Amazing mileage on your new 19.5's
Cattletrkr said:
I just checked my tires yesterday. I'm within a couple hundred miles of 69K on my virgin Mich XDE M/S 245's and I've got 12/32nd's left on 5 of the 6. Not sure why the 6th is an oddball... That means I've used up exactly 1/2 of the legal tread life in 69K!!!!!!!!!!!! :--) UNBELIEVEABLE since I haul absurdly heavy half the time compared to what most of you will ever think about touching. If you're really worried about tread life go 19. 5". I'm on track to get damn near 4X the tread life for 2X the tire cost. Pays for the rims and tires in the life of the truck and you never have to worry about it.
Wow, that's a great testimony on why any Ram Truck should consider 19. 5's - you said it perfectly.
Your title said "why screw around with retreads" - I don't acutally do that but I know what you mean - OK here's why I 'drive on retreads' - they cost half or less of new. Simple. And they're just as good in many respects - but you'd have to do some research perhaps, to come to that conclusion -why I included the Michelin Medium Duty Retread Link. Here it is again:
http://www.michelintruck.com/michelintruck/productguide/retread/Retread.jsp
New 19. 5's are usually what $ 275-300 per tire - which when combined with the high rim cost, puts it out of reach of many. Getting decent 19. 5's for $ 125 ea first, then $ 90 ea if retread later make it way more affordable !
I am actually MORE satisifed with how these XDC Michelin Retread's drive than with the former NEW Bridgestone M724s - by a large margin, in fact. They're more stable, and perform far better in the wet, and cost less than half.
Now, if you tow and haul for a living, certain costs are a given so 'new tire' prices are factored in, so you just pay them.
But consider that once your 19. 5's are 'worn out', they're not really - just the tread is worn down. The casing on a 19. 5 is designed from the start to be retreaded up to 3 times - so if you just toss 'em - somebody else can benefit by harvesting the the value of the casing by applying new tread - and now the casing can continue to provide the value it was designed to again & again.
I was told at the shop that sold them that many delivery vans, tow trucks and RV's get these units - he said I was the first guy with a Dodge Ram light truck to fit them he'd seen - but he admitted he's put 'em on plenty of Ford F-450's and 550's service body trucks - which are pretty close in design & weight to our heavy Rams.
He didn't blink at putting them in the steer position - one guy said something, and I said, Yeah, I live in the mountains, want mud & snow traction, and I'm 4 wheel drive, so when you put 'em on the front, though they are on a steer axle, they're also on a 'drive axle'.
Anyhow, I didn't write this but in reply to the fellow who wanted badly to be convinced to try 19. 5's but his wife wouldn't cotton to the cost - it might work for him this way !
I did start another thread in the "Products/Accessories Forum" with this same report on my high satisfaction with the Michelin Factory Retread 19. 5's - just so others can hear about an option they might have overlooked.
Good to hear of your experience with towing heavy on 19. 5's !
David B.
Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
:-laf 
Even on 3 corners the truck handled fine. I drive alot so the cost savings is worth it to me. 
Just kidding, of course. Thanks for the comments. That's what I thought too (about buying aluminum). I like good looks but I'm after performance first. I'm already getting 20 mpg on my '03 3500 SRW and hope to get a bit of an increase since the rear end ratio will drop from 3. 73 to around 3. 58 (or so Heather at Rickson says). But we'll see. Some folks say they got an increase, others say they didn't. Perhaps the additional weight will cancel out the increase.
