Switch to 19.5" wheels & tires

[swhunter]

Hello,
I have learned a lot by reading in the truck camper forum here. I just recently registered to become a member of this site. It seems like there are some really interesting and knowledgeable people on this site. I have been around the RV life style a very long time. My folks were fulltime RV’ers for twenty some years. I got into pickup campers in 1994. This is my first post; I am not very experienced at posting on the internet. Also I hope I am not beating a dead horse here since I know this subject has been here before. I just wanted to see what some of the people that have experience with SRW pickups and 19.5” wheels, tires and heavy campers, think of my situation and the way I am handling it. I want to go to the 19.5’ wheels and tires for the safety margin to gain with them.
I have 2000 Ford F350 with the 7.3 Liter Diesel engine, crew cab long bed, and single rear wheel pickup. In the pickup, I carry a 1992 Lance model 900 overhead camper that is for an extended cab or crew cab, which has an 11 foot 3 inch floor. I did put on the pickup the Rancho 2.5 inch level kit, which means it now has 4 leaf springs on each side of the front-end and it is double shocked and air bags on the rear axle. My pickup has 149,000 miles is still in good shape. As much as I would like to get a dually I don’t see that happening for a long time. If I would change anything I would like to go to 9.5 foot camper. I have taken the pickup and camper to a scale to be weighed. I have the following weights:
The pickup by itself with a full fuel tank, but no passengers.
The pickup = 7,770 Lb’s
The front axle = 4,560 Lb’s
The rear axle = 3,230 Lb’s

The camper wet weight, with everything in it full; water tank, propane bottles and everything needed to go on a long hunting trip = 4,770 Lb’s.

The weight of the pickup when the camper is on it, but no passengers:
Pickup and camper total weight = 12,540 lb’s
Front axle = 4,690 lb’s
Rear axle = 7,850 lb’s
Both the pickup and camper are kept in a non climate controlled pro-panel building when not being used. They are separated most of the time.

I contacted Rickson Wheel, and talked to a really nice lady by the name of Heather. Heather was very informative and helpful. I did tell her that I am interested in the 19.5” x 7.5” steel wheels that are rated at 5000 lb’s. After I got all the weight information to Rickson they sent me their suggestions on tires, which are: Toyo M608-245/70R19.5 – load range H – 16 ply, rated at 4940 lb’s. Said this tire is new from Toyo with identical tread as the M608Z.

Has anyone reading this had any experience they would like to share with a situation like this?

Thanks

[Rocknxj]

I can share from experience to remember to not go over 7 years old with tires. I had heard this many times but didn't pay attention. I blew out a 245/19.5 load range G Goodyear on the rear and the tires were 8 yrs old. Had to replace the side of my truck bed, thankfully was covered by insurance. My current Hankooks are 5 yrs old, and will be replaced in 2 yrs even though they have plenty of tread left.

When it blew it sounded like a cannon going off. Was loaded with my 9.5" Lance 921 and pulling the desert race car and equipment on the trailer. BTW, I run the Visions, 13 yrs now and no issues other than one blown tire.

[S_Davis]

I went with the vision wheels and Toyo M608Z in 245/70/19.5 two and a half years ago, I haul a commercial cap that weighs between 3500 and 4000 pounds. I had tread squirm and they tracked real bad for about the first 5000 miles or so, since then they have been good in heavy rain and snow and ice. I have just over 40,000 miles on them and from the wear so far it looks like I will get over 60,000, they do make some noise with the open shoulder.

[Tamnative]

Grit dog wrote:
^You mean the lug nuts got sucked through the rim when tightened?
That's almost unbelievable. The rim was that thin?

It was not that the rim was thin rather there is a recess on the back side of the lug hole. And when the tech installed the wheels he must have over tightened them so the lug pulled through.

[JimK-NY]

I order mine a year and a half ago. Order was completed and received in slightly over 1 month.

[F350_RR]

dadwolf2 wrote:
I bought Rickson wheels with mounted tires about 3 years ago. Hopefully they've been able to improve their production capability. Took 6 months to deliver which I would've been alright with if they had been honest with me but the head guy at Rickson kept lying to me and stringing me along. Because of his outright lies I'll say to purchase at your own risk. Buzzcut and I were trying to get Rickson wheels at ~ the same time. We will back each other up regarding the Rickson lies.

Once they finally arrived the wheels and tires with their outstanding balancing have been great.

I ordered mine 3rd week of May for August end delivery. Left for my Canada trip on Rickson wheels first of Sept.

[dadwolf2]

I bought Rickson wheels with mounted tires about 3 years ago. Hopefully they've been able to improve their production capability. Took 6 months to deliver which I would've been alright with if they had been honest with me but the head guy at Rickson kept lying to me and stringing me along. Because of his outright lies I'll say to purchase at your own risk. Buzzcut and I were trying to get Rickson wheels at ~ the same time. We will back each other up regarding the Rickson lies.

Once they finally arrived the wheels and tires with their outstanding balancing have been great.

[Bedlam]

Proper torque and correct lug nut are required for these wheels. I don’t remember the thread pitch or taper on mine from 2012, but I know there were two different choices for each.

[Grit_dog]

^You mean the lug nuts got sucked through the rim when tightened?
That's almost unbelievable. The rim was that thin?

[Tamnative]

For those that have gotten Vision wheels and those that are considering getting them, I had a post about 3 years ago about the problems that I had. I was criticized by some that they have had no problems with them. I feel that I should bring to the attention of one of the things that I found with these wheels at least with the respects with Ford trucks. I am not familiar with how they are made for other trucks. When I got mine ( and was very excited at the time) After I had them installed and brought the truck home I CHECKED to make sure they were tightened properly as I was about to load my camper. Upon checking I found 2 lugs on 2 different tires to be damaged. On further inspection I found that the lug had pulled through the wheel because the wheel was machined in the back with a recess of about 1/8" -3/16" for a clip that is installed at the factory that is easily removed, it is only put there during assembly of the unit. Never the less, this is something that can be removed when installing a wheel or changing a rotor or drum. In short any tightening of these aftermarket wheels or any like them one needs to find out what the torque specs. are BEFORE you have them installed. I had to sell some new wheels and tires after I got the the wheels replaced an decided that I did not what a wheel on my truck that could be prone to any problems should I be in need of assistance from an outside service.

[mbloof]

I do BLM and forest service roads all the time. I don't think once in like forever have I ever wanted to "air down" my tires.

Yes, I do have a sandy beach within 100 miles of where I live however I've never had the need, want or desire to drive on it.

The difference between the stock "E" tires and 19.5's with side-2-side sway is like night and day. With the stock tires I thought I was going to get "sea sick", not so much with "H" 19.5's.


- Mark0.

[Oregun]

My 19.5's did well in the snow in jan 2017 when we had about 10" of snow in town. Couldn't get out of my driveway (500ft long) with my car as it was too low to the ground. Got in my empty f350 with 2WD and went back and forth down driveway compressing the snow.

[Bedlam]

19.5’s don’t provide flotation over soft sand or snow. They dig and cut through due to the stiffer tire. They do work well in other applications as long as you have firm ground for them to grab a bite. Packed sand and snow are fine with these tires. I will argue that those usually going to more difficult camp spots typically don’t choose the heaviest and largest campers - They usually choose something that is easier to handle and recover with a lower overall height.

[jimh406]

Well, you can go “off” pavement, but you can’t air down due to the type of bead that 19.5s have. The beads separate easily, but also, the sidewalls don’t really deform like C/D/E tires do. Beach hardpack is fine, loose sand is not.

[Optimistic_Para]

I'm going to throw something into the mix here that's based on some stuff I've read, rather than stuff I've actually had personal experience with. Hopefully, some people here WITH personal experience can comment on it and correct me if any of it is wrong.

I've read that once you get beyond Load Range E tires, airing down for better traction off road - whether we are talking beach running or forest service roads - is no longer a viable option. Supposedly the much heavier sidewalls keep it from sagging and getting you the much larger footprint airing down normally gives.

I also read an article on beach running by a guy with a DRW truck & camper. He put 2" aftermarket spacers between his rear wheels, which allowed him to air down on beaches without the usual problem of the two sidewalls touching.

This leads me to think that the 19.5 inch wheels and tires are a valid solution for people that run on pavement all the time, but are less than optimal for people who take their truck and camper off pavement.

Comments, anyone?