19.5" American Force Wheels
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Elder User
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 777
Likes: 6
From: Florida
19.5" American Force Wheels
Dually
Looking into a wheel tire and wheel upgrade for my 12' PSD Dually.
I tow all the time and go through tires faster than boots. I've driven 140,000 miles in the last 14 months or so.
From what I have heard, commercial 19.5's will last a lot longer than load range E tires on 17" stock rims.
The expense is quite high for any of their wheels and I'm sure the tires aren't cheap either.
Is this a worth while upgrade if towing commercially on a consistent basis? I don't have 5k to throw down on tire and wheel package at this time but I am interested in the possible long term benefit of such an upgrade.
What sort of suspension mods would be needed? Better shocks of some sort? I currently have a 2" add a leaf installed by 4 wheel parts which helped the rear end sag issue my truck was experiencing.
Thanks in advance!
Craig
Looking into a wheel tire and wheel upgrade for my 12' PSD Dually.
I tow all the time and go through tires faster than boots. I've driven 140,000 miles in the last 14 months or so.
From what I have heard, commercial 19.5's will last a lot longer than load range E tires on 17" stock rims.
The expense is quite high for any of their wheels and I'm sure the tires aren't cheap either.
Is this a worth while upgrade if towing commercially on a consistent basis? I don't have 5k to throw down on tire and wheel package at this time but I am interested in the possible long term benefit of such an upgrade.
What sort of suspension mods would be needed? Better shocks of some sort? I currently have a 2" add a leaf installed by 4 wheel parts which helped the rear end sag issue my truck was experiencing.
Thanks in advance!
Craig
Cargo Master
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 2,051
Likes: 10
From: TEXAS
I can't recall if it was one of my past F450 or F550 hauler conversion trucks that came with 19.5 tires and wheels on it, but I swore that I never wanted them again. Of course part of the reason was that for repairs/service or new tires I could not simply pull into the neighborhood Discount Tire store because they wouldn't touch them. I am sure that has changed in recent years. My truck did not come with a spare tire/wheel which was not an inexpensive purchase in of itself. The tires were either G or H rated which did make for a much more firm ride.
They did however look fantastic either sitting still or on the road.
Its a personal call to make, I wish you luck.
They did however look fantastic either sitting still or on the road.
Its a personal call to make, I wish you luck.
Elder User
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 508
Likes: 0
i wouldn't recommend them.. i made that switch last year i bought the AFW 19.5s looking to upgrade the look and tire longevity. since i got the tires and wheels separate it was a PAIN to find a place to mount them no tire place would touch them like jonrjen said. the semi truck service shops could mount them but not balance them. it was a horrible experience spend hundreds of dollars beside the cost of wheels and tires them selves getting people to attempt to balance them but every time they failed always too much or too little balance beads which I'm not a fan of anyways.. and most important if you can get them mounted and balance the ride is horrible compared to stock wheels just my opinion i ended up selling them for less than i paid 2 weeks after i got them. and by the way the truck and chassis ford dealer that sells the 450/550's with 19.5s stock near me weren't even setup to service the wheels that they sell on the trucks. call around first and see who will service the wheels and tires before you buy and ps no mods had to be done to the suspension get them to fit
Senior User
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 116
Likes: 0
From: Plainfield,IL
Dually
Looking into a wheel tire and wheel upgrade for my 12' PSD Dually.
I tow all the time and go through tires faster than boots. I've driven 140,000 miles in the last 14 months or so.
From what I have heard, commercial 19.5's will last a lot longer than load range E tires on 17" stock rims.
The expense is quite high for any of their wheels and I'm sure the tires aren't cheap either.
Is this a worth while upgrade if towing commercially on a consistent basis? I don't have 5k to throw down on tire and wheel package at this time but I am interested in the possible long term benefit of such an upgrade.
What sort of suspension mods would be needed? Better shocks of some sort? I currently have a 2" add a leaf installed by 4 wheel parts which helped the rear end sag issue my truck was experiencing.
Thanks in advance!
Craig
Looking into a wheel tire and wheel upgrade for my 12' PSD Dually.
I tow all the time and go through tires faster than boots. I've driven 140,000 miles in the last 14 months or so.
From what I have heard, commercial 19.5's will last a lot longer than load range E tires on 17" stock rims.
The expense is quite high for any of their wheels and I'm sure the tires aren't cheap either.
Is this a worth while upgrade if towing commercially on a consistent basis? I don't have 5k to throw down on tire and wheel package at this time but I am interested in the possible long term benefit of such an upgrade.
What sort of suspension mods would be needed? Better shocks of some sort? I currently have a 2" add a leaf installed by 4 wheel parts which helped the rear end sag issue my truck was experiencing.
Thanks in advance!
Craig
How is the truck running??? Any issues???
My truck is two years old and I have 70,000 miles. Hope to run mine to 300k.
Posting Guru
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 2,402
Likes: 3
Maybe try a different tire. I have good results with the Cooper Discoverer AT3. I agree with the others, I would not get the 19.5's I also have looked into doing that and find the initial expense for wheels and tires is too much for my wallet and the ride to be too firm and not everyone liked those tires in the snow. I would rather have some AF 20" dually wheels with the Cooper tires.
Thread Starter
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Elder User
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 777
Likes: 6
From: Florida
The truck has been a real good runner and puller. Just started seeing a second gear hard shift at about 150,000 miles - getting it checked out this Thursday - The truck has been real solid - had to do add a leafs in the rear suspension due to a sag issue - 2" add a leaf was the perfect fix for my setup - 1000 pounds in the bed with the toolbox fuel combo plus gooseneck weight - Been real happy but just hoping the hard shift second gear deal doesn't lead to the tranny grenading..
I've always liked the Cooper tires but have never run them, I'm running GoodYear Duratrac's right now - They were worth their weight in gold on the winter roads while towing -
I've always liked the Cooper tires but have never run them, I'm running GoodYear Duratrac's right now - They were worth their weight in gold on the winter roads while towing -
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Cargo Master
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 2,051
Likes: 10
From: TEXAS
As for finally getting my 19.5" tires and wheels balanced I ended up using Centramatic wheel balancers to do the job. Some others have resorted to tire beads being placed in the tires with equal results. However you do have to be up to a certain speed before either of these two methods will produce results.
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Joined: Jun 2014
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From: Perdido
I ran 19.5" Hankook DH01 265/70R19.5 G for 12 years and I loved the durability of the tires. I could get 180,000 miles on one set. I ran my 1999.5 7.3L for over 360,000 miles and I was replacing light duty tires every 45,000 very frustrating. The ride was a little stiffer, but when I took my truck over to Italy I did not have to worry about pot holes or replacing them while I was over there. I have the factory tires on my new 2014 and I am not sure when I will make the switch back. The 19.5s are basically bullet proof!
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salomon
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