Which 19.5" tire to choose

[swhunter]

I posted for the first time on here clear back in November of 2018. I was asking about upgrading to 19.5” wheels and tires for a 2000 Ford F350 SRW. I got a lot of good info from others here. I heard from some people about how hard it is to get wheels from Rickson. Well it seems that is the same case for me. All the correspondence I have had with Heather (she does the sales orders for Rickson) has been positive. But I never heard from the owner of the company or other personnel as far as getting my order for the wheels filled. I really wanted to buy wheels made here in the USA, but it didn’t seem like that was going to happen. So I ordered a set of Vision 19.5” wheels through a local Discount Tire store. The wheels came in within one week.

When my camper is fully loaded, I have 7850 lbs on the rear axle, or 3925 lbs per wheel. I am now researching tires through the Rickson website and also looking at tire manufacture websites. It looks like I could go with 245/70R-19.5” tires with load range H, rated at 4940 lbs, and a 33” diameter. These would give me a safety margin of around 1015 lbs. Or I could go with the 265/70R-19.5” tires with load range G, rated over 5000 lbs, and a 34” diameter. These would give me a safety margin of around 1100 lbs. I like the weight capacity and height gain of the 265s, but I am not sure if that is overkill. I also don’t want to cause other problems later on because of going with that big of a tire.

I don’t want a steer tire tread or straight highway tread tire. I need a good all-terrain tread that will be good when the ground is wet, whether in the mountains or the desert.

Heather did recommend the 265/R-19.5” Toyo M608 load range H, 16ply rated at 4940 lbs.

Anyone running 19.5” wheels on a SRW pickup, what tires do you prefer?

Thanks in advance for any information you can share.
swhunter

[BigToe]

Grit dog wrote:
Started doing it (siping) on mud tires because they don’t have any or few factory sipes.
But it (sipes) even helps on AT or HT treads. Same concept as snow tires.
Generally the trucks that run over the passes in the winter, I sipe the tires.
Difference is night and day on mudders and it makes them not only good in deep/loose snow, with the big open lugs but helps the lugs grip the slippery stuff as well.
On AT tires which are like good at most conditions but not the best at anything, it’s also a noticeable improvement.

On any tires, especially heavier trucks, I don’t have them siped all the way out to the edges. That serves to wear out the shoulder treads much quicker. Just the inner tread rows and maybe halfway into the outer rows.

One of the main reasons I chose the Michelin XDS2 (225/70R19.5G) drive tire was due to all the factory cut SIPES already included and designed into the tire, without having to pay to have the tire tread sliced into by a tire jockey after the fact.

The XDS2 has 700 zig zagging sipes per tire.

There are 200 treadblocks circumnavigating the tire in four rows.

The two center rows of treadblocks have 4 sipes per individual treadblock, and there are 50 treadblocks per row. That's where 400 of the sipes can be found.

The two outer rows of treadblocks have 3 sipes per treadblock, and being outer rows, the three sipes are not cut all the way out to the edges, but rather only extend about half way across the outer treadblocks, from inboard of the tire, such that the outermost shoulder of the outside treadbocks is solid, to provide the shoulder support that @gritdog mentions in the quote above.

The total "half way across" sipes of the two outer rows of treadblocks is 300 sipes, plus the 400 full width cut sipes of the two central rows of treadblocks, equals 700 factory cut sipes per tire.

No other 19.5" tire on the market back in 2011 had more, or even near as many, factory formed sipes in the treadblocks as the Michelin XDS2. As I look to replace these tires solely due to time (10 years) not treadwear (plenty of tread left, with Lincoln's head upside down, the treadblocks still reach his chin!), a sipe count will definitely be part of any comparison of 19.5 tires available on the market this year.

[jerryleejr]

jimh425 wrote:

jerryleejr wrote:
I know 19.5 are the default choice for upgrading weight capability. But I’m seeing 18” tire selections at almost 4K per tire now. What would going to 19.5” give me that the 18’s that are on the truck would not?
https://www.prioritytire.com/centennial-terra-trooper-a-t-lt-275-70r18-128-125s-f-12-ply-at-all-terrain-tire/

My stock 18s on my 2006 F350 had tires that were rated 3760. I wouldn’t personally be worried about upping those to 4K. Maybe you are over the wheel rating, but that’s not much.

I tracked down the Ram spec of 3500 each for the 18” OEM and a lengthy discussion on actual usage up to 4K...

JJ

[jimh406]

jerryleejr wrote:
I know 19.5 are the default choice for upgrading weight capability. But I’m seeing 18” tire selections at almost 4K per tire now. What would going to 19.5” give me that the 18’s that are on the truck would not?
https://www.prioritytire.com/centennial-terra-trooper-a-t-lt-275-70r18-128-125s-f-12-ply-at-all-terrain-tire/

My stock 18s on my 2006 F350 had tires that were rated 3760. I wouldn’t personally be worried about upping those to 4K. Maybe you are over the wheel rating, but that’s not much.

[jerryleejr]

JIMNLIN wrote:

What would going to 19.5” give me that the 18’s that are on the truck would not?

Looking at Fleet Ford specs show their 18"/20" wheels rated at 3590 lbs capacity.
I've never found any weight specs on Ram/GM same size wheels but I would bet their all close to the same load ratings. Now days its the wheels or possible rear spring pack that are the weak link in most pickups GAWR ratings.
Tire load capacity has over the wheels rating is a good idea but it sure doesn't mean the trucks OEM rear spring pack/wheels are good for the same load capacity.

19.5" wheels has more load capacity than OEM 18" or 20" wheels.

I would go by how much weight is on any trucks rear axle and choose tires and wheels with a good bit of reserve capacity.

I’ll look it up, wasn’t thinking about the rim rating with the 11.5k rear axel and 14k GVWR

JJ

[Grit_dog]

Beat me to it Jim....lol

[Grit_dog]

jerryleejr wrote:
I know 19.5 are the default choice for upgrading weight capability. But I’m seeing 18” tire selections at almost 4K per tire now. What would going to 19.5” give me that the 18’s that are on the truck would not?
https://www.prioritytire.com/centennial-terra-trooper-a-t-lt-275-70r18-128-125s-f-12-ply-at-all-terrain-tire/

A 19.5 will give some advantages and a couple drawbacks comparatively.
Advantage of LT tires, softer sidewalls and the ability to run them as soft as you want.
Drawback, softer tire even when fully aired up.
Advantage of 19.5s, stiffer, better load control and tire wear.
Disadvantage. Always going to be rock hard and harsh when empty due to high min pressure requirement.

Rims are the other half of the equation. 19.5 wheels are rated higher and much stouter than all but a couple LT rims. And still better than those even.

Every thing is a compromise, right?

[JIMNLIN]

What would going to 19.5” give me that the 18’s that are on the truck would not?

Looking at Fleet Ford specs show their 18"/20" wheels rated at 3590 lbs capacity.
I've never found any weight specs on Ram/GM same size wheels but I would bet their all close to the same load ratings. Now days its the wheels or possible rear spring pack that are the weak link in most pickups GAWR ratings.
Tire load capacity has over the wheels rating is a good idea but it sure doesn't mean the trucks OEM rear spring pack/wheels are good for the same load capacity.

19.5" wheels has more load capacity than OEM 18" or 20" wheels.

I would go by how much weight is on any trucks rear axle and choose tires and wheels with a good bit of reserve capacity.

[Grit_dog]

Bedlam wrote:
Siped tires will wear faster than solid blocks, but they do work well.

I generally believe that to be true but had a set of Firestone MTs that were an anomaly. They still wore like iron being siped. I started using them year round and figured hauling the camper and trailer would accelerate the wear but I can’t imagine they could have held up any better not siped. It was strange.
Not siping the outer tread blocks helps as does the type of driving and load on the tires.
In heavy use I still expect exactly what you said though.
Cheers. Hope you guys had a good holiday!

[jerryleejr]

I know 19.5 are the default choice for upgrading weight capability. But I’m seeing 18” tire selections at almost 4K per tire now. What would going to 19.5” give me that the 18’s that are on the truck would not?
https://www.prioritytire.com/centennial-terra-trooper-a-t-lt-275-70r18-128-125s-f-12-ply-at-all-terrain-tire/

[Bedlam]

Siped tires will wear faster than solid blocks, but they do work well.

[Grit_dog]

^You know, never did, although I’d heard of it, until moving to western WA.
The snow here is super wet and thus it’s far more slippery than colder climates. It’s basically wet ice in the mountains as soon as it gets driven on.
Started doing it on mud tires because they don’t have any or few factory sipes.
But it even helps on AT or HT treads. Same concept as snow tires.
Generally the trucks that run over the passes in the winter, I sipe the tires.
Difference is night and day on mudders and it makes them not only good in deep/loose snow, with the big open lugs but helps the lugs grip the slippery stuff as well.
On AT tires which are like good at most conditions but not the best at anything, it’s also a noticeable improvement.

On any tires, especially heavier trucks, I don’t have them siped all the way out to the edges. That serves to wear out the shoulder treads much quicker. Just the inner tread rows and maybe halfway into the outer rows.
Depending how how drive and tire compound, it “can” decrease tire life, but on some tires I’ve seen as good as could possibly be expected so I don’t think it generally accelerates tread wear.

Also better traction dry and rain but not as pronounced as on snow.

Current personal rig has 37” mudders, not siped, and pulling the snowmobile trailer last week, even with nice low tire pressures on the truck, it got markedly worse traction than siped.

[dedmiston]

Grit dog wrote:
^Makes sense if you’re upgrading to a heavier rig.
More weight also = better traction. I’d be looking for basically any traction tread and have them siped. And ideally studded as you drive the coastal mountains.

I don't live near the snow, so I had to look up "sipe". Learn something every day. Very cool.

Do you do this on all your trucks G.D.?

https://www.lesschwab.com/article/performance-tire-siping.html

[Grit_dog]

^Makes sense if you’re upgrading to a heavier rig.
More weight also = better traction. I’d be looking for basically any traction tread and have them siped. And ideally studded as you drive the coastal mountains.

[Sliding-into-ho]

Grit dog wrote:

Sliding-into-home wrote:
Good info. Very curious if you log much snow/ice driving on them. Could be a good option for a steer tire at the very least.

I just put my Nokian Hakka LTs back on for the 3rd season. Still not showing any signs of wear. Still like velcro. They've thrown a few studs though. Only problem is they're only rated for 3600-ish lbs. To my knowledge there isn't a 19.5" Nokian 3pmsf tire, but if anyone else knows otherwise, let me know!

If you’re worried about the traction, the bigger question is why after 2 years of hauling the camper around on E tires, is it an issue? Are you creating a solution for a problem that doesn’t exist?

Sorry I guess I missed this reply. I'm not worried about traction with my current set-up. Not at all.

But I have a NL 9-6 right now with a family of 3, and my boy is closing in on 6ft tall. So it's time to upgrade to something with slides and more room.

We're not the typical campers who can spend a decent amount of time outside the camper or who can avoid driving up snowy/icy mountains every week. We go regardless of the weather. Once we're in for the night (around 4pm), all 3 of us are in until the next morning. So we need space. And the tires need to get the job done with as little compromise as possible. The Load E tires have done that admirably with the Northern Lite, and now I'm looking for the Load H tires that do 80% as well (I don't imagine I'll be able to keep pace with the subarus and Audis anymore).

As JimH says, a DRW is the best answer (it almost always is on this site, right?). That is also an option if I can find the right one at the right price.

Anyway, homing in on Vision 81b (confirmed that's the model, finally, due to the deep hubs) with 245/70/19.5s in a TBD make/model. I guess Nokian does make those after all. On the short list they go along with the Toyos and Michelins.