I have a 1990 e350 quigley with dual wheels. I use it to tow a small 5000lb trailer all around the country. When its not being used for towing it will be my expo rig. Tire on it now are 215/85/16 need to be replaced yesterday. I want to go with larger tires like 235/85/16 or maybe be bigger. Longterm I wanted to do a srw conversion but not sure I have enough time to figure that out right now. Any suggestions on what tires or any sure thing srw conversion that can be accomplished without problems. I seen a few ambulances running H1 rims. Not sure If I have enough room for h1 rims and tires. Any help would be great
Need help deciding on what tires to buy?
- Thread starter dvorocks
- Start date
Mwilliamshs
Explorer
You want to tow 5k lbs all around the country with a drw van on 235/85-16 tires or larger. That much is clear. The rest, not so much. What's your most common terrain? Do you plan to tow on interstates at 60+ mph and "expo" on the same tires? How many miles do you need to get from a set of tires? What does "expo" mean to you? Do you plan to change gearing with new tires? What gearing and transmission do you have now? What wheels do you have?
Your 215/85-16s should be approximately 30" tall and 8.375" wide and your stock rims are probably 6" wide which is the recommended width for 215s, which were the OE F350 (Quigley's model for the van conversion) size back then, and for 235s. 235/85-16s would be around 31.5" tall and 9.25" wide and if you don't change gears they'll drop highway rpm by about 125 @ 60. The H1 tires you mention are probably the 37" MTRs I guess? If so it'll take a gear swap to something deeper than 4.56 to get back to near stock performance. 5.13s, if available for your axles, are a near perfect match for 37s to equal effective gearing with what you have now with 31s, assuming it's 4.10:1...which is just that, an assumption, due to the ambiguity of your first post.
Your 215/85-16s should be approximately 30" tall and 8.375" wide and your stock rims are probably 6" wide which is the recommended width for 215s, which were the OE F350 (Quigley's model for the van conversion) size back then, and for 235s. 235/85-16s would be around 31.5" tall and 9.25" wide and if you don't change gears they'll drop highway rpm by about 125 @ 60. The H1 tires you mention are probably the 37" MTRs I guess? If so it'll take a gear swap to something deeper than 4.56 to get back to near stock performance. 5.13s, if available for your axles, are a near perfect match for 37s to equal effective gearing with what you have now with 31s, assuming it's 4.10:1...which is just that, an assumption, due to the ambiguity of your first post.
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Thanks for the response. Really dont have time to research the perfect solution I guess. I'll just buy tires that fit and ill enjoy the ride.. Honestly think that's the problem with most the people on this forum. They are to busy worrying about building the model truck. I have about 30 days to get my truck ready for a year long trip.. It wont have perfect gears but I bet the tires I choice will be me where I want to go.... The end!!
i run cooper ATP tires on my van, which is a cooper tire for discount tire only. i would look into the cooper at/3 http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/findTireDetail.do?ra=filterTireProducts.do&fl=&tc=COPVL9&c=7&rcz=80203&pc=27992&ar=85&rf=true&rd=16&rc=CODINT&cs=235 aggressive enough for most terrain, but simple enough tread for good road manners
I wouldn't call it a problem. A large portion of the people here enjoy the build as much as the trip. It's all about the journey, all of it. The only ones I'd say might be a problem are the ones looking for The Perfect Plan before they start. Most times Plan Good Enough is the way to go because otherwise The Perfect Plan is never found and therefor nothing is ever started.
Mwilliamshs
Explorer
You have time to ask for help but don't have time to answer a few questions to help yourself? I'm willing to share info but need a little more to go on...
Good luck man. We're here if you need us. Hope I didn't offend ya and I'm not out to build the model truck. My questions about wheel dimensions and terrain traveled and tire longevity are what any tire shop or even an online tire selector would ask. Hope the tires you "choice" do indeed "be" you where you want to go.
Good luck man. We're here if you need us. Hope I didn't offend ya and I'm not out to build the model truck. My questions about wheel dimensions and terrain traveled and tire longevity are what any tire shop or even an online tire selector would ask. Hope the tires you "choice" do indeed "be" you where you want to go.