Freightliner FL60 wheel and tire recommendations

[rossvtaylor]

Hi all,

I don't think this belongs in our build thread, as it's pretty specific to tires and wheels (which may apply to other searchers). Ozrockrat has some good tire info in his thread, but he's gone way bigger that we plan to. He's given us some suggestions (dump truck front tires, super singles, etc.) but I'm still not clear on the specifics. So that I don't keep bugging him, I thought I'd ask the hive mind for some input and experience here.

Right now, we have hub-centered 10-bolt 19.5 wheels and tires. These are regular semi-truck hubs, which opens up lots of options for us. Our current 245/70-R19.5 tires are 33" in diameter and 9.6-inches wide. We have dual rear wheels, in case that wasn't obvious...

Ozrockrat recommends singles, as do other threads, and we're good with that. We have gobs of room and, seeing what Ozrockrat has fit on his beast, we don't foresee any big issues, with a pretty minor lift installed and some pretty minor rear well mods. But, where to go from here?

I found 22.5x9 inch semi rims for a great price ($160 for 6), so I did some research on tire options for that rim. It looks like these all fit correctly, according to the two manufacturers' charts I found:

295/75R-22.5: 39.9-inch diameter and 11.6-inch width
295/80R-22.5: 41-inch diameter and 11.6-inch width
305/70R-22.5: 39.3-inch diameter and 12-inch width
315/80R-22.5: 42.3-inch diameter and 12.4 inch width

Any of these would be big enough for us and they each have load capacities of 6000+ (some versions, apparently, are much higher) pounds. So, could we run these in a single configuration? Front wheel rims offset "in" and rear wheel rims offset "out"? Or, do you need different offsets for the front and rear? And, finally, I read something about stressing the rear wheel bearings when changing from DRW.

I did lots of searching for "dump truck front wheels or tires" and similar terms, but can't find info on what those are. Are those offsets different than the standard semi 12x9 rims?

As you can see, I know little here... any help you might be able to give in getting us set up right would be great.

Thanks much! And, thanks to Ozrockrat for all the tire info he's given so far.

Ross and Kara

 

[shortbus4x4]

My grandfather ran singles in the rear on his 1970 Ford C6000 cabover with a 1973 Winnebago 27 foot fifth wheel travel trailer bolted on the back of it. He did the Alaska highway with it from Phoenix to Fairbanks and back something like 15 times until 1986 when he moved to Hawaii, and alot of it wasn't paved then. I did the rear brakes on it around 2004 and the wheel bearings looked fine. I know one year he hauled up a CAT D8 final and dog leg in the big storage compartment he built under the front of the trailer where the fifth wheel was and right behind the cab, he said it was the nicest it ever rode. I wouldn't worry too much about the offset in the rear unless you are running alot of weight in which case you should switch back to duallys.

 

[MNtal]

I purchased 275/70R22.5 (37") Wheels and Tires for my Rambulance last year. There was some required minor trimming to the Horton Box but they seem to clear everything so far without any lift. I'll see if I can get a photo or two uploaded later.

 

[Joe917]

Is this going to be an off road truck?
I am running 315 80 22.5 on my rig,( 9 tonne MB917 4x4) great tire on the highway, a little narrow for sand and just about the most expensive size available.
If you intend to go off road a lot a 20" split rim is the best option.

 

[Ozrockrat]

If you want to go with singles and stick to commercially available 22.5 you might want to consider these type of wheels. You will need to play with the inset/offset to get them tracking correctly. Any tire you put on them should have sufficient load capacity. They may be a bit stiff in the sidewalls and will probably not air down very well.



Trouble is that they need a serious tire. The 12.5" wheels take 385/65R22.5, 15R22.5 or 425/65R22.5.

Good news is you can buy them from amazon

FYI
Inset is defined as the lateral distance from the rim centerline to the mounting
surface of the disc. Inset places the rim centerline inboard of the mounting
surface; outset places the rim centerline outboard of the hub surface.

 

[Ozrockrat]

Also just as an FYI these are the measurements I took from my axle. I suspect yours will be the same or close to these measurements. Just trying to save you the pain of pulling the wheels to check. These are measured from the rim mounting face to the rim mounting face

Back 71” face to face
Front 91” face to face

 

[rossvtaylor]

I purchased 275/70R22.5 (37") Wheels and Tires for my Rambulance last year. There was some required minor trimming to the Horton Box but they seem to clear everything so far without any lift. I'll see if I can get a photo or two uploaded later.

I'd love to see pics, thanks! I just looked through your thread and it looks like the pics there still have the "small" tires on them.

Is this going to be an off road truck?
I am running 315 80 22.5 on my rig,( 9 tonne MB917 4x4) great tire on the highway, a little narrow for sand and just about the most expensive size available.
If you intend to go off road a lot a 20" split rim is the best option.

This will primarily be on paved roads (90%) with some Arizona dirt roads thrown in. We don't plan on doing beach visits or real "off road" stuff, so I think the 315/80s with some additional ground clearance (and new front/rear bumpers) will get us what we need.

 

[rossvtaylor]

Also just as an FYI these are the measurements I took from my axle. I suspect yours will be the same or close to these measurements. Just trying to save you the pain of pulling the wheels to check. These are measured from the rim mounting face to the rim mounting face

Back 71” face to face
Front 91” face to face

Thanks, Oz. You've provided a ton of helpful information. I've done a lot of searching myself, but you've posted helpful things that have me going... "damn, where does he find this stuff?"

 

[shortbus4x4]

Just did a wheel end training class the local Isuzu dealer hosted that had a couple of Timken reps teaching. Timken makes a wheel bearing that will take 30 percent heavier load than their regular bearings, they developed it specifically for trucks running the super single tires and rims. I think you will be fine with running what you have but once you have your rig set up then weigh it and see how close to the rear axle weight you're at, if pretty close then upgrade your rear axle bearings and make sure whoever sets them up does it by the book; checking end play with a dial indicator, setting preload with a torque wrench, etc.