rickson 19.5 wheels, please help!!!!

[Kurt Henzler]

i have a 06 mega cab with 2" spacers and 2" blocks in rear with firestone air bags. the tires i took off were 285's. i have run toyos load range E and have not gotten more than 18,000 towing miles so decided to try the 19. 5's and hancock tires. i now have 5,000 miles on them (vison wheels) and they are all over the place. the are so wishy washy while towing that i do not feel safe. if you wiggle the steering wheel the truck makes two or three more sways before it settles down. what is going on? rickson says they have never had this problem the truck should drive like it is on rails. that is not the case.



anybody have this problem

 

[Bartlett]

Kurt what model Hankook tires are they? I am not real familiar with their tread patterns. If I run any "blocky" type on any of the fleet vehicles I get the same thing you are describing. Very noticable with aggresive type recaps (I know that this is not the case with yours) Also when I put studded snows on e350's until they wear a little back end is wishy washy. You get this in just rear or front too? Keep in mind that it can be like dog wagging its tail type thing when steering back and forth. I have G/Y G124's on srw 4x4 (Ricksons) and when new was a little bit apparent but with 15k no problems even when towing 12k 5th.

 

[Kurt Henzler]

i have the dh01 in 265's. i am really disappointed with this setup. all that money and i have an unsafe ride. i do not even think the tires are wearing any better. i rotated after 5,000 and they are at least 20% gone. i tow a 8,000 trailer every day with about 1,500 -2,000 tonque weight.

 

[wcjp]

I'm running 19. 5" Visions with Toyo's. They're awesome. When I was researching for mine, I read some tires had to wear off a type of glaze (?). Are blocks/spacers necessary?

 

[MMeier]

Kurt, how much air are you running in them?

 

[Kurt Henzler]

i never touched them from shipping. i think they said 75 psi is how they come. i will check them today.

 

[Kry226]

Have you looked to see if your truck has a problem? How's your shocks? Ball Joints? Tie rods? There's a whole host of things that can make your truck ride unstable and give you terrible tire wear.

 

[jelag]

I own several trucks with 19. 5" wheels running Bridgestone tires... the rib tread...

We've found that on a road that has a lot of studded tire wear, that the tires tend to climb and fall into the path worn by the studs... the width of the track on the front and rear are different as we have all duallys... this difference in tracking causes the truck to try and wonder around up and down these troughs worn in the highway... .

I've asked my Bridgestone rep about this and he tells me that these tires have a hard sidewall and are very firm... he thinks at least twice a firm as the stock 17" tires... couple this with high mileage rib thread they tend to wonder around... . On any other surface they are rock solid, and very smooth... .

Don't know if this helps... . BTW we are running steel wheels. .

 

[TAbbott]

I'd try varying the pressures, front to rear. I have an '06 quad cab SRW with Hankook DH01's, 265/70R19. 5's on Rickson steel wheels (7. 5" wide) and find they seem work best on an empty truck at about 80 psi front and 55 psi rear.



Loaded, with the toy hauler and about a 4,000 lb pin wt, I still run about 80 psi in the front but raise the rears to about 95 psi. The thing drives like its on rails in this configuration.



Empty, the truck is a little "darty" in the grooves of the road, something I attribute to the stiffness of the sidewalls. But loaded it's great.

 

[Kurt Henzler]

i have new 5100's for shocks. i can not be truck problem because my truck drives great with 33's load range E. i am always loaded, so now i have 80 psi on all four and it is the same. it feels like i have a 37" tire on a 16" rim with about 20 psi towing a 8000 lb trailer and also a ten inch lift.

 

[thomasrmmr]

8000 lb gw trailer requires 10 % on tongue weight MAX SIR YOU ARE LIFTING WEIGHT AND TRACTION OFF FRONT END AND WHEELS -TIRES == LESS FRONT TRACTION !!

 

[DHuffman]

8000 lb gw trailer requires 10 % on tongue weight MAX SIR YOU ARE LIFTING WEIGHT AND TRACTION OFF FRONT END AND WHEELS -TIRES == LESS FRONT TRACTION !!

I'm sure this contributes to the problem... you should try a gooseneck setup.

 

[JCasper]

I know someone who just went to 19. 5's on their 96 F350 to help handle the way too large 5er they bought.



He is having wondering issues also. He has been playing with pressure and alignment to try and figure it out. I have not heard if things have got better or not for him.

 

[JWashburn]

The Hankook DHO1s on the SRW are as stable as the 10 plys on my dually with 26,000 lbs of hay and trailer hooked on.

 

[Parks]

Kurt,



What's the latest on your tires?



I ran the DH01's for a little over two years. I went through the breakin period with mine. But it pretty much went away within about 700 miles. Thankfully Rickson's informed me that I would experience that issue or I would have been a little nervous.



How many miles do you have on your truck? And have you had to do any suspension repair?

 

[wcjp]

I didn't see the load range for these tires. Have you tried the chalk test to determine correct air pressure?





My guess for tire pressure with vehicle loaded is 55psi front/ 46psi rear assuming 800lbs tongue weight.





This assumes 4500lbs on front axle, 3800lbs on rear axle.



Tire capacity Load Range G-4540lbs. 4540/110psi=41. 27lbs per 1psi.

If front axle weighs 4500lbs, divide by 2tires is 2250lbs per tire. At 2250lbs/41. 27=55psi for front tires.



IMO your current 80psi per tire is overinflated. My numbers are approximate. There's always someone on this board standing by to flame.











Technical Information: Wheels and Tires





Another school of thought is that you should inflate the tire such that it has uniform tread contact with the road. This can be determined in a number of ways. The easiest is to try to slide a thin card under the edge of the tread. Inflate the tire until you can just get the card under the edge a little bit. A more involved check is to place a chalk line across the tread face, drive a short distance straight ahead on a smooth surface and then observe the chalk line. You are looking for it to be evenly worn off the tread. Another variation is to measure the length of the contact patch and make it even front and rear. This works well on vehicle where the rear load can vary, such as a pickup and especially if a recommended pressure is known for the front end. Slip a paper sheet under the tire to stop at the leading and trailing edge of the contact patch, measuse the separation of the two sheets (making sure they are parallel). Then set the rear pressure such that the length of its contact patch is the same as the front.

 

[Kurt Henzler]

Rickson Truck Wheels.....Top Notch

sorry for the delay. been busy with work and trying to work out this issue.



i have to say that Rickson Truck Wheels is top notch. Customer service A+. Heather and Dan are great people and are doing everything possible to make my truck right.



i seem to have gotten some DH01's that are not performing even after some miles. They are going to warranty the tires and get me into another brand without question. i will be picking them on Thursday.



i am feel confident that these will work great and i will be another happy 19. 5owner.



again thanks for the help and replys.



Rickson Truck and Wheels, Heather and Dan, i tip may hat and say thanks for helping me and going the extra mile. top notch!



i will post results next week.

 

[GShail]

I have been considering some DH01's myself. They look like a good tire, but your experiences leave me feeling a bit concerned. Pricepoint is pretty economical and they look like they would do well in inclement conditions. I have noted that some have tried the DH01 with good success, but overall results are mixed.

 

[Kurt Henzler]

no only am i changing brand of tire but also the size. i am going to the 245 instead of the 265

 

[Ross]

I've got Hankook 19. 5s on my dually with MKW alloys. DH-01s on rear, and AH11s on the front. My truck drove like it was on marbles for a while. Kinda scary. It has all but gone away with break in. I was told that these stiff carcass tires have to break in. I have about 10K miles and now they are much, much better, but there's still the rut-grabbing that someone mentioned. When the truck is loaded, it's not so bad at all, but in my opinion, it doesn't drive nearly as well as with the stockers. My problem is that I blew two stockers out, and tow too heavy to have that happen again. To be honest, I don't think I would do it again ($4,000). I would probably just buy the best 17 inch tire out there and live with the capacity issues...