Best tire and rim size

[mudmony]

have you thought about running a 19.5" rickson wheel with a 35"(285 series) tire? really hard tire, hold lots of weight last forever kinda thing.

the continental hdr is a good tire, holds 6000+ lbs, good tread for mild offroad. h-rated tire. $500. http://www.ricksontruckwheels.com/tires-28570R195.php

might be something to consider if you are loaded to max capacity more often than not.

Thanks tank, but my experience with 19.5s is no sidewall flex at all, not sure why the year or green stamps even matters, although I enjoy clevers humor

 

[xbox73]

It's a 2005 diesel.

I tried and tried to be a good acolyte of buliwyf's who generously offered sage insight and advice and steered me towards the 7.3l but I just kept coming up with models that had something wrong with them. Most candidates I found had the vacuum-assisted 4WD on-the-fly which I don't like. Others were from salt states. Others had telltale signs of poor drivers. Others were a little ragged out and the list goes on. I did let slip through my hands a perfect '02 from New Mexico in late 2011. It was tough...I've had to get counseling for that. I still get choked up when I see a blue, Super.....(sniff) excuse me, I got something in my eye....

I wanted to find a 2006 MY (because ostensibly Ford had worked out most of the bugs by then) and two slipped through my fingers. So, when a pristine 2005 model with super low mileage (and a life lived as an occasional hay truck for a hobby horse) turned up, I half-heartedly explored it. The owner of 2033diesel.com (a BulletProof Diesel dealer in Weatherford, TX) thoroughly checked out the truck for me. It turned out to be a gem. By that time I had www.bulletproofdiesel.com music blaring at full volume and was getting dizzy so I just leaped into the 6.0 abyss and bought it.

It's getting picked up today and shipped to XPCamper in California for a whole mess of man jewelry. The new wheels and tires are part of the overall outfit which is sure to stun all the baristas at Starbucks when I go on an expedition for a double-white machafrappasoychino drink with those nummy little chocolate sprinkles on top.

Oh, wait...did I say that out loud?

Anyways, once I get back home and pick it up, my wife and I will be driving to Bulletproof Diesel in Mesa, Az to swap out the EGR Cooler, install a new oil cooler, a new waterpump, a new radiator, a new HPOP mounting kit and some other shiny engine jewelry.

After that, we're going to Flagstaff for the Overland Expo thing to take some courses on how to properly hold our titanium cups and dress like forest rangers, security contractors and/or gnarled world adventuristas with zip-off pants and fedoras.

So, yeah...it sucks to dump that much money into the engine compartment on a truck with less than 60K on the clock but I think I'll be end up with a reliable truck.

Anyways, didn't mean to derail the original thread....just the drama of my life at the moment.

Now back to tires....

I have to admit I LOL'd, especially at the Overland Expo comment.

P.S. the vacuum assist thing is no big deal, they all tend to leak, so need regular maintenance, so it's best to just cap it off & switch out to manual locking hubs.

I looked for 6 months to a year, not exactly sure what I wanted, waffling between a CC LB & an Excursion, but knowing I wanted a 7.3L PSD, and looking for the right candidate. I finally found a 2000 7.3L Excursion Limited 4x4, with 140k miles, 8" all-spring lift (i.e. no lift blocks), 37" tires, ARB lockers F&R, 4.56 gears, drop down door entry steps, roof rack, Warn M15000 winch hidden behind stock bumper, Warn manual locking hubs, double Bilstein 7100 smoothies w/ resis in the front & single Bilstein smoothies w/ Firestone towing airbags in the rear, intake, exhaust, heavy duty diff & trans pan covers, Class V hitch, and reasonably priced too. As soon as I saw it, I knew it was what I was looking for & bought it the same day I saw it advertised. Bonus was the seller lived only an hour away from me too.

Congrats on your new ride & post up some pics when you pics when you get a chance.

 

[xbox73]

I currently have 16.5" rims, and H1 military surplus Goodyear Wrangler radials in 37x12.50x16.5 size on my diesel Excursion with 8" all-spring lift. I only got 10k miles out of my last set even though they had 95% tread left when I got them, but the tread compound on those is supposedly fairly soft & my use is probably more extreme than most (present company excepted). Anyway, due to low mileage use out of the H1 military surplus tires, coupled with the age/difficulty sourcing of them in good condition, I am likely going to switch rim & tire setups when my current set of tires is worn down. I am planning to go with a 17" rim as there seems to be the widest range of offroad tires available for that diameter rim, and coupled with a 37" tire (most likely Toyo Open Country Mud Terrain, in 37x13.50R-17LT, with Load Range E & 4300 lbs weight rating in that particular size, since many people have given them good reviews, and say they have great on road manners for an MT), that should give me enough sidewall height for some flex off road, as well as filling the wheel wells with an 8" lift & maintain the same ratio with my re-geared 4.56 diffs. The rims are a little bit tricky, as it's not so easy to find a wide enough rim, with correct backspacing, offset & bolt pattern, that will withstand off road abuse, have a worthwhile load rating for an HD truck (i.e. > 3200 lbs, the higher the better), look decent, and don't cost a small fortune. I like low key stuff, so will probably end up with something like the KMC XD Enduro in matte black in 17x9.

 

[Buliwyf]

The rickson 19.5's and F+ rated tires was allways a dually, F550, horse towing thing. Not really an expo option for lightly loaded SRW trucks.

 

[bftank]

Thanks tank, but my experience with 19.5s is no sidewall flex at all, not sure why the year or green stamps even matters, although I enjoy clevers humor

some years fit larger tires better than others (edit, the red felt like i was yelling. lol!)

The rickson 19.5's and F+ rated tires was allways a dually, F550, horse towing thing. Not really an expo option for lightly loaded SRW trucks.

no sweat on the 19.5's. they were a tire i considered for mine. i have no personal experience with them, just found from my web wheeling that some of these guys with heavily loaded trucks give standard e-rated tires a short life span.

 

[laker]

I am also looking for wheels and tires. Found the wheels I want which are 17" and also looking for an E rated tire. Narrowed it down to the Firestone Destination AT in 315/70r 17. I do not need an aggresive MT tire, and that really narrowed down the choices for an e rated 35" tire in a 17" wheel. Any opinions on the firestone at tire?

 

[bloodyWEST]

It's getting picked up today and shipped to XPCamper in California for a whole mess of man jewelry. The new wheels and tires are part of the overall outfit which is sure to stun all the baristas at Starbucks when I go on an expedition for a double-white machafrappasoychino drink with those nummy little chocolate sprinkles on top.

After that, we're going to Flagstaff for the Overland Expo thing to take some courses on how to properly hold our titanium cups and dress like forest rangers, security contractors and/or gnarled world adventuristas with zip-off pants and fedoras.

********....can i buy you a beer?



FWIW i dropped from 35x12.5 16.5s to 285/75 17s and have been very happy. i havnt been wheeling the truck hard enough to miss the ground clearance. the truck drives nice and tight. i will probable go back to 315s next time.

 

[Greggk]

********....can i buy you a beer?



FWIW i dropped from 35x12.5 16.5s to 285/75 17s and have been very happy. i havnt been wheeling the truck hard enough to miss the ground clearance. the truck drives nice and tight. i will probable go back to 315s next time.

you wont. even though its an inch and a half overall diameter difference, technically its a 3/4" ground clearance difference. hard to notice 3/4"

 

[locrwln]

17's are the new 15's when it comes to rim sizes. They are becoming the size that everyone makes a tire for. I am running H2 takeoffs in the 17" rim diameter. For tires I chose the 285/75R17's. They are just under 34" tall. I think it is a great comprimise between a not tall enough 33 and maybe a too tall 35 for a full-size truck that sees both off road as well as long highway use.

Jack

 

[drodio]

I had an in-depth discussion about tires for my F250 here:

http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...-for-a-2003-diesel-F250-with-Mickey-Thompsons

I ended up getting Silent Armor tires and have been very happy with them both on and off road.

 

[bloodyWEST]

I am running H2 takeoffs in the 17" rim diameter. For tires I chose the 285/75R17's. They are just under 34" tall. I think it is a great comprimise between a not tall enough 33 and maybe a too tall 35 for a full-size truck that sees both off road as well as long highway use.

Jack

me too


sorry to hi-jack

what do you guys with E rated tires run for PSI when not at max GVW? How low for normal mixed driving?

 

[Speaker]

After that, we're going to Flagstaff for the Overland Expo thing to take some courses on how to properly hold our titanium cups and dress like forest rangers, security contractors and/or gnarled world adventuristas with zip-off pants and fedoras.

Bwah hahaha!

 

[wild1]

Best tires and rims

I have put 70,000 miles on various 285/75/r16s on my F350/Alaskan camper combo over the last seven years. It weighs in at 10,500 to 11,000 and it never gets unloaded.
I burned through a set of Toyo M/Ts in less then 15,000 miles on this rig.I have settled on BFG A/Ts, they are rated at 3750 pounds carrying capacity and are good for 35,000 miles under a full load if you rotate them ever 3000 miles. With that much weight on them they get great traction and are they are quiet on the road. You can get replacements most places but I am on my third set and have never had a problem.

 

[mudmony]

Great info from all...love the rig and pic wild, miss the white stuff. 17s have the most options and true they are the new 15, but the loads are just not there. Has anyone experienced a failure of a "new" E rated tire.

 

[NothingClever]

********....can i buy you a beer?

< cue Larry the Cable Guy voiceover > Buy me a beer? Shooot, I'll let you pour it down muh throat, too, if it makes you happy.

So, I ended going with a 17 x 8 wheel, the ATX Mojave. They're not too bad. I can pretend to be a cop on a big chase scene or an undercover DEA Agent in Miami. In all seriousness, I tried to find some sorta plain wheels and everything I found there at www.treaddepot.com conjured up images of, I dunno, like KISS face paint or something and big platform boots with shiny doo-dads all over that don't do anything but look macho or something. Faux beadlock wheels must be moving briskly these days.

And I ended up with Toyo Open Country A/T II in 35 x 12.50 x 17 because, well, I feel inadequate and really big tires help me feel confident when I cruise on down to Wal Mart to get a bag of kitty litter.

Big shout out to Hilldweller for posting the www.treaddepot.com link. Andrew there is a fine, young Titan of Tires.