16 inch to 19 inch tire conversion

You will not likely add that much wheel size without a significant increase in overall diameter, so mesure clearances to see if the coach builder left enough room for a larger wheel/tire.

Bolt circle, centering hole might not be compatible with modern F-550, so check that carefully. There might be a 19.5, and maybe a 17.5 replacement wheel, but not necessarily from a more recent F-series.

This website will give you some information......Click here

96Bounder30E wrote:
This website will give you some information......Click here

Check this link out. It shows that older F-53 motorhomes, like my 97 and your 96 have 16" rims with 10 bolt holes and a certain bolt diameter.

In 1998, Ford re-designed the F-450, F-550 and F-53 chassis to have larger diameter rotors and larger bolt circle, also changing to a heavier rated 3,500 pound rim and 8 bolt circle.

So the 8 bolt modern F-550 19.5" rims will not fit a older F-53 that came with 16" rims and 10 bolts.

TO bad someone does not make a modern 10 bolt rim with a 3,200 pound rating and 17" tires. 17" and 18" tires are now fairly common now. I would change to the 19.5" Rickson rims, except for the $250+ each price tag. I like the feeling that I have rims and tires rated for more than the front axle weight rating. Also I have heard that 19.5 LT tires can have much stiffer sidewalls, a hard rubber compound that is not as sticky as a car, and can be a bit squirly on wet pavement.

Fred.

If you find old 19.5 rims there is very little difference in the revs/mile of a 265/75/16 (637), 235/85/16 (636) and a 225/7019.5 (642). You can use this site to compare different tire sizes.
Today you can find some very heavy duty 16" tires that may be all you need.

My concern would be how much that changes the rear drive ratio. Do you tow a vehicle behind you? How does it tow/pull? How well does it climb grades?

I put on the Rickson wheels 19.5 on my last 97 F-53 motorhome. I used R-250 tires. They were almost the same exact size as the XPSRIBS I took off. The ride was nice.

They only gain from doing this is a larger safety margin on the tire. It will not increase load capacity.

Pirate wrote:
It will not increase load capacity.

But, isn't it true that it makes LOTS of room in your wallet?:B

96Bounder30E wrote:

Pirate wrote:
It will not increase load capacity.

But, isn't it true that it makes LOTS of room in your wallet?:B

Yes, but I had one blowout on a underaged XPS RIB and I was a fanatic about weights and pressures. So you tell me, how much money do YOU put on the safety of you and the ones you love? For me it was a no-brainer.

Pirate wrote:

96Bounder30E wrote:

Pirate wrote:
It will not increase load capacity.

But, isn't it true that it makes LOTS of room in your wallet?:B

Yes, but I had one blowout on a underaged XPS RIB and I was a fanatic about weights and pressures. So you tell me, how much money do YOU put on the safety of you and the ones you love? For me it was a no-brainer.

So no one has ever had a blowout on a 19.5" tire? Good to know, that's what I have. You can have a blowout on a 2 minute old tire, it happens. As soon as someone has a blowout on a 7 year old tire they start replacing them at 6 years. If they have a blowout at 6 years then they replace them at 5 years. Pretty soon they're driving from one dealer to the next replacing tires.

I'm not saying age isn't a factor but there's a lot of factors that can lead to a blowout. One pothole might not take out your tire when you hit it, but maybe the next day or month or even year. Just too many factors you can't control and don't even know are factors.

Doesn't the larger tire change the ratio ie - width? Could this affect rear dual space between the tires to less than acceptable? I guess a spacer would work if that's the case.