Rickson Steel 19.5 wheel update

[Buzzcut1]

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.S

I cant wait to get them.

[Bigfootchevy]

I bought Rickson rims and tires in 2011. I had them shipped to Canada with no problems. Yes they are a small company and it takes awhile to get them. But these made in the USA rims are excellent. I am extremely happy with their rims and the Bridgestone tires they sent. The rims are very heavy, but worth every penny because of the safety factor they add to the truck. If you have a SRW Truck I highly recommend 19.5 's from Rickson.

Paul

[tad94564]

I like my Kuhmo's better than the Toyo's had on mine.. Please the kuhmo's was cheaper at the time.

I thought the Rickson Aluminum was a forged blank, that was then machined into what they wanted, not a billet block.

[JumboJet]

billyray50 wrote:
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.

The difference in the Rickson aluminum (no longer made) and the Vision aluminum wheels - Rickson aluminum wheels were machined from a solid block of aluminum and then polished. Vision wheels are cast aluminum.

As you state, there are many Vision wheels setups installed and being installed. Rickson even sells their wheel/tire combination using Vision wheels.

Rickson will perform their "Match Mounting and Balancing" for a charge and guarantee you the smoothest vibration free setup that can be had.

[JumboJet]

Buzzcut1 wrote:
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

Your wheel and tire combination is going to weigh about 110-115 lbs. each.

My wheels and tires were balanced with lead weights, but I also purchased the Centramatic dynamic load balancers to keep those heavy tire and wheel combinations running smooth.

I had a set of Yokohama RY-023 tires that had excessive runout and never did get them to run smoothly. I had them adjusted to a set of Michelin XRV tires and they ran very smooth.

[billyray50]

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.

[Buzzcut1]

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

[billtex]

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

[pa_traveler]

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.

[TJMarc]

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.

[elquind]

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.

[deltabravo]

ChooChooMan74 wrote:
I would rather do business with them than get Chinajunk!

DITTO! Good wheels are worth waiting for.

[dadwolf2]

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.

[pa_traveler]

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.

[bka0721]

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

[dadwolf2]

trail-explorer wrote:
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.

Doesn't sound fishy to me at all. Small company with virtually no competition, high demand, custom build. The only competition I know of are the Vision 81's for SRW trucks and they don't match the OEM offset and are Chinese.

Rickson doesn't bill your card until wheels are built. They tell you upfront that there is a long wait