20" wheels vs 18" wheels for XTC

[anutami]

Looking at upgrading to a 3500 Ram and notice they offer a 20" wheel/tire option.

Curious what opinions are on how well these wheels and tires would handle offroad with of course our 3k lb camper, protruding boulders, washboard roads and heavy sand areas we frequent vs the standard 18" wheel/tires. Is there a decent selection of E rated tires?

20" sport package option, sidewalls look thin


Standard 18" wheel/tire


Thnx in advance

[joeshmoe]

I was considering upgrading to 20's, but then I realized how fewer tire choices there are. 18's are just about right for what we do, IMO. As someone said, the cost difference is enough to keep me away. Currently running 18" Cooper ATP's from America's Tire. I'm totally happy with them. 'E10' tire @3640lbs. I beleive they make one in the Discoverer line @3900lbs or 4000lbs. I woulda got those had I known. I know you like the BFG's though.

[Grit_dog]

IMO, 18s and20s are the 16s and 17s of 15-20 years ago.
I've had the 20s you pictured on my 07 Ram for a couple years now. No issues. OE tires have hauled my camper x country and back. 80mph freeways and forest roads.
Have run em on the beach and thru 2' or snow as well. (Not the tires, those tires are horrible in the snow)
Unless you are ordering a truck take what you can get. All the 4th gen takeoff wheels are plentiful and a lot of them for sale on CL. You can keep or swap them. With little effort and probably no $ out of pocket if you don't want them.

The only difference you may notice vs smaller rims is slightly more stable loaded up due to the shorter sidewalls.
The only thing I don't like about them is the plastic inserts which are kind of cheap but they come off easily and leave a decent looking wheel behind if you do destroy and remove them.

[Grit_dog]

kohldad wrote:
Just go to a tire site such as tirerack.com, then look at the options for stock 18" and stock 20" wheels.

For the 20" stock size, they only offer 2 tires, a Michelin M/S and a Firestone AT.

For the 18" stock size, they offer 32 tires, including BFG AT K/O2 and Goodyear Wrangler MT/R.

Think that says enough about the correct choice.

Dig a little further. You can buy just about any brand/style of tire you want in a E load 20" rim.

[anutami]

10-4, thanks for the kind replys

[MORSNOW]

kohldad wrote:
Just go to a tire site such as tirerack.com, then look at the options for stock 18" and stock 20" wheels.

For the 20" stock size, they only offer 2 tires, a Michelin M/S and a Firestone AT.

For the 18" stock size, they offer 32 tires, including BFG AT K/O2 and Goodyear Wrangler MT/R.

Think that says enough about the correct choice.

When I custom ordered my truck I specifically chose 18" over 20" just for that reason. I knew I needed a second set of tires for dedicated winter use, much better 18" selection and prices.

[Sprintcar]

I just bought a used set of 18" factory set of alloys to replace my 20" wheels. Very limited selection of 20" tires. The savings in the 18" tires almost pays for the wheels. The way these heavier trucks eat tires, I will be money ahead in the long run.

The comment above about having the jacks fully extended with the 18" wheels - the overall diameter is the same with the factory tire sizes, so it does make any difference on height of the truck.

[Nemo667]

kohldad wrote:
Just go to a tire site such as tirerack.com, then look at the options for stock 18" and stock 20" wheels.

For the 20" stock size, they only offer 2 tires, a Michelin M/S and a Firestone AT.

For the 18" stock size, they offer 32 tires, including BFG AT K/O2 and Goodyear Wrangler MT/R.

Think that says enough about the correct choice.

+1 ...I'm at the top of my jacks when when taking the camper on or off with the 18's. Look at the Toyos too...

[kohldad]

Just go to a tire site such as tirerack.com, then look at the options for stock 18" and stock 20" wheels.

For the 20" stock size, they only offer 2 tires, a Michelin M/S and a Firestone AT.

For the 18" stock size, they offer 32 tires, including BFG AT K/O2 and Goodyear Wrangler MT/R.

Think that says enough about the correct choice.

[deltabravo]

A good resource to check tire size availability is www.discounttire.com

For the type of off-highway travel you do, I'd go 18s.

[jamesroadking]

I specially chose the stock 18 tires and wheels over the $3000 upgrade to 20 inch wheels and tires because I wanted the taller side walls for a better ride and I know when it comes to buying replacement tires the 18 inch ones will be a lot less expensive.

[Second_Chance]

You'll find the selection of load range E tires extremely limited in the 20" wheel size. My truck came stock with the 20" option and I wish it hadn't. The remarks above about lower profile tires and decreased load capacity are correct.

Rob

[towpro]

Boy i would take that Pre DEF Ram junk line with a grain of salt.

I been doing Diesel since the 70's and I skipped that whole revision from 2007 that did not use DEF.

[hedge]

I don't offroad like you do but when I went from 18" rims to 20" rims I noticed no difference at all.

[burningman]

I'd go with the 18s, because for off-roading I consider even those too big.
The truck probably needs at least 18s to clear the brakes though.
No real off-roaders run big-diameter rims with short sidewalls.

You might also look into buying a nice low mileage pre-DEF emissions junk nightmare Ram instead of a new one before you give up your '01 Ford, which is an excellent truck itself.