Dirt worthy wheel and tire options for heavier campers

[sarconcepts]

EDIT: OK I see the Rickson's. Sadly I have heard too many horror stories of them, Still happy with yours?

Yes, I too have read about some of the catastrophic failures of the Ricksons out there, (after I got mine) but I will say, I've had no problems whatsoever.
you do have other options for single wheels, the tires seem to be the bigger question.

 

[heimbig]

My Rickson experiences, too bad because they occasionally do a good work.
http://forum.expeditionportal.com/t...ehicle-Economical-build?p=1435284#post1435284

 

[Darwin]

add Pirelli ps22 MPT tires similar tread pattern to the xzl in 335/80/20 size with a 7,300 lb load range per tire. Selling for 300$$ new plus shipping.

 

[Petrolburner]

add Pirelli ps22 MPT tires similar tread pattern to the xzl in 335/80/20 size with a 7,300 lb load range per tire. Selling for 300$$ new plus shipping.

That sounds pretty good. I couldn't fit a 41" tire personally, but the F450/550 probably can without too much hassle. That's also a great price for a tire that size. Limited to 110 KPH though, what's that, 70 MPH?

 

[heimbig]

For a 550 (and I assume 450) if you go bigger than 36 to 36.5 (depending on width) you'll either need to lift, set the wheels way out, and probably serious modification of the wheel well.
with an E450 I doubt you have that kind of room.

 

[Petrolburner]

I would need a 6" lift to fit 35s. 4" lift and I can fit 33s. To lift it high enough to fit 41s is unrealistic.

 

[goatherder]

There seems to be a fair bit of overthinkage here. Some of the ideas are good, but damn expensive.

I've got a E-450 short bus with the same weight ratings. The 225/75 tires these things typically use have a far lower rating than your average Load Range E truck tire. One thing you can do (which I've done) is to mount 265/75-16 Load Range E tires on the fronts and rear outers, and 235/85-16 on the rear inners and spare rim. Tire diameter is the same. and the narrower inner tires keep the pair from scrubbing against eachother and building heat. To use 265's on the inners would require 2" spacers between the dual wheels...which will increase your track width and make it even harder to stuff down that skinny little trail to the river bank. And yeah, they recommend a 7" rim for 265's and all that...but people install 265's on 6" dually rims all the time and it works just fine. Myself included. I got Kenda Klever M/T's. Cheap, steel belted 3-ply sidewalls. Damn tough tires with good grip. Fookin' loud on the highway...but its a camper and not your daily driver.

Re: Spacers - 2" spacers are the narrowest you can use without cutting the wheel studs down...which would then necessitate the use of spacers in the future.

Here's a photo of my DIY suspension lift. I made the 2.25" rear block from a 1.5" chunk of 3x6 steel tube, .375 plate and a bolt. Bought new U-bolts longer than stock. On the front, I bought the spring spacers off Ebay for 2wd F350, and had to flip the big Jesus bolt upside down to make them work. Alignment guy fixed the camber, but caster is right at the limit of acceptability. Fabbing a radius arm drop would fix this, but this truck will probably get Weldtec suspension next spring.

 

[goatherder]

Here's the bus:

 

[Fatboyz]

Java what are you running for tires/wheels on yours. My 550 will need at least tires. I plan to add a lift but that will come with new tires if required. I'm torn between keeping the duels or going to super singles?

 

[java]

Java what are you running for tires/wheels on yours. My 550 will need at least tires. I plan to add a lift but that will come with new tires if required. I'm torn between keeping the duels or going to super singles?

OE size(225/70r19.5) M608Z's at the moment. Id really like a single, but I don't think its going to be in the budget for a long time.

These tires are nearly new, like less than 8k on them, so I will likely keep them for awhile. Id like to go to a 245 or 265 ideally, but the skinny OE rims keep most shops from mounting them as they are pretty pinched.

 

[Petrolburner]

The 265 and 235 combo sounds interesting. I'd really like to avoid the duals altogether, but that will be an expensive route to go no matter what. I might be swapping axles anyway if I go to 4WD, so spacing and lug pattern might change. F550 axles front and rear would be great, but that's outside my skill set to engineer and fabricate everything that would be required. Not sure if MG's coil kit would work with F550 axles. F350 axle is probably fine up front anyway.

 

[goatherder]

The 265 and 235 combo sounds interesting. I'd really like to avoid the duals altogether, but that will be an expensive route to go no matter what. I might be swapping axles anyway if I go to 4WD, so spacing and lug pattern might change. F550 axles front and rear would be great, but that's outside my skill set to engineer and fabricate everything that would be required. Not sure if MG's coil kit would work with F550 axles. F350 axle is probably fine up front anyway.

F350 axles are stout and fine up front. I also have a 7.3L F350. Damn tough truck. 265/235 combo is workin out fine for me. And I have been thoughly testing this. My bus gets a workout, and has gone places you wouldn't expect...and this with duals and an open diff... at 12,500lbs.

 

[Petrolburner]

F350 axles are stout and fine up front. I also have a 7.3L F350. Damn tough truck. 265/235 combo is workin out fine for me. And I have been thoughly testing this. My bus gets a workout, and has gone places you wouldn't expect...and this with duals and an open diff... at 12,500lbs.

Good to know. Have you been in soft sand yet? I'd like to be able to camp on the beach in Baja. I only got my Motovan stuck in the sand once on the beach last trip. It was easy to pull out the next morning with a fisherman's F150.


Das Bus is running Toyo M-608 in 285/70 R19.5 on 6.75" wide American Force wheels. I think I'll be light enough that I could just run those as singles in the rear. Toyo rates them for 6395 pounds as a single, that exceeds my axle capacity. It's 35.4" tall with 21/32s tread depth. This could work for me. 285 is wide enough I think.

 

[java]

Yeah I could just about run them as a single on my truck too. But wheels become difficult

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[Petrolburner]

Yeah I could just about run them as a single on my truck too. But wheels become difficult

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What's wrong with the wheels? Can I air these tires down?