well i don't have the money for a set of ricksons and i am always lookin for a way to do it cheaper. i have dicovered that chevy step vans with a 1.5 or 2 ton rating[i was lookin at a 95 model] have 8 lug that looks to be on 6.5 bolt circle. and the 19.5 rims look like i could put a set on my dodge. i might have to bore the center hole to fit, not sure. but that is not a big deal to me. found the rims new for just under 200 apiece. but that is still out of my price range, need to go hit some truck junk yards. anyone else checked these out?

 

Hey let me know what you find out. Im lookin for some for my SRW and cant afford any nice Ricksons .
Scott

 

I don't mean to burst anybodies bubble, but I believe I read on TDR a while back that they won't fit our Dodge's.

Sorry.

 

any chance you can do a search and dig it up for me, i am not a tdr member. thanks mike

 

http://www.turbodieselregister.com/f...ght=19.5+chevy

See if that link works for you - that's the biggest thread I found on there with 19.5's. I've not seen anything on TDR that says they won't work. There was some talk about the hub hole being too small, but like you said, that can be bored out....
Chris

 

By the way, I remember a couple threads with 'Vision' wheels (19.5's) from Les Schwab. You looked into those at all?
Chris

 

I just finished installing GM P30 Stepvan wheels on my truck! I picked them up for $45/each at a local salvage yard. They had several more sets, pm me for details. The bolt pattern is 8 on 6.5, and the hub pilot size is slightly larger than our Dodge. I was able to easily center the fronts, but the rears... Lets just say the vibration isn't terrible, but I am going to find a way to eliminate it very soon. I used a grinder w/twisted wire brush to remove rust and paint, then primed/painted them black. I reused the Dodge lugnuts, so I could reinstall the centercaps. Otherwise, GM used a clamping plate and 1-piece cone nuts for installation. I bought Hankook DH01 Super Traction drive tires, load range F 12 ply, for all positions, and am very happy with the look of the truck! Much better than the wimpy 225/70R16's the previous owner used!!!

 

This sounds like a great project!

"hub pilot size is slightly larger than our Dodge. I was able to easily center the fronts, but the rears... Lets just say the vibration isn't terrible, but I am going to find a way to eliminate it very soon."

How much larger is the pilot hole?
How did you center the fronts?
What do you plan to do to the rears?


Thanks,

George

 

I have the Rickson 19.5 steel wheels with Toyo TY 303 tires 19.5/70x285, they are rated at 6400 lbs each and are 35.2" tall, weigh in at 172 lbs each I did a 2" leveling kit on the front at the same time. I tow heavy and was concerned with the tires and wheels being the bottleneck of my operation, I feel much safer with this setup now , I run 3.55 gear ratio and a 6 speed NV 5600 tranny, final ratio was effected 8% so it has a big impact on rpm, when towing I use 5th gear and at 65 mph run around 2100 rpm which is very good for a sweet spot, never met a hill yet where I had to downshift with a GVW of 21k, when empty I run 6th gear at 70 mph and around 1750 rpm, great for economy, I would not recommend the 35" combo unless you run a 6 speed.

Here is a pic

Cheers, Kevin

 

I plan to measure the difference when I put my boys to bed in an hour....
I centered the fronts by using a prybar and wood block to raise up the wheel with a couple nuts barely snug, then tightened them down.
Unsure on the rears--I am considering some sort of shim to space the rims before tightening, possibly a collar or sleeve to increase hub diameter, or possibly carefully jacking/settling the rear until spacing looks correct... I will post back when I get it figured out. This is an easy modification to put on 19.5" wheels and tires! I got all the rims for ~$300. My time with a wire brush and spray paint, but skins or powder coating aren't too far out of the question. I got 7 tires for ~$1200. So for around say $1600 I got a complete setup of 19.5's! Mot bad for a wheel/tire change!

Whitmore, your truck looks awesome! I didn't find any 7 inch rims, or I would have considered the wider tires. The 225/70R19.5's are definitely skinnier than many people like on a 2nd gen. Dodge, but my experiences driving in Wisconsin Lake-Effect snows is that the skinnier, traction tires work better in snow/ice/slush do to the profile. It is definitely a personal preference thing, and I could easily find 19.5x6" rims. I love how your truck looks! (I like your cold air intake setup listed in the other thread, too! )

 

I've got an idear, what if you would snug the lugnuts down in the rear, not tight-tight, but to where the rim can move a little bit when pressed hard. Since you are already on jacks in the back, block the front and spin the tires at a pretty quick speed. This should balance them out fine, shouldn't it? Just a thought, I've never tried it but I think it would get you real close...

 

I actually think with the balance beads inside and the wheel out-of-round, that I would get a counter-balanced crank throw instead. Kind of like a hula-hoop effect, or like swinging a frisbee by its rim. Seems to me that is why with such little difference in rim offset in relation to the hub, I am getting a fairly prominent vibration. Nothing too terrible, but more than I would have suspected to get from such a small offset.

 

That makes sense to me. I've been sitting here puzzling over why you are having vibration problems with at worst .050 of runout. That's really not much runout for a tire of that size, I would have expected it to run OK.

 

I didn't think 0.050 would make much difference either, but the slight correction I made to the passenger side rear really quieted things down! I will be getting the correct shim stock today, and will let everyone know how it turns out. The drive to work thismorning was much nicer: Vibes are at ~35-40 mph now instead of at ~55-60 mph.