Rickson wheel/tire advice

I have the 19.5/7.5" Vision rims.

I went from 16" E2 (3400?) rated tires to Toyo 265/70 608z's (5600).

I had considered the Michlins however wanted a more aggressive tread. (cost might of been an issue as well, I forget what I was quoted)

I looked at the HanKook DH01's in a 245/70 size but finally settled on the Toyo's in a 245/70 size. While I was ordering them at LesSchwab I found that the 265's we a mere $20 more (per tire) - couldent pass up on that!

While my truck has 4.11 gearing the 34.4" tires lower the ratio quite a bit (forget, there is a online website that will calculate it for you).

I'm happy with the tires (no more sway) however if I were to do it again I may go for more of a road tread and 245/70 to get a little gearing back. My Toyo's will likely outlive me!

dadwolf2 wrote:
The 245/70R-19.5 is where you get a significant jump in load capacity and plenty for my needs.

Yes, 'plenty for my needs.' I have to keep reminding myself, this isn't a beauty contest, it's about increasing a safety margin. I'm at that limit with my current tires with 3750 pounds per tire. (My axle last weighed in at 7200lbs)
This is my primary concern. I do not want to have a tire failure, least of all in the middle of nowhere and a long way from home. Nothing guarantees that, but I can't ignore the possibility once I've become aware of it.

dadwolf2 wrote:
I didn't want to affect my gear ratio any more. I didn't need any more load capacity and the 9.5" width is enough.

All excellent points that I can relate to. I also have the manual tranny. Right now, I can, with my 32.76" diameter Nitto tires, climb any of my grades locally without needing to down shift out of 6th. That's climbing 5,000' in elevation over 50 miles and grades with signage stating 8% grades and maintaining 55mph or better towing my small boat trailer.

Have you noticed any fuel mileage changes using these tires? Just wondering if there's either more or less rolling resistance, gearing changes or aerodynamics that either help or hurt the fuel economy.

Also, I rarely drive over 55mph even without a trailer. I 'FEEL' safer at that speed. (A blowout at 55 is gonna be different than 65mph) I'm wondering if your comfort level is improved with the upgrade in your tires and wheels?

bka0721 wrote:
You should be looking at increasing the safety margin for your truck and dependability of the tires carrying the weight. Not for allowing you more carrying capacity for getting more in the back of your truck.

Indeed. An excellent point. One reason I didn't 'upgrade' to 19.5" wheels prior was because I wasn't convinced they would provide me any more practical safety margin. (like the difference between 245 and 265 in 19.5" tires, the 'headroom' is sufficient with the 245 so why bother?) That was when I first was setting up my truck with my camper. I've added the BigWig sway bar, Hellwig overload springs, air bags and quality shocks along with the Hummer H2 Forged Aluminum chrome rims with the Nitto 3750 pound-rated-tires.
But now that I am set up, complete, nothing else to add, I see I'm near the limits of the tires. And with zero way to increase my safety margin with those other than going to a commercial product, I'm either gonna have to bite the bullet or keep trusting that Nitto over engineered their tires and under rated them. If it was JUST me, no worries. However, taking a risk with others; wife, grandkids, etc. I just can't ignore what I've come to realize. Damn my large brain!! Ha!

bka0721 wrote:
I went to a 245/19.5 and got the safety margin I needed. 265 would have fit nicely, but that would be just that much more over the OEM specs for my truck.

Agree. Plus; price. There's a significant increase in price between the 245 and 265 in the 19.5" tires. Not so much between 265 and 285 though I noticed. I like the look/profile of the taller and wider tires on my truck, but not THAT much! I'm convinced the 245's will be plenty of safety margin, look good in a commercial/utility/industrial sort of way, and stay within sensibility of the price-to-value ratio.


I do want to point out something about my Nitto tires. I stated they are 285/70R17 tires. 3750 pound load capacity at 80psi. I want to add;
I've had them on now for almost 20,000 miles and 30 months. They originally had 16.5/32nds tread depth. They are now at 13/32nds. Keeping a 2/32nds minimum tread depth before calling them too worn, I can extrapolate out that I will get 80,000 miles minimum out of these tires. I find that amazing! I've gotten 20,000 from 3/32nds tread wear so far. Bear in mind; I rarely drive this truck without the camper. At least 95% of the miles are with camper.
How will that compare with the wear of 19.5" tires, on average say?

Thanks again for the input. You guys are great!

BTW, here are some photos of my truck and wheels;
First, my truck with the H2 wheels and the BFG All Terrain tires 315's (35" tall) They worked with only a 2" spacer lift on the front end and a front end alignment.






Here is my truck with the same wheels but with the 285 Nitto tires at 33" tall.

Another thing that you might consider: I just compared tire prices of two major brands, same tire model and the per tire cost jumped $185 going from 245 to 285.

dadwolf2 wrote:

skipro3 wrote:


I'm a little surprised that the 245 size is the tire of choice and not one of the larger sizes.

Here are my reasons and we have virtually the same truck:
The stock tire size on our truck is a lt265/70R-17 and it's ~ 31.5" in diameter. Like you did, I went up to a 285/70R-17 diameter~32.5" diameter. I noticed the increase in diameter a tiny amount, manual transmission helped. When I researched 19.5 tires I noticed that there was minimal load capacity improvement with the 225/70R-19.5. Just not enough to justify new wheels and tires. The 245/70R-19.5 is where you get a significant jump in load capacity and plenty for my needs. But with the 19.5" tire there is a slight jump in tire diameter. The 245/70R-19.5 has a diameter of 33.5". the 265/70R-19.5 has a diameter of 34.4" and the 285/70R-19.5 has a diameter of 35.5" (different tire brands might be up or down a very small amount)

Basically I typed all that to say I increased 2.0 inches in diameter from OEM with my 245/70R-19.5's and I didn't want to affect my gear ratio any more. I didn't need any more load capacity and the 9.5" width is enough. These tires aren't going in the sand anyway.

My tires are the 245/70R-19.5 Firestone FD690 plus and I highly recommend them. Kind of a hybrid tread pattern between a drive / steer tire.

As well as "unsprung weight" increase on all components of the drivetrain/brakes and suspension. There is a lot of info on this on the internet in racing and truck preparation. The less you can increase your unsprung weight the better the components and brakes will be impacted. It is not going to be like a trailer, where often you will have wished you had gotten a bigger trailer. You should be looking at increasing the safety margin for your truck and dependability of the tires carrying the weight. Not for allowing you more carrying capacity for getting more in the back of your truck. That belongs to Hay Wagons and how much more they can pile on.

I could have gone to a larger sized tire on my truck, when I upgrade my rims and tires. I went from a 225/19.5 to a 245/19.5 and got the safety margin I needed. 265 would have fit nicely, but that would be just that much more over the OEM specs for my truck.

Just my 3 cents.

b

skipro3 wrote:


I'm a little surprised that the 245 size is the tire of choice and not one of the larger sizes.

Here are my reasons and we have virtually the same truck:
The stock tire size on our truck is a lt265/70R-17 and it's ~ 31.5" in diameter. Like you did, I went up to a 285/70R-17 diameter~32.5" diameter. I noticed the increase in diameter a tiny amount, manual transmission helped. When I researched 19.5 tires I noticed that there was minimal load capacity improvement with the 225/70R-19.5. Just not enough to justify new wheels and tires. The 245/70R-19.5 is where you get a significant jump in load capacity and plenty for my needs. But with the 19.5" tire there is a slight jump in tire diameter. The 245/70R-19.5 has a diameter of 33.5". the 265/70R-19.5 has a diameter of 34.4" and the 285/70R-19.5 has a diameter of 35.5" (different tire brands might be up or down a very small amount)

Basically I typed all that to say I increased 2.0 inches in diameter from OEM with my 245/70R-19.5's and I didn't want to affect my gear ratio any more. I didn't need any more load capacity and the 9.5" width is enough. These tires aren't going in the sand anyway.

My tires are the 245/70R-19.5 Firestone FD690 plus and I highly recommend them. Kind of a hybrid tread pattern between a drive / steer tire.

I got hold of the guy. He's got family in Sacramento, so is willing to plan a trip and bring the wheels along. I'll meet up with him in Sac so as to save me some driving.

Looks like I got me some Ricksons!

Now for the tires. I'll review what you fine folks have passed along so far here in this thread, but also looking for more advice on tire brands and size, so please keep 'em coming.

So far I've heard from the following;

Michelin 245/70R19.5 XDE M/S load range G or H (Wayne-Reddog1)
Michelin XDS2 (bigfootford)
16PR LRH or 14PR LRH (Bedlam)
245/70/19.5,Michelin XDS2 (woodhog)

So let me know what you are running, how you like 'em and what you would recommend. (Either you like 'em and recommend them, you like 'em but would recommend something else for my situation, or you don't like 'em and would recommend something else.)

Cheers!

skipro3 wrote:
... I'm a little surprised that the 245 size is the tire of choice and not one of the larger sizes. ...

My objective was increased load capacity of the tires and reduce the sidewall flex. My Michelin 245/70R19.5 XDE M/S load range G or H, as I recall, and 4940 lbs@120 psi per tire. That is 9880 pounds per axle. My rear axle with TC loaded is 6200 pounds which gives me about a 3680 pound safety margin. No need for something bigger for load capacity. The sidewalls are stiff. Manually, on the ground unmounted you can barely move them, and on the truck I feel no tire squarm.

As I recall, the 245's are about 32-1/2" in diameter, which is quite a bit bigger than my OEM tires. I have tall gears, 357's (I think). The 245's weigh a lot. Considering the weight and diameter I did not want the added power drain. Additionally, I have the Visions (7.5-inches wide) wheels, which I think would be too narrow for a 265s. I may or may not have been able to modify the wheel wells for 265's

skipro3 wrote:
So far I haven't heard back from the guy on craigslist. He's in Reno and his ad doesn't have a phone #.

I've run into this before;
People run a craigslist ad, their e-mail filters send craigslist e-mails to their junk folder and they sit and wonder why no one ever contacts them for the item.

In this case, the guy has been trying to sell these rims since November, starting at $1000 and now down to $700 in March. I imagine he's dumbfounded as to why not one single contact.

I don't know how else to reach him though...


Thanks for the offer Wayne. No need to test drive, but much appreciated. I have a 2" lift on my Dodge truck front when I installed the 35" BFG terrain tires for clearance, so I suppose any of those sizes will fit inside my fender/wheel well areas.

I'm a little surprised that the 245 size is the tire of choice and not one of the larger sizes.


***EDIT***
Found his phone #. I'll call him tomorrow.

If the number does not work put an ad on Craigslist wanting Ricksons and ask the fella to contact you via Craigslist.

Hope you get them. I have them on my old f250... I have the Vision 19.5's and Michelin XDS2's.... A great combo.

Jim

The 245/70R19.5 tires matched my OEM tire size allowing me to use them as spares. After 25k miles, I never had a flat. This was the largest size that fit my Ford without a lift that could still use tire chains. I chose the 16PR LRH tires to get the stiffest sidewall possible - I could have chosen the 14PR LRG tires (which still had sufficient capacity) for a slightly softer ride.

So far I haven't heard back from the guy on craigslist. He's in Reno and his ad doesn't have a phone #.

I've run into this before;
People run a craigslist ad, their e-mail filters send craigslist e-mails to their junk folder and they sit and wonder why no one ever contacts them for the item.

In this case, the guy has been trying to sell these rims since November, starting at $1000 and now down to $700 in March. I imagine he's dumbfounded as to why not one single contact.

I don't know how else to reach him though...


Thanks for the offer Wayne. No need to test drive, but much appreciated. I have a 2" lift on my Dodge truck front when I installed the 35" BFG terrain tires for clearance, so I suppose any of those sizes will fit inside my fender/wheel well areas.

I'm a little surprised that the 245 size is the tire of choice and not one of the larger sizes.


***EDIT***
Found his phone #. I'll call him tomorrow.