I read these posts about members wanting to go to 19.5" wheels and tires.  I had been looking into them myself and have a website all of you guys and gals should take a look at.  There is a lot of information about changing to 19.5" wheels and tires, including what the affects will be on the Speedometer/Gearing and such.  Take a look.  Ricksontruckwheels.com.  Hope to talk to all again soon. Your friend Pepe.

You made almost the exact same post 3 weeks ago, you don't work for Rickson do you?

Don't work for Rickson or any garage, I am a Carpenter,  just thought it was good information to pass along.

Thanks for the INFO!!!!

I have run 19.5's for over 10 years on my first and second gen Cummins

Rickson has a very bad customer service reputation on Cummins Forum and everywhere else I've looked. Good looking wheels but their reputation is horrible.

Rickson has a very bad customer service reputation on Cummins Forum and everywhere else I've looked. Good looking wheels but their reputation is horrible.

Never had an issue with their product so never had to deal with them.

I go for 16 inch Alcoas. 200 bucks per set with 3750 pound weight carrying capacity. And they are forged not cast. That's a major plus right there. No regearing the speedo.

But I'm not a big wheels type of guy. Me likes skate board wheels.

I go for 16 inch Alcoas. 200 bucks per set with 3750 pound weight carrying capacity. And they are forged not cast. That's a major plus right there. No regearing the speedo.

But I'm not a big wheels type of guy. Me likes skate board wheels.

16's do have better/stronger tire choices but having driven some 4K lb rated LRE tires and some 4.5K rated LRG tires with about 7K of axle weight on each I will take the LRG any day. Even if they are both at 75% loading the LRGs are so much more stable and I don't want to go back to LRE's for loaded driving even if they have the rating.

 

16's do have better/stronger tire choices but having driven some 4K lb rated LRE tires and some 4.5K rated LRG tires with about 7K of axle weight on each I will take the LRG any day. Even if they are both at 75% loading the LRGs are so much more stable and I don't want to go back to LRE's for loaded driving even if they have the rating.

I see, said the blind man

I also really like my 19.5s.  No comparison to 16 or 17 inch LRE tires for stability and weight carrying.  I carry a slide in camper and it loads my rear wheels to nearly 8k pounds.

 

The 19.5s make carrying that load safe and sane.  The LRE's just can't do it and with the softer sidewalls you get lots of sway and flex.  The tires are smooth riding but they are a bit stiffer also when unloaded but with good shocks they are not as bad as I was expecting when I first put them on.

 

I run these all spring, summer and fall.  I put my 17's back on in the winter and run my Michelin LTX/2 MS because I get much better winter traction from them than I do with my 19.5s because I am running steer tires in all 4 positions.

 

I am expecting to get at least 2x the tire mileage on the 19.5s as compared to any LRE tire that I have run on my truck.

 

As an added benefit I am seeing a tad better mpg's out of the truck when I am running the 19.5s.  Not sure whether it's because of less rolling resistance or the slight change in the final drive ratio due to wearing a taller tire than the stock ones.

Just curious how far your speedometer is off

Mine is dead on accurate thanks to Smarty. 

 

From a 265/70R17 to a 245/70R19.5 is an approx 5% change... which is dependent on the accuracy of the speedo from the factory. 5% would be 3mph at 65. 

My Smarty allows me to dial it in.  I used my gps for my trip to Portland and back and the gps logged 850.6 miles and the odometer showed 850.2.

 

Now the speedo shows about 2 miles faster than the gps.  So when I set the speed at 65 on the gps the speedo shows almost 67 but the odometer reads as above.

That's handy

My Smarty allows me to dial it in.  I used my gps for my trip to Portland and back and the gps logged 850.6 miles and the odometer showed 850.2.

 

Now the speedo shows about 2 miles faster than the gps.  So when I set the speed at 65 on the gps the speedo shows almost 67 but the odometer reads as above.

 

 

I also set the odometer and let the speedo read what it reads. I am about 1mph off on the dash at 65 but I have less than 1% odo error.