We are planning a trip from Atlantic Canada to Alaska and then Baja before heading to SA. This will give us the opportunity to do a proper shake down and figure out if the Ford is the proper option for the SA trip.
Newbie needs assistance with tire choice for new to me 2020 F550 4x4 Overlander
- Thread starter Vampergt4
- Start date
Thanks for the heads up.
ski_bike_camp
Ski_Bike_Camp
tmckenna13
Member
Thinking I might run a 20" dually setup for anything in North America and when/if I venture south of Texas my Spares would be 22.5"
Do you have a supplier for 20 inch duallies? I’ve been looking.
tmckenna13
Member
Fuel makes a couple wheels for 10 Lug trucks. As with most aftermarket wheels, most are flashy and tacky but there is one style thats a simple straight spoke design.
tmckenna13
Member
These are the FF09D in all matte black. Decently simple and clean in my opinion. obviously the fronts would have the same spoke design just no lip and convex rather than concave
tmckenna13
Member
@Vampergt4 they only show the chrome ones on fuels actual website which of course for most of us overlanders is a terrible option and aesthetic. Found the pictures of the all black rears above online, but cant find pictures of all black fronts. I'm attaching pictures of the chrome, the mostly matte black wheels, and then some all black 8 lug wheels that should be a very similar aesthetic.
tmckenna13
Member
@Vampergt4 i know theres some talk about duallys rubbing while airred down and creating an issue, but from the research I've done its all theoretical and/or hypothetical. Haven't found one example of someone having a blowout because of rubbing caused by airring down. Rocks in between may be more of a concern but I think I'll run spacers between the 2 rear wheels to keep them further apart. Also found that Nitto makes 37x11.5r20 ridge grapplers, so the 11.5 width will save some overall width and better allow for spacers in between the rears, considering most 37s are 12.5 or 13.5. In case you were wondering those 37x11.5r20 Ridge Grapplers are rated for 3970 pounds, 80 psi, and up to 99mph, so pretty damn good specs for a dually expedition vehicle application.
tmckenna13
Member
Only downside I've found with the Ridge Grapplers is that theyre not 3PMSF (Three Peak Mountain Snowflake) rated, meaning the rubber compound isn't ideal for very low temperatures. Now this whole rating seems to be a huge controversy because some people say decent all terrains without the rating are fine in the snow, and some say that theyre awful in the snow. I don't plan on using my rig much in the cold, moreso chasing the heat if anything, but it'd be nice to have the piece of mind in case theres some crazy anomaly snow storm on a mountain pass. My second choice would probably be the trusty BF Goodrich K02s. They are in fact 3PMSF rated, and the most positive rated ON/OFF road all terrain tire on Tirerack, that comes in a 37" diameter. Only downside is the minimum width on the 37 is 12.5 wide, so at least 2" wider stance on each side, plus any spacers youd (have to) run in between.
tmckenna13
Member
Well 3PMSF rated All terrains are certainly not the same as snow tires. I have 2 separate sets of tires for my overlanding SUV (one set of 3PMSF rated all terrains, and one set of dedicated snow tires) and there is a HUGE difference in snow performance. I run my 3PMSF rated All terrains in the summer for beach driving and wouldn't say they wear excessively in the heat. Theyre definitely very soft, its especially noticeable at speed, but those are speeds that no expedition vehicle should get anywhere near.
UPDATE - I wanted to provide the forum with an update on my decisions that were based on research and many conversations with forum members.
The first thing I did was get the Overlander weighed. It was full of water and everything that we would usually carry (total weight was 15800). The best piece of advice I received was to get rid of the 19.5 rims and tires as they are a commercial truck tire with steel carcass and cannot be aired down. After many hours of research and phone calls, I could only find 1 alloy wheel that was available that could carry the load and fit without requiring a lift. I ended up purchasing seven 22” Mayhem Challenger wheels in matt black rated at 4000 lbs each. As for tires, I researched tires that could carry the load but wanted a winter rated off road tire. I ended up getting 7 Toyo Open Country AT3’s in a 285/55/22. The reason for this size was to stay stock height as I’m not planning on any serious off road. I also replaced the stock Ford shocks with Bilstein’s and added front and rear summo springs.
All I can say is WHAT a difference, I have all the tires set to 65 PSI and the bone jarring when crossing bridges is a major improvement. After doing more research and knowing that one of the major problems are the rear springs that are too stiff. I sent all my specs to Deaver and had them design a custom set of springs for our specs. They are now on order and can’t wait to see the impact they will have as they will be a progressive spring. Stay tuned and I will provide an update in the spring once they get installed.
Sorry for the pics being sideways, they are not on my phone but turn when I upload them.
The first thing I did was get the Overlander weighed. It was full of water and everything that we would usually carry (total weight was 15800). The best piece of advice I received was to get rid of the 19.5 rims and tires as they are a commercial truck tire with steel carcass and cannot be aired down. After many hours of research and phone calls, I could only find 1 alloy wheel that was available that could carry the load and fit without requiring a lift. I ended up purchasing seven 22” Mayhem Challenger wheels in matt black rated at 4000 lbs each. As for tires, I researched tires that could carry the load but wanted a winter rated off road tire. I ended up getting 7 Toyo Open Country AT3’s in a 285/55/22. The reason for this size was to stay stock height as I’m not planning on any serious off road. I also replaced the stock Ford shocks with Bilstein’s and added front and rear summo springs.
All I can say is WHAT a difference, I have all the tires set to 65 PSI and the bone jarring when crossing bridges is a major improvement. After doing more research and knowing that one of the major problems are the rear springs that are too stiff. I sent all my specs to Deaver and had them design a custom set of springs for our specs. They are now on order and can’t wait to see the impact they will have as they will be a progressive spring. Stay tuned and I will provide an update in the spring once they get installed.
Sorry for the pics being sideways, they are not on my phone but turn when I upload them.
