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

[Grit_dog]

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?

[Reality_Check]

Grit dog wrote:
You can get studdable 19.5s and have them siped.
They would make good snow/ice tires then, although not as good as the Hakkas as they’ll be nowhere as soft.
Old saying cheap fast or good, pick 2 applies here. Except it’s traction, load rating or ride, pick 2.

2 out of 3 is the best anyone can ever do. And with 19.5's, ride differences are negligible, and traction in snow and mud, compared to standard LT tires is a diminished quality right out of the box. I was trying to get close...

Liking these things so far. And to answer one of the questions, snow is the reason we bought these. In the mountains 2, 3 times a week all winter.

[swhunter]

I went with the Toyo, M920- 245/70R-19.5” tires Load range G rated at 4540 lb’s. I have had them on now for a year and half. I bought the tires from a local tire shop that does a lot of semi truck & heavy equipment tire business. The guy that did the tire install has been doing big truck and heavy equipment tires for over 25 years. He showed me when he was balancing them that they were real uniform as far as being round. He said some tires it really shows how out of around they are when they are spinning on the balancer. I hope that made since what I was trying to explain. They took 3oz to balance.
My F350 SWR has the 7.3 liter diesel with a 4” exhaust and straight through muffler. I don’t hear the tire noise much once I am at highway driving speed. When I let off the throttle like going on to an exit or descending downhill they do sing quit loud. I have been on several trips carrying the camper since putting the tires on. So far I am happy with my decision, the tires stiff side walls and the way they handle is a big improvement when loaded with the camper. Last January I had the camper on during a pheasant hunt and we got 8 to10 inches of snow on our last day. I drove in some pretty deep snow on dirt roads and the last third of the day the roads were quit muddy and I didn’t have any problem. And then on the night driving home I got caught in a snow storm on the highway. At times I had to adjust my speed because of visibility and icy road conditions. I never felt like I had to slow down because of the tires, just because of the driving conditions. The tires handled fine with the big 11,1/2 foot Lance camper on. Not sure but I think they probably handle better in those kind of conditions with the weight of the camper on than they would if the pickup is empty.
Thanks,
swhunter

[Grit_dog]

You can get studdable 19.5s and have them siped.
They would make good snow/ice tires then, although not as good as the Hakkas as they’ll be nowhere as soft.
Old saying cheap fast or good, pick 2 applies here. Except it’s traction, load rating or ride, pick 2.

[Sliding-into-ho]

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!

[Reality_Check]

Earthroamer82 wrote:
Good morning Reality Check,

Did you ever get the M655s installed? How are they handeling?

Thanks, Charlie

They are on. Had to drive it a bit before making a comment.

I'm actually more pleased than I had hoped. The tracking is good with no wandering.

I'll grab a couple of pic's; they're good looking tires.

[Earthroamer82]

Good morning Reality Check,

Did you ever get the M655s installed? How are they handeling?

Thanks, Charlie

[Reality_Check]

jimh425 wrote:
Reality Check, can’t wait to hear what you think about the M655s.

Are they going on the front as well? Are you putting 225s on? I know 225s are recommended for stock rims, but I keep reading that some put on 245s with no issues. No idea if they carry any weight on the F450s that run 245s..

I am going to run them on all corners. I have another 550 that runs A/T's on all 4 corners, and it's okay driving, but significantly lighter on the rear end (boom truck). Others, I run steers on the front.

And yes on 225's, simply because we throw iron on the tires often during the year..and if I make the gap any tighter, it becomes miserable linking them up.

[jimh406]

Reality Check, can’t wait to hear what you think about the M655s.

Are they going on the front as well? Are you putting 225s on? I know 225s are recommended for stock rims, but I keep reading that some put on 245s with no issues. No idea if they carry any weight on the F450s that run 245s..

[Reality_Check]

Earthroamer82 wrote:
Has anyone tried the new Toyo M655? Looks promissing.

Got a set going on this week. Local shop had to order them up from CA. I'm willing to take a chance; the 655's have a larger block than the 608's, which squirm a bit too much when loaded (like...really horrible).

Wait and see..

[jimh406]

I think there are a few brands including Toyo and Nitto, but I’m going from memory. I don’t know if they are snowflake rated or not.

If you can get by with a DRW, that would be your best option especially if you are considering a larger camper. Invest in the DRW instead of just SRW tires/wheels. I kept the SRW for so long because it was my daily driver, and I simply couldn’t park a DRW at work reliably. The spaces were far too small. My 19.5s were about 2500 from memory 14 years ago. I sold my takeoffs for 500 so about 2000 in difference and I was still near the rear axle limit with the SRW. I just carried less. With my DRW, we bring whatever we want, and I’ve even towed a TT from Seattle to Yellowstone and back with no issues and perfect stability with both the TC and TT being loaded with all that we needed for a bit over a week trip.

Just some thoughts.

[Sliding-into-ho]

jimh425 wrote:
there are 18s now that approach the load rating of 19.5s at 4080 lbs for the 18s. That might be worth a consideration.

If you aren’t maxing out the pressure on the 19.5s, you could end up being equal with no ability to air down when the TC isn’t on the truck much past 70. You’ll pop the bead on a 19.5 if you air down. Also, the speed rating is much less on most 19.5s.

Thanks Jim,

Michelin's site suggests air ranges from 75 - 120. That said, the camper is always on the truck, and when it's not, it just a quick trip to the lumber yard.

Also, Those XDEs are just under 5000 lbs with a snowflake rating. Not sure which 4000lb tire you're referencing. Wonder if it's snowflake. I have the Nokian LTs right now and they've been great. I'm just thinking of a heavier camper (or upgrading to a dually, but changing trucks seemed like an easier proposition before the pandemic).

[Earthroamer82]

Has anyone tried the new Toyo M655? Looks promissing.

[jimh406]

I ran 19.5s on my F350 for 8 1/2 years. They do ride a lot different than my stock 18s. I didn’t know at the time, but there are 18s now that approach the load rating of 19.5s at 4080 lbs for the 18s. That might be worth a consideration.

If you aren’t maxing out the pressure on the 19.5s, you could end up being equal with no ability to air down when the TC isn’t on the truck much past 70. You’ll pop the bead on a 19.5 if you air down. Also, the speed rating is much less on most 19.5s.

That being said, one of the reasons I bought a F450 was the 19.5s. I don’t usually drive it unless I have a load. The tires are tougher. But like I said the speed rating is less which might not be a problem if you never drive over 75.

Bridgestone and Continental have less agressive 19.5s that are still M+S. I’m not sure if they have snowflakes on any models or not. Typically, steer tires don’t have much traction, so I think you’ll be looking at all position tires like the Continental 920s.

Good luck.

[srschang]

I have Cooper RM 253 Load range G 133 245/70R19.5 on the Vision wheels. I like that size Cooper as it is exactly the same diameter as the factory tires. The aggressive tread on the Coopers sings pretty good going down the road as I'm sure the XDS will. But one of the rear tires has a balance problem, and after several tries balancing and adding Centramatic wheel balancers all the way around, It's still off enough at 40 and 70 mph that I'm looking for new tires to replace the two rear Coopers.

Ill probably put the front Coopers/Visions on the rear, and buy a pair of Michelin XZE for the front. I don't drive with these wheels & tires in the snow, and pretty much all the off-road we do is gravel roads and getting into a site at a campground. So the XZE will be fine for traction, and should be much quieter than the RM 253's.

Other than the balance problem, I really like the 19.5's. Very stiff sidewall, very little side to side sway with the camper on. Reasonable ride with the camper off. You'll have to get used to turning off the TPM warning every time you start the truck, but not a big deal. I'd add TPM valve stems to the Visions, but haven't been able to find 433mhz stems that fit the Vision wheels. In fact, I don't know how you would determine which TPM stems fit the Vision wheels. Let me know how the Michelins work out, and especially if you find TPM stems that fit the Vision wheels.