20'S?

[Chukar Hunter]

Just got my new to me truck and getting things ready for the Hawk to go on it's new platform. One thing I am not overly confidant in is 20 inch rims. They look great but the minus things I see are the cost to replace tires and not sure about the Off Road durability with such a low profile tire. The tires on it now are 33X12.5X20 E rated Open Country.
Any words of wisdom, advice, or experiance out there from the trail?

 

[Ted]

I can't answer with actual knowledge, just an opinion. But I agree with you that wheels that big and low profile tires seem like a bad mix for off-road use. Pretty sure I read on another forum about somebody swapping out their 18" wheels for 16" wheels for better off-roading.

 

[Marc]

Just got my new to me truck and getting things ready for the Hawk to go on it's new platform. One thing I am not overly confidant in is 20 inch rims. They look great but the minus things I see are the cost to replace tires and not sure about the Off Road durability with such a low profile tire. The tires on it now are 33X12.5X20 E rated Open Country.
Any words of wisdom, advice, or experiance out there from the trail?


Chukar what kind of truck are you running now ??. I like stock factory steelies with tall skinny tires. On my 06 Dodge CTD I run a BFG KM2 in 280/55/17. On my 07 F350 I am running 285/75/18. Both are good tires. On new 3/4 and 1 Ton trucks the smallest rim you can uaually run is a 17" due to the size of the rotors. My F350 was available with both 17's and 18's. Mine just happened to come with 18's. Personally, 18's are the biggest I'd go. Here are pics of both tire/rim combos.

marc

 

[UglyScout]

I'd keep the current tire/wheel combo until they are worn our and you need new tires. Then sell/trade someone for some 17" or 18"s and buy new tires at that point. I was able to trade away, plus he gave me cash, the 17" bling wheels my truck came with for the factory alloy 16" wheels that I actually wanted.

OR get taller tires - step up to a 35" tire and you will be back in the sweet spot with 7" to 8" of sidewall.

Tire height........... Rim............ Sidewall height
31........... 15........... 8
31........... 16........... 7.5
32........... 16........... 8
33........... 20........... 6.5
33........... 18........... 7.5
35........... 18........... 8.5
35........... 20........... 7.5

 

[craig333]

I couldn't afford the deluxe model trucks that had 20's. Lucky the stripped version only came with 17's. I suppose though, they might have been happy to make a trade

 

[brett13]

I'd keep the current tire/wheel combo until they are worn our and you need new tires. Then sell/trade someone for some 17" or 18"s and buy new tires at that point.

X2

 

[Desert Rancher]

When you need a tire in BFE, you want to have a very common size...Tire woes really make for an unhappy trip.

Done there, been that.

 

[ski3pin]

When you need a tire in BFE, you want to have a very common size...Tire woes really make for an unhappy trip.

Done there, been that.

 

[UglyScout]

When you need a tire in BFE, you want to have a very common size...Tire woes really make for an unhappy trip.

Done there, been that.


Any more though -- with all the factory 20" wheels the only odd part of the tire in question is the 33" size. Make sure and have a fullsize spare and 'get after it'!

 

[Chukar Hunter]

Well my old 03 GMC Duramax had a big rock jump out in front of my girlfriend and was totaled. Of course insurance did not give me what I felt was a fair price but was able to get an 05 Duramax. Nice truck and very low miles, well taken care of and all service and repair records but the only down fall is those rims. They look good but found that tires for those rims and can only fit 33 inches on the truck are very expensive. I am going to run them untill they are worn out and probably sell them to help pay for new tires and hopefully find some stock 17 rims.