Tires & wheels for towing

[Herzog]

I have a 2016 Ram 2500 with 275/70/18 tires mounted on factory 8" wide wheels....I hate the wheels.

I've been looking at several aftermarket wheels that I would like, but they are all 18x9". I have the crappy Firestone Transforce tires that only have 3400 miles on them, so I am not ready to buy new ones.

I was going to re-mount the tires on the new 9" wide rims, but a tire store guy said that it would be ok only if I wasn't pulling a 5th wheel.

I asked a couple of other, and they said all would be good.

Of course, I do not want any issues on the hiway pulling our 8,000 pound 5th wheel.

Sooo, I would like any/all advice you all might have regarding this swap...yes, it's all good OR no, you will die on the road!!

Anyone have this combination without problems??

Thanks

[Herzog]

I just talked to a guy at a gas station....he had a Silverado with 305 20 Nitto M/T tires. Looked great, but he said they howled pretty good especially over 50 mph, and the gas mileage dropped at least 2-3 mpg...
He also said that going that big changed his final drive ratio such that he lost a very noticeable amount of power and probably should swap gears to tow....so much for that idea.

[psford]

zogg wrote:
I'm thinking about something similar....how bad do the M/Ts hurt your gas mileage and do they hum very loud on the hiway????

If they are anything like the mudders my son has had on his trucks they are beyond humming they got a pretty good howl to them .He runs either the Toyo MT or the Cooper STT

[zogg]

I'm thinking about something similar....how bad do the M/Ts hurt your gas mileage and do they hum very loud on the hiway????

[Grit_dog]

^yep, lots of deals to be had on takeoff wheels if they appeal to you. I went black Ram 20s on my 07. Freshens it up nicely and cost was the same or less than new tires.
The firestone at tires are ice skates in the snow and wear rather quickly, but I've renewed faith in Firestone. Packed my camper, overloaded on tire rating cross country and back this summer no problem. And just scored a super cheap set of Firestone MT for winter tires. Including shipping, mounting and siping I'm in them for about $900 and they kick butt.

[zogg]

I found a guy that had swapped out his black 20" factory Laramie wheels for some really huge wheel/tire combination.....

His tires had less than 3,000 miles on them, and were in excellent shape. We swapped my chrome clad wheels and tires for his +$300....he wanted my old ones for winter driving. Worked for both of us....thanks for the comments

[zogg]

Grit dog wrote:
If you want to stay stock wheels, the OE 20s are pretty sharp imo. Esp in black. And they're tough.

That's what I just bought...they were take offs from another 2016 nad are in excellent condition with 3,000 miles. The only drawback is that they have the Firestone factory A/T tires....can't wait for them to wear out....

[wireman]

I've been researching new wheels for my Jeep Grand Cherokee. In todays world, the more + offset you have means the tire is moved closer to the centerline of the vehicle.

The closer you get to 0 offset, or - offset, the tire is moved farther from the centerline of the vehicle, thus moving out toward or past the fender well edge, which may cause rubbing issues.

Offset is very important, especially when carrying a load.

Most tire websites will give you a rim width range that each tire is rated for. My tire size 265/60-18 are rated from 7.5-9.5" rim width. My stock wheel is 8" and has a +56mm offset.

I'm sticking with a 8" wide after market wheel and the one I like has a +30mm offset. The tire will move out about 1 " from stock, the max I want to go.

[BenK]

otrfun wrote:

snip....

Doubt there's an easy answer, but I'll ask the question anyhow. How far can you deviate from the standard OEM offset without significantly compromising the load carrying capability of the axle and bearings?

IMO, excessive positive offset on a full-floating axle forces a full-floating axle to operate mechanically/structurally similar to a semi-floating axle. Not a good thing.

Would love to see that discussed/answered...but know that there are too many variables involved (or should be taken into account)

Of course all withing the OEM's specifications, but in there lays the rub...many over load or use their vehicles outside of their OEM's specifications...I'm one of them with a 2x moment on each axle via my wheel offset

Variables as in:

• Materials used to service...likeGrease...El Cheapo, Mud Hen OEM, High End with EP rating...friction modifiers like Moly
• Frequency of servicing
• Un-sprung weight differential from OEM
• Shock loads, both frequency & amplitude
• Shock loading in straight line to cornering
• Amount of overload and that then factors the previous
• etc

As for the difference between a semi-floater to a full-floater...think the bearing closest to the wheel will suffer the most....with the semi-floater more so, as the moment is longer due to the fact that they, typically, are farther away from the wheel than a full-floater...

[otrfun]

BenK wrote:
. . . As for otrfun's good mention of the wheels offset...the wheel OEM's rating is for that wheel at whatever offset it is sold as...what matters is the TV's suspension's wheel offset specification it is designed for . . .

psford wrote:
. . . Also offset is another issue.I didn't want a wheel, and tire that stuck out too much . . .

Whether a given load exceeds a tire or wheel's load rating is pretty easy to calculate. If you're hauling 6k on your rear axle, you need a pair of wheels/tires that are rated at least 3k each. Simple enough.

We've all seen those trucks with huge offsets (wheels extending way outside the wheel wells) towing heavily loaded trailers. Common sense says large amounts of offset like this have to compromise the load carry capability of the axle and bearing.

Doubt there's an easy answer, but I'll ask the question anyhow. How far can you deviate from the standard OEM offset without significantly compromising the load carrying capability of the axle and bearings?

IMO, excessive positive offset on a full-floating axle forces a full-floating axle to operate mechanically/structurally similar to a semi-floating axle. Not a good thing.

[Sgeorge]

Take a look at the Fuel line of aftermarket rims. I just put a set of Fuel Kranks on my F250. They are rated at 3500lbs and are hub centric. Not cheap, but seem to have a good review. I don't tow heavy (7,000) so not really worried about weight. Discount ordered them for me.

[psford]

otrfun wrote:
No doubt a wheel's load capability is important. What about offset? Can't imagine varying too far from the standard offset without compromising the load rating of the axle and bearing.

The offset for stock OEM Ram 2500/3500 wheels seems to vary from +43 to +57. Has anyone found any aftermarket wheels that have a +43 - +57 offset? Granted, I haven't done an in-depth look, but an offset of +43 - +57 is certainly not common.

I went thru all this, I towed a 13K fifth wheel for nearly 7 years with aftermarket wheels, at the time it was a pain to find a wheel that had the weight rating I needed, and I liked. Ended up with a ProComp wheel.

Also then most aftermarket wheels were lug centric, and not hub centric, like the OEM wheels. Aftermarket there is a lot to consider ,and needs for towing, weight rating being number one. Also offset is another issue.I didn't want a wheel, and tire that stuck out too much.

[BenK]

While you all are on this 'ratings' topic...will toss in the TV's ratings is no different...

Either believe in the OEM's ratings of whatever or not and note that all specifications are not a stand alone spec, but in concert with other components connected/affected/effected by it...

Over loading a tire or wheel will NOT have it instantly fail...but it will sooner than if below or at the OEM's ratings...

What is meant by "can do it" and what is missed is that they who over load are into the OEM's design margin (AKA consuming that safety margin)

EVERY aspect of its specification is part of the ratings...rim bead-to-bead width, safety bead shape, production method (cast, forged, rolled, welded, riveted, etc), off-set, hub or lug concentric method, tapered/shoulder/etc lug landing, and a host of other attributes (specification details)

As for otrfun's good mention of the wheels offset...the wheel OEM's rating is for that wheel at whatever offset it is sold as...what matters is the TV's suspension's wheel offset specification it is designed for.

My Alcoa 10x16 forged alloy wheels have an offset of +76.2mm (stock is +38.1mm) and pushes my track to +10.5 inches or so over stock track. Like it that way and know the suspension wasn't designed for, but the moment calculations by buddy ME is okay for how I use my Suburban...PS...us old guys knew positive offset as negative offset back in the day when the OEMs used that metric...

That wider track plays well for me on pavement...off road set are on OEM steel wheels with LT255/85R16E's...

Toyo M/T LT255/85R16
Noodling these as my next set...current Falken's were cut up bad and one is too close to the edge by the sidewall to my liking

[otrfun]

No doubt a wheel's load capability is important. What about offset? Can't imagine varying too far from the standard offset without compromising the load rating of the axle and bearing.

The offset for stock OEM Ram 2500/3500 wheels seems to vary from +43 to +57. Has anyone found any aftermarket wheels that have a +43 - +57 offset? Granted, I haven't done an in-depth look, but an offset of +43 - +57 is certainly not common.

[Grit_dog]

If you want to stay stock wheels, the OE 20s are pretty sharp imo. Esp in black. And they're tough.