I know it's a narrow segment of the folks here, but if you own a 10 lug F450 and have the same love/hate relationship with the 19.5 inch tires as I did, then maybe this will help. I've tried a few different tires and sizes in the last 105k miles.
I started out on the stock 19.5 225 Continental HDR's....they rode o.k. but had no traction.
I swapped those out for the taller more aggressive 245 Toyo 608z. Worst tire ever. They lasted two weeks on the truck.
I then tried the 245 Michelin XDS2...smooth enough ride, but noisy on smooth asphalt and poor traction in snow....and expensive.
I then lifted the truck and went up another size to 19.5 x 265. Michelin didn't make the XDS2 in that size so I was back to the Toyo 608z....which I suffered with for the last 40k Miles. Horrible tire.
They even smell bad.
I FINALLY decided I'd had enough. I ordered a set of Fuel 20 x 8.25 Ford 10 lug wheels, with 12 ply 35x12.5x20 Toyo RT tires. These are direct bolt on wheels. No spacers or adapters. They have the same load rating on the wheels as the Alcoas, and the 12ply F rated tires are only 300lbs less load per tire than the stock G rated Continentals. The wheels are offered in 3 different offsets for 285, 12.5" and 13.5" width tires.
**** what a difference.
PRO's
They balanced out perfect.
They are WAY quieter.
MUCH smoother running at 70 PSI.
Truck tracks straighter.
I can air them down when needed.
Tires are much less expensive.
45k mile mileage warranty.
Far better traction in all conditions.
CON's
They are much wider. Sticking with the 285 tire offset could alleviate some of that.
The initial cost of the wheels will take two sets of tires to recoup.
I seriously should have done this 3 years ago. These wheels will be moving to a new F450 when the time comes!
I started out on the stock 19.5 225 Continental HDR's....they rode o.k. but had no traction.
I swapped those out for the taller more aggressive 245 Toyo 608z. Worst tire ever. They lasted two weeks on the truck.
I then tried the 245 Michelin XDS2...smooth enough ride, but noisy on smooth asphalt and poor traction in snow....and expensive.
I then lifted the truck and went up another size to 19.5 x 265. Michelin didn't make the XDS2 in that size so I was back to the Toyo 608z....which I suffered with for the last 40k Miles. Horrible tire.
They even smell bad.
I FINALLY decided I'd had enough. I ordered a set of Fuel 20 x 8.25 Ford 10 lug wheels, with 12 ply 35x12.5x20 Toyo RT tires. These are direct bolt on wheels. No spacers or adapters. They have the same load rating on the wheels as the Alcoas, and the 12ply F rated tires are only 300lbs less load per tire than the stock G rated Continentals. The wheels are offered in 3 different offsets for 285, 12.5" and 13.5" width tires.
**** what a difference.
PRO's
They balanced out perfect.
They are WAY quieter.
MUCH smoother running at 70 PSI.
Truck tracks straighter.
I can air them down when needed.
Tires are much less expensive.
45k mile mileage warranty.
Far better traction in all conditions.
CON's
They are much wider. Sticking with the 285 tire offset could alleviate some of that.
The initial cost of the wheels will take two sets of tires to recoup.
I seriously should have done this 3 years ago. These wheels will be moving to a new F450 when the time comes!
Threebigfords wrote:
I looked at that tire and don't see how it addresses any of the issues I had.
Still a stiff poor riding 19.5" tire
Still has poor traction.
Still can't air them down
Still a commercial truck tire that won't balance worth a ****
Still doesn't offer any significant advantages in load capacity or tread life for all the negatives.
Still more expensive
Still has an inferior speed rating
So what exactly does it address again?
I'll let Big Truck Big RV explain...
Link
I looked at that tire and don't see how it addresses any of the issues I had.
Still a stiff poor riding 19.5" tire
Still has poor traction.
Still can't air them down
Still a commercial truck tire that won't balance worth a ****
Still doesn't offer any significant advantages in load capacity or tread life for all the negatives.
Still more expensive
Still has an inferior speed rating
So what exactly does it address again?
Still a stiff poor riding 19.5" tire
Still has poor traction.
Still can't air them down
Still a commercial truck tire that won't balance worth a ****
Still doesn't offer any significant advantages in load capacity or tread life for all the negatives.
Still more expensive
Still has an inferior speed rating
So what exactly does it address again?
Nope. Not setup for 5th wheel. But only because of the canopy.
I haul more with this setup than most 5vers weigh in at. The tools/canopy/bedslide in the bed add over 3k lbs to the truck. Then add between 2000-2500lbs of tongue weight from either the Toyhauler or my dump/equipment trailers and that's 5500lbs. Far more than the pin weight of most 5vers.
I haul more with this setup than most 5vers weigh in at. The tools/canopy/bedslide in the bed add over 3k lbs to the truck. Then add between 2000-2500lbs of tongue weight from either the Toyhauler or my dump/equipment trailers and that's 5500lbs. Far more than the pin weight of most 5vers.
