HORRIBLE RIDE with 19.5"

[hammersley]

I was looking at going this route for mileage - I mean Tire Mileage - but was told by my tire dealer (Schwaub) that these ride HORRIBLE, as they are 14 ply tires and extremely hard rubber. Is this what you guys are finding out?????

 

[DOWG]

Well Hammersley, my oil opinions aside, I may be able to offer some practical advice in another area!



I have been running my Rickson 19. 5's for over 140,000 miles; not the same rubber because the oil field gravel roads are hard on them. My first set of Bridgestone 19. 5's lasted about 80,000 miles and I did prematurely wear out (cupping) my second set of 19. 5's at 45,000 miles because of bad shocks.



I now have Michelin 19. 5 XZE's. They were mounted with one bag of Equal per tire, no spin balancing (wheel weights) and I have been running Centramatic Wheel balancers on each wheel since the second set of tires. I run 80 psi in the front, and 70 psi in the rear. I mostly run empty and my pontoon boat weighs in at 3500 pounds.



The ride is not horrible, but there is no doubt about it; it rides like a truck. It runs smooth on the highway and bumps will jar you because of the higher tire pressure. I do not mind the truck like ride, the Abbott speedo correction works great, I like the 150 rpm drop at 70 mph (saving a little diesel fuel for you) (hehe) and no flats even after pulling out several 1. 0" roofing nails.



After 190,000 miles (140,000 with 19. 5's) the suspension is in good condition; probably normal for this many miles. The 19. 5's are heavy and I wonder how long the power steering pump will last. The power steering pump is in great shape: Amsoil synthetic ATF instead of power steering fluid.



Hope this helps. If I ever see you at the fuel island, I will buy you all the diesel you can carry; just a little appreciation for your show of support of the oil industry!

 

[DOWG]

19.5's

Here is a picture of my 19. 5's

 

[Jeff Clark]

I agree with DOWG. They are more rough than stock tires, but I don't think it's that bad. I like the look and the handling on a dually with 19. 5's is great.

 

[DOWG]

Hey Jeff, I think I am actually going to go to the monthly meeting this saturday. Is it still at the same place? It has been so long since I've been, probably won't recognize anybody... ... ...

 

[SRadke]

I got the same run around from Schwab. They want to sell me a set of tires every 30k instead of 100k so I went elsewhere with my buisness. I told the guy what I wanted and after the third set of tires he tried to sell me that were the wrong size I just walked out. I think practical, they think bling bling.



-Scott

 

[Jeff Clark]

Originally posted by DOWG

Hey Jeff, I think I am actually going to go to the monthly meeting this saturday. Is it still at the same place? It has been so long since I've been, probably won't recognize anybody... ... ...

Sure is... Check your PM.

 

[Cousin Billy]

horrible---NOT

I've put over 80,000 on a set of Rickson 6. 75 x 19. 5 steel wheels with 265/70 Brigestone 716 tires on a 96 2500. These are 14 ply and the ride is SLIGHTLY rougher than the 33" tires I ran in the past. The sidewall flex when towing or hauling heavy is dramatically less, to the point of never worrying about the tires. Only the suspension bottoming out first before the tires are a concern.

The cornering at speed is greatly improved too.

My truck did follow the road crown a little until I put one of Darin's steering stabilizer kits on. Works great with the big, heavy wheel/tire combination (about 140lbs per).



Point is, I love em!!

Cousin Billy

 

[Loren]

hammersley,



I just put my factory 16" wheels back on my 2000 truck because I want to put my 19. 5" Ricksons up for sale. Otherwise I would have kept the Ricksons on the truck.



I didn't take them off because I don't like them. I want to buy a set of Rickson's new aluminum wheels.



When I installed them, I didn't notice any difference in ride, but I thought that it was because I was pulling a trailer home from Maryland (Rickson HQ). Even after I unhooked the trailer, the truck seemed to ride about the same. Now that I have the factory wheels and tires back on, I still believe that the 19. 5" wheels and tires made no noticable difference in the ride.



The truck seemed a bit more stable in turns. I attribute this to stiffer sidewalls, but I did get the worn track bar replaced shortly after I got the Rickson's, so it may have been the track bar instead.



The main advantage to me for the larger tires is the comfort of knowing that I am thousands of pounds below the load limit for my tires, no matter how I load the truck or what I pull.



The people at Schwab have no experience with 19. 5" tires and don't know what they are talking about.



If you buy them, you'll like them. They're just expensive.



Loren

 

[Task125]

I think my truck ran better on some roads,does follow crown in road,and the only time i think they ride worse is washboard type bumps,16,000 on mine and still look new.

 

[americana]

i've had michelin 8R XZA's and now have goodyear G-124's. m's were strictly narrow highway tires and the g's are pretty good offroad tires. what you give up in a slightly harsher (don't even want to use that word... stiffer?) ride is more than overshadowed by the improvement in handling and tire longetivity.



not that they don't look waaaaaaay cooler... .

 

[JohnMcIntyre]

19.5 - no brainer!

I've been running Yokohama TY303 rubber on my 2001 4x4 1-ton for the past three years and have racked up just over 65k miles. Yes, the ride is definitely firm when running empty, but with my Lance camper on board or hauling lumber, the ride quality is far superior. The wear indicators are telling me that I'm going to have to get around to having them cut soon after 80k miles so I should comfortably see the best part of 140k miles before I buy my next set of rubber.



These tires are used in all sorts of weather and terrain, 12 months a year and get rotated religously every 10k miles. I cannot speak too highly of this set-up. It has met and exceeded all my expectations. The only down-side was the financial hit up-front but that is a distant memory now.....



An added bonus is that my spare Yokohama TY303s on a steel rim will still fit into the spare tire location under the bed, alongside my 60 gallons "Aerotanks" fuel tank. See the embedded links in my sigfile for more details.

 

[Jeremiah]

Roads in the oil patch!

Originally posted by DOWG

I have been running my Rickson 19. 5's for over 140,000 miles; not the same rubber because the oil field gravel roads are hard on them. My first set of Bridgestone 19. 5's lasted about 80,000 miles and

... ... ... ... ... .....



If I ever see you at the fuel island, I will buy you all the diesel you can carry; just a little appreciation for your show of support of the oil industry!

I been on some of them oil patch roads in Texas and S. Louisiana. They be rough, for sure. I roughnecked between years in college. My dad was in the "O" patch all his life. I got two stepsons, one 'em a PE, the other a geologist. Got fond memories of that oil patch.



If your fuel offer extends to others I'll show up at your fuel island next time I'm down your way. Just lemme get my 90-gallon truck bed tank installed first :-laf

 

[fest3er]

Originally posted by hammersley
I was looking at going this route for mileage - I mean Tire Mileage - but was told by my tire dealer (Schwaub) that these ride HORRIBLE, as they are 14 ply tires and extremely hard rubber. Is this what you guys are finding out?????

Simply put: no. First, they are 12- to 14-ply *rated*; you'll find most of them are one steel sidewall ply and 4 steel tread plies. Second, they'll ride hard if you have 80-90 PSI in them. But if you have that much pressure in them, you'd better have 4000-5000 lbs of load in your truck. Otherwise, you may only have about 3-4 inches of tread contacting the road (though I suppose this is dependent on the wheel width; mine are 6". )

I've just (nearly) worn out my first set of Yokohama TY303s at 105K miles. For my 6300# 2500, I've run the fronts at around 62 PSI and the rears at around 50 PSI; this give the best reasonable tread contact and operation *with my truck and tires* (without getting too low on pressure). The ride is a little different with the 19. 5s, but it's really no better or worse than the OEM Goodrears.

The TY303s have actually seemed softer than the OEM Goodrears these 105K miles. While the OEM tires would transmit *every* little crack in the road, the TY303s glide over most of them like they aren't there. I've driven the truck like the sportscar it is, because these tires corner that well.

The *only* problem I've had with mine is that these things are hard to make smooth and round. But then, I do have a very early set of Rickson's 6" wheels (I bought them in '99), which might have something to do with it. Also, I bought my tires through my neighbor for his employee discount, so Rickson were limited in what they could do to match tires and wheels.

Lest you think I've forgotten what the OEM tires are like, I did put them on for a week a year or so ago. The truck was *all* over the road; it felt like an old, wore-out Caddy: indeterminate control, slushy, noisy. I was *real* happy to get the 19. 5's back on.

As I said, I'm about to wear out this first set. I finally got a flat the other day; I have *rarely* ever steered away from road hazards. If I can work the schedule, I will most likely have a new set of 19. 5" tires on the truck for the next Maple Grove race. I'm looking at the new Bridgestone 225/70 724F, that has all-season tread (instead of the lugs inside and solid ribs outside).

So yes, I *am* going to buy another set of 19. 5s. I cannot imagine ever again driving my truck with mushy-sidewalled tires, though I *might* make an exception for the dragstrip, where cornering is not an issue.

Neal

 

[RADdodge]

The short answer is the person at Schwaub that you talked to is full of of it. It being BS. I doubt if the that person ever rode in a truck with 19. 5's. Turned my truck into something that handles more like a sports car.

 

[Green Machine]

So what does a typ set of wheels and tires cost?

WIll it pan out in the end?

Im tired of buying a set of tires every year with only 35-40k on them.

 

[fest3er]

Originally posted by Green Machine
So what does a typ set of wheels and tires cost?
WIll it pan out in the end?
Im tired of buying a set of tires every year with only 35-40k on them.

If you have Rickson do everything, plan on 200-250 per tire, and 250-450 per wheel. If they do everything, they'll select tires that best match the wheels, to give you the smoothest, roundest tire/wheel combos possible.

So, it could be as little as $1800 for a set of four or mayhap as much as $4900 for a set of 7. Bear in mind, these are ballpark numbers before taxes and shipping.

Will it pan out? If you keep your truck long enough to wear out one or two sets of tires, and you rotate the tires every 10K-15K miles, and you find the optimal tire pressure for best tread contact empty and laden and you drive over ... 20K miles a year, it will definitely pan out.

N