After having a lengthy discussion with "Chuck4850" on the "Bonus Built" site about tire sizes, and the pros and cons of the different sizes, I would like to get the opinions of anyone who is, or who has run, 19.5 tubeless tires on their F-4 to F-6 trucks.

My '51 F-4 currently has 22.5 wheels with bad 8X22.5 tires on the front and equally bad 7X22.5 tires on the back. I have checked out buying new 8X22.5 tires and they seem to rather hard tires to find, 9X22.5 are more common and can be gotten fairly easy. The problem is the 8X22.5s come within about 1 1/2" to rubbing on the front fenders and if I go with the 9s I will be adding another inch to each side. I have the opportunity to buy a set of seven 19.5 tubless wheels, with tires, for a very reasonable price and I would like to use these on my F-4 but Chuck has brought it to my attention that these wheels will affect the performance of the truck.

I have never had this truck on the road so I have nothing to go by as to how the different size wheels affect the speed, load carrying capacities, handling and mileage of these trucks. I would like to hear what you think of the wheels you a running, whether they are 18" (rare factory standard size for dual wheel F-4s), 19.5", 20" or 22.5". I don't plan to drive the truck on the freeways, mostly two lane country roads and city streets where I don't have to go faster than 45mph at the most. Basically, the same places I drive my F-2.

Also, you guys running 22.5" rims, how close do your wheels come to hitting your fenders?

Thanks,

 

My F-5 has stock (I guess it's stock) 19.5 x 7's. With the flathead 8, it runs about 35 to 40 mph comfortable. The steering is my biggest problem. Bob, I saw one of your earlier post, saying old dodge chassies had the 19.5 solid rim wheels. Do you think radial tires on these non-split rims would help that much? (provided that I can even find them).

Thanks,
Brad

 

Brad,

19.5 rims were not stock on our trucks. As far as I have been able to find out F-4s with factory dual rear wheels came stock with 18" wheels(very rare), while single rear wheel equipt F-4s and all dual wheeled F-5s and F-6s came with the "Widow Maker" 20" split rims. The 19.5 you have most likely came from a Dodge RV, those are the same rims I am getting. If you don't already have radials I would think changing to radials would help, a lot of the guys with the smaller trucks find radials help a lot. I am not a tire expert and have just started researching tire options recently after starting to work on my F-4. I would guess that there are radials made for the 19.5s. Although the five bolt rims are rare, the 19.5s tires are still used quite a bit on RVs, tow trucks and delivery trucks with eight bolt holes.

 

Bob,

I don't know what I was thinking ?? My tires/wheels are 20 x 7.5" !!! My mind is not what it used to be!

I don't have a tach, but 40mph sounds wound fairly tight. I also am looking for the 19.5 Dodge one-piece wheels. I'm not sure what I'll do about the gear ratio. I want to run the truck on the freeway. Any ideas about the rear end (or gear ratio)??

Thanks,
Brad

 

Brad,

As I mentioned above, I had a very informative discussion with Chuck, from Chuck's Trucks, on the Bonus Built site about the different size wheels.

http://bonusbuilt.com/forum/viewtopi...t=1150&start=0

The thread starts with another subject buts turns to the subject of the wheels. I am assuming Chuck might drop in on this thread. He is very knowledgable about these old trucks, especially the larger trucks. I was just hoping someone who already has the 19.5s on there truck would let me know how they liked them and if they had any problems with them.

As far as rear gear ratios, again Chuck is the guy to talk to. Also, Barry is good source to get numbers and availability of factory options like what gears and rear ends came in these trucks.

 

I just wanted to keep this message toward the top of the list. I didn't get much response the first time around.

 

It's mostly about tire diameter. A taller tire can handle more weight than a smaller tire. If you had 19.5 x 10 it would be equal a 22.5 x 8.5 for weight capacity.

 

Chuck's concern was the speed, a little about capacity, but mostly speed. I just want to know if the people running the 19.5s feel the difference and what size tires they have on their 19.5s. I know one concern is rubbing between the rear duals, I have to watch I don't have tires on the rear that rub against each other, not good.

 

Tire size calculator

http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/infoTireMath.dos

 

Howdy,

I ended up with 9.00-20 Toyo radials on the front and 9.00-20 Goodyear Radial recaps on the back. (See my gallery) They seem to work great!

I would have loved to be able to find 22.5" 5 lug BUD wheels but they are a little hard to find!


Cheers,

Rick

 

Rick,

What kind of rims are you using? 20" with five lugs are the "Widow Makers". Are you using ones from with the snap ring? I have heard some International rims will fit.

 

Rick,
How do I get to your "gallery". Also, I'm with Bob: what type of rims are those 20's?
Thanks,
Brad

 

Brad, to get to Rick's gallery, click on his name in the post above. Then choose View Gallery and you are there. I think Rick only has one album in his gallery right now. Just click on the album name and you'll get to see all the photos inside.

 

Hey Bobj, Chuck4850 is right the 19.5' will mess with your overall speed. I got a set of 6, 22.5 from Chuck4850 about 6 months ago and will be running the 9R22.5's so far I have got two mounted for $250.

As for the 1.5 to 2" of fender clearance, If your F-4 is like my F-5, it will take alot....a real lot to get those springs to move that much.

 

Running 19.5 with the 8 lug pattern on my 48 F-3. Tires came from a UPS truck that was salvaged. They clear the big brakes in the rear easily. Will have to attach hubcap clips to put on the stock hubcaps but that should not be a problem.

Good luck with your truck.