On Feb 7th we placed an order for Rickson Steel hub centric 19.5 wheels for my 2003 F350 SRW. Today I was notified that they had received the material necessary to make my wheels and the are beginning production. I should receive them in two to three weeks.So if you are planning this upgrade, this is the time frame you should expect for completion of your order.SI cant wait to get them.

wow.... 2.5 months ago you placed the order, and they are "just now" getting the "material" to begin production.... sounds like a fishy operation to me. I hope they haven't charged your credit card for the order yet.

I looked into Ricksons and asked my camper dealer about them. He said he waited 4 months before he got some for a customer. Originally they told him a month. After numerous phone calls and a few unreturned calls he got them. He said he could not recommend them to me and to look elsewhere. Problem is they are the only ones who make custom 19.5's. Other stories I've read on here duplicate what my dealer went through.

I am a customer and fan of Rickson Tires and Rims. They are a small company that manufactures in house. While it would be a big benefit for them to expand, they remain a small company that suffers from selling a good product. My first comment is that they do have issues with taking calls and returning calls, as there is only two people doing this work. If this does not work for you, so be it and you should exercise your disappointment in shopping somewhere else.With mine, I bought mine and they arrived a month sooner than I had expected or had requested. It often is due to the season you order. If you want a wheel, grey or powder coated, that matches perfectly your specific Manufactures' offset requirement, then this is the Wheel you want. Using shims and other means works, but is not the perfect set up. For me, I purchased 7 wheels and tires and had them shipped to a will call. I dropped my motorcycles at a nearby business parking lot, picked the mounted tires and wheels up at a ground FedEx terminal and went back to the parking lot, mounted them and met the person buying my OEM rims and wheels to rid myself of them. Worked great for someone that does not have a drive way, garage to do all of this swapping.From the moment these wheels and tires hit the ground to 11 3/4 months later, they have been perfectly matched. No alignment, no balancing or tracking issues. More than pleased and saved a bunch of money, even with shipping costs.Yes, there can be a time delay in getting them to you, but often good things take time. I couldn't be happier.b

I was told up front that the time frame was 14 to 18 weeks for delivery and I was fine with that. I made this post just to confirm to others what the realistic time frame is. Les Schwab is handling the order and communications with the mfg for me. So far I am satisfied with the process.

I would rather do business with them than get Chinajunk!

Rickson Steel 19.5 wheel update | Good Sam Community

bka0721
Explorer II
May 22, 2014
billtex wrote:
bka0721 wrote:
More than pleased and saved a bunch of money, even with shipping costs.
b

Bryan...just curious...where was the cost savings? What was the alternative?

Other than Stockton (which are less expensive AFAIK) is there another Custom wheel Mfr?

Thanx, Bill
Easy Bill. The drive tires (5) were $16 each, cheaper than the Quote I received from Les Schwab and $12 each on the steer tires (2), total savings of $ 104, not including taxes and no charge for recycling. How your area handles sales tax is something you need to verify. Fulltiming I can pick where I have my deliveries made, taking advantage of those areas that have lower overhead costs. The sales tax, that was not assessed, would have been more than what I paid for shipping. Looking back at my notes, I saved at least $190 on the tires, mounting, balancing and matching in what I would have been charged locally.

If you are interested in the wheels and possible savings there. I didn’t go there as I didn’t want rims that were not a direct fit. While Vision Wheels have a good reputation, I didn’t consider them as replacement for my OEM wheels. Using shims and or living with variances, was not acceptable to me. Others might have their opinions and how they choose to spend their money and that is their business.

b
pa_traveler
Explorer
May 22, 2014
I was told Rickson doesn't have there own brand tires for these rims? Im just wondering what tire choices would anyone be using,Michelins or what brands.Im guessing you want the best for such good rims ,curious what tires.
dadwolf2
Explorer
May 22, 2014
pa traveler wrote:
I was told Rickson doesn't have there own brand tires for these rims? Im just wondering what tire choices would anyone be using,Michelins or what brands.Im guessing you want the best for such good rims ,curious what tires.

Rickson uses most of the top name brands. In the 245/70R-19.5 size they offer 16 different tires from Michelin, Bridgestone, Firestone, Hankook, Goodyear, Dunlop, Toyo, and Continental.
deltabravo
Nomad
May 22, 2014
ChooChooMan74 wrote:
I would rather do business with them than get Chinajunk!

DITTO! Good wheels are worth waiting for.
elquind
Explorer
May 22, 2014
I've had mine on my truck for 9 years! And just last week I replaced one tire. They have about 75,000 miles on them. ZERO problems. I plan on replacing the other front tire next month, and the back two, next year. It isn't my daily driver, but I do use the truck for what it's meant for. The tire guy Said, with these tires, they should be replaced every 10 years, even if not worn. For safety. The rubber gets hard.
TJMarc
Explorer
May 22, 2014
Buzzcut1: What tires will you be running?

When I got mine I was told a minimum 3 month wait but they would not be able to tell me for sure until my order got close to production. It ended up taking about 4 months total with about 2 weeks of that trying to get the tires. My speculation is if they don't have the tires in inventory, they put in the tire order when the wheels go into production (i.e. when they contact you for payment). So, if the supplier doesn't have them on hand or a bigger fish puts in a big order they get bumped and the customer has to wait. I personally didn't mind and figure it's a way they control overhead. Dan and Heather seemed like straight shooters and kept me in the loop, they let me know when they were having tire supply problems and offered another tire but I figured after 3 months I midas well just wait it out.

In terms of the wheels and tires, they are black powder-coated steel wheels...not much too them but they seem quality. The mount and balance on the other hand is exceptional, each wheel only has a single small weight (iirc on the inside, outside or both) and appears to be trued/shaved to ensure they are round. The balance is perfect, I had a bit of drift/squirm but that went away after some heat cycles. I believe it's the tires and is normal as most tires I've had exhibited it to some degree. As always...ymmv.
pa_traveler
Explorer
May 22, 2014
Thanks if I change to a SRW ,that is what I will do. The owner of Extreme Campers had great things to say about the Ricksons,I mistakenly thought they had rims and tires. He said Ups runs the Ricksons.Thanks Dads wolf for clearing that up.
billtex
Explorer II
May 22, 2014
bka0721 wrote:
Easy Bill. The drive tires (5) were $16 each, cheaper than the Quote I received from Les Schwab and $12 each on the steer tires (2), total savings of $ 104, not including taxes and no charge for recycling. How your area handles sales tax is something you need to verify. Fulltiming I can pick where I have my deliveries made, taking advantage of those areas that have lower overhead costs. The sales tax, that was not assessed, would have been more than what I paid for shipping. Looking back at my notes, I saved at least $190 on the tires, mounting, balancing and matching in what I would have been charged locally.

If you are interested in the wheels and possible savings there. I didn’t go there as I didn’t want rims that were not a direct fit. While Vision Wheels have a good reputation, I didn’t consider them as replacement for my OEM wheels. Using shims and or living with variances, was not acceptable to me. Others might have their opinions and how they choose to spend their money and that is their business.

b

Hi Bryan...OK, got it now. I didn't understand what the comparison was.
I would not want to run Chinese made wheels (or tires) either. Nor would I want to run spacers/adapters/etc. I don't feel these are appropriate for the loads we carry.

For those who are experiencing "squirm" this is normal for any new tire. There are lubricants used in molding and for storage that need to wear off, also the rubber does harden after some "heat cycles".

Another factor that could contribute to squirm is choosing a tire with a deep tread (AT/MT) tires...these are not the best treads for hauling...but you may need this type of tread if you go off road...

Anyway, sounds like buzzcut was just confirming what he was told by Rickson and he'll have his new wheels soon...we'll wait for pics of the finished product!

Bill
Buzzcut1
Nomad II
May 22, 2014
Guys I'm just getting the Wheels from Rickson. The tires are coming from Les Schwab. The have "instock" 3-4 brands of 19.5s and I am still debating tread pattern but leaning towards a Toyo with a similar tred pattern and the same outer size profile as the tires I currently run
billyray50
Explorer
May 22, 2014
Although I agree with everyone regarding ricksons as fine quality wheel I will be purchasing Vision wheels in the next week. Fits my budget and plenty of TCers here that have them and on Dodge Cummins forums. All the posts and pm I have read and recieved has been positive.