19.5s.....It's Only Money

Your new wheels and tires look good.
I have a set of 5 steel 19.5" Rickson wheels and tires on order with Rickson Wheels. Rickson will match mount and balance the set and install them as I live a short drive away. Am looking forward to that event.

Very nice, it was a good feeling when I got mine last year. They can track with grooves in the road and with mine I had quite a bit of tread squirm for about 5,000 miles until they hardened up a little.

Bedlam wrote:
Find the load inflation tables for your tires to see what pressure to run in them when empty and loaded. The lowest I went was 70 PSI on my LRH 16PR tires although I did drop them down to 50 PSI one time in soft sand to see if that would help (it didn't). I created a tire inflation sticker for my truck next to the OEM one on the door jam. I had the the maximum axle rating and PSI required up to 9000 lbs (2x 4500 lb Vision rims) on the rear and 7250 lbs on my front Dana 60. I also had a line printed to not go bellow 70 PSI operating pressure for my 245/70R19.5 tires to prevent the stiff sidewalls from separating from the rims.

Did you have to do anything on the front end to clear the 245's on your GM? Some people are reporting that the openings are larger on the new trucks, but yours seems to sit a little higher than stock for a 2001.

I am going to have to trim the front air dam below the bumper on both sides and the inside corners of the molded Huskyliner mud flaps and take the heat gun and reshape the inner fender liners a bit......you had forewarned me about this as a possibility. Gives me something to do tomorrow after the little woman gets home from knee surgery.

My GM has stock suspension with the exception of rear airbags, Stableloads, and Rancho 9000s all around.
Thanks,
TG

Find the load inflation tables for your tires to see what pressure to run in them when empty and loaded. The lowest I went was 70 PSI on my LRH 16PR tires although I did drop them down to 50 PSI one time in soft sand to see if that would help (it didn't). I created a tire inflation sticker for my truck next to the OEM one on the door jam. I had the the maximum axle rating and PSI required up to 9000 lbs (2x 4500 lb Vision rims) on the rear and 7250 lbs on my front Dana 60. I also had a line printed to not go bellow 70 PSI operating pressure for my 245/70R19.5 tires to prevent the stiff sidewalls from separating from the rims.

Did you have to do anything on the front end to clear the 245's on your GM? Some people are reporting that the openings are larger on the new trucks, but yours seems to sit a little higher than stock for a 2001.

I don't know what brand you have, but the minimum recommended for 19.5s for some manufacturers is 70. I have no idea why, but that's what it is.

If your camper has COG like mine, you don't need more than 60psi in front.
Some manufacturers will post inflation chart with different loads, but rule of thumb is that you inflate the same percentage of max pressure what percentage of max load you have.
For example if your tire can carry 1000 lb at 100 psi and you have 650 lb on it, you inflate it to 65 psi.

fpoole wrote:

2oldman wrote:

fpoole wrote:
oK, must be on this end, sorry.

Can you see images in other posts.?

Yah, don't worry about unless you get another person saying the same thing.. I do see one, 2nd- pic now, but not the other...

Let it go, I just thought I'd mention it as sometimes all looks well on the poster's end, but not to others... and I'm out in the boonies with "iffy internet connection" so it's probably on my end..
Should be fine..

They do look nice, I looked them up.. heheh, as you say, it's only money...
Sweet..

Probably on your end if you're currently in BFE.......BTW I enjoy your blog!

TG

jimh425 wrote:
Troutguy, the front tires are more dependent on air than the rears. The higher you go in the front the more they track. I suggest not maxing out the front. 75-80 is probably more than enough. BTW, my F450 suggests 80 in front for max GVWR. That actually compares to what I noticed on my F350 that had Visions/G rate tires.

Thanks for that info.
I'm sure Bedlam will chime in on this as he had a very similar setup with the 19.5s, AF 811 and a F250 and I'll pick his brain about tire pressures loaded and unloaded.

Troutguy, the front tires are more dependent on air than the rears. The higher you go in the front the more they track. I suggest not maxing out the front. 75-80 is probably more than enough. BTW, my F450 suggests 80 in front for max GVWR. That actually compares to what I noticed on my F350 that had Visions/G rate tires.

JimK-NY wrote:
How does it drive. I keep hearing that 19.5 tires are stiff and do not track well.

Don't know yet....mounted them on the truck myself at home and it's currently raining.
They are 14 ply tires and have 80 psi in them now. I've heard they will have to be "scrubbed" in.