the fact I needed adapters were my only complaints. I run balancing powder in my tires & they run smooth as a baby's bum. The Michelin's on my 93 were much more agressive, noisy & bumpy but I had experimented extensively with different pressures & although after nearly 50K there was very little wear... the front tires were cuped pretty good & made for a bit of a bumpy ride due to experimenting with low pressures.



The 2005 I have gone to a little less agressive tread with a closed sidewall & I run 70lbs in the front, 50lbs in the rear. The First Gen this would send you to the hospital but the 05 she's like driving a Cadillac!



I run 245/70 19. 5's & I run them on the same rim as the narrowest rim that Rickson sells(6"). They don't recommend over a 225/70 19. 5 but I mounted the 225's & they were just too narrow for me. The 245's still have 1 1/4" between the rear tires loaded, they look good, feel good & no wear complaints yet.



My advice... . don't do this to save money unless you intend to drive your truck over a million miles! :-laf

This is a fairly costly operation... you'll spent over $2000 to get set-up & running & that will take quite a few years to recover.

If you have a DRW truck, don't like the lousy tires Dodge installed & want something considerably heavier duty for towing purposes or better handling with a big camper... this is a great modification you can do without voiding your warranty.



My 93 had both Kelderman Air suspension as well as the 19. 5" tires... . the tires made the biggest improvement for handling & Fred Swanson is right... these trucks go through corners like they are on rails with the 19. 5's because the tire is so much more firm.

You really just need to go for a ride in a truck that has them.

I'm in Vancouver, BC & if anyone is in the area you're welcome to go for a spin in her but bring your wallet because you'll be stopping on the way home to get the 17's off! :-laf :-laf

 

[TSturges]

Can a 2wd be made to fit 19. 5's?

 

[InThinAir]

I am going to get about 15-20K out of the stock Goodyears on my 03. I will be upgrading to 19. 5s when they wear out, in about 6 months.



I have talked to the guys at Rickson, they are very knowledgable in their rims and how to set them up right. The biggest benefit, in my opinion, that they bring to the table is that they match the tires. Meaning that they won't sell you an out of round tire, they reject something like 30-40% of the tires they are sent. When I spoke to my local tire shop, they said they would be glad to sell me a set of 19. 5s, but they don't bother to even balance them, because they said they can't get them balanced so why try. I think that is why if you talk to the tire shops they don't recommend them, because I would guess they get alot of complaints when they sell them.



But I don't think that 6" rims on the rickson site for duallies give you any more load capability, the rims are Accuride Rims, and the weight rating is 2540 lbs. Quite a bit under even a load range D tire. But with duals they still give a more than adequate load capability and the longevity would be much better than what is out there in a 235/80/17 today.



I did get a quote for 19. 5x6 steels with SS simulators with Michelin XDE 225s shipped to my door, Matched and balanced. a shade over $3500. Not a bad deal considering that Cooper Discoverers in the stock size would be about $1500 Mounted and balances and would last 1/3 as long.



---Doug

 

[Cattletrkr]

Can a 2wd be made to fit 19. 5's?

Don't know why not. The 225's aren't that much bigger than factory tires, an inch maybe.

 

[XJSuperman]

Can a 2wd be made to fit 19. 5's?

They sure can. I'm looking at getting 225/70/19. 5's eventually(unless they start making commercial rated 17's any time soon). Most of them run between 32 and 33" tall... which will fit a 2wd fine (the stock 265/70/17's are 31. 4" tall). I think even some of the 245's would fit a 2wd... some of them only run a tad over 33" tall.

 

[Jeff Clark]

Can a 2wd be made to fit 19. 5's?

There is a 2wd dually running around here with 245/70-19. 5's on APP wheels. Looks like they fit fine.