towing - 18" or 20" wheels

[meep]

Help me with this thing I can't get out of my head.... We have an '18 F150 with the stock 20" wheels. When I bought the truck, I asked the dealers to downgrade it to 18s because I personally don't care for the big wheels craze, and in previous vehicles have quite enjoyed having something in the middle due to the reduced unsprung weight and general daily drive comfort - I don't care for the balloon handling of a 70 series tire, but don't like 50 series either. The F150 with 20s rides a 275/55 tire. The dealer would not swap the wheels to the less popular 18, and I said no problem.

Craigslist is showing a lot of factory takeoffs from a local dealer at a great price, wheels, tires, TPMS, for a reasonable price.

But here's the kicker - towing with this truck as it is right now is delightful. It's locked to the pavement and is not a busy steer. I'd hate to lose that.

Has anyone here done this? swapped from 20s to 18s, and did that impact towing stability?

I know this question is a long shot, and against the trend, but hey, it's bitog....

-m

 

[Danno]

If its not broken, why fix it?

 

[JLTD]

If it's in your budget, you could always try the 18s....and if they don't tow securely enough then use the 20s for towing.

One thing with the 18s you may need to move up to a C load (or even E) for towing duties.

 

[supton]

Have you priced out tires, and is there a cost savings?

 

[deanm11]

I think it's possible you are conflating what 20s are like on a 26-28" car tire overall diameter. 275-55-20s are nearly 32". That gives you plenty of sidewall even with 20s.

 

[MNgopher]

If at this point you like the ride in how you use the truck, I'd save the money and move on. I say that as someone who restricted his search to 18" wheels when he bought his truck.

 

[AZjeff]

Originally Posted by JLTD
If it's in your budget, you could always try the 18s....and if they don't tow securely enough then use the 20s for towing.

.


Swap 4 wheels to tow then back when done? No thanks unless it's once a year.

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

Specifically what are you looking for the smaller tires to deliver?

 

[Linctex]

Originally Posted by supton
Have you priced out tires, and is there a cost savings?



Around here it's a HUGE difference.

Not just to buy the tires themselves - -

but most tire shops charge extra to mount and balance anything bigger than 18"

 

[Linctex]

Originally Posted by AZjeff

Swap 4 wheels to tow then back when done? No thanks unless it's once a year.

It's not that big of a deal.

With a good jack and a good tire wrench, I can do all 4 in just 20 minutes.

 

[meep]

Thanks for the comments. I sometimes get bitten by the "shiny thing" bug.

My attraction to the 18s is the ability to soak up the potholes and broken pavement on the daily drive. There's no damage or anything, just a "desire" to roll over those guys with less concern. I rarely ever have to air down any more for what I do. So then my own eye, like many others here, starts to grab onto the idea.... and it gets blown out of proportion.

I don't think the tire cost is much different between the two sizes, not in the grand scheme of things, and even mounting costs once every 3-4 years isn't going to be a thing either.

When we towed with the tundra, it had .. 265/70-17s and it was not a relaxed tow vehicle with my trailer. It was a bit busy with a lot of body movements. I don't know how much of that was the truck, and how much was the tires. They were usually at ~40-42psi for towing. The ford? I just leave them at 36 regardless and it's very planted and tracks easily.

 

[WishIhadatruck]

If you tow a lot, I'd probably just stick with 20's if you're really happy towing with them. So many trucks now are designed with 20's in mind, they don't ride as bad as you might think although I'm sure it would improve with the 18's. Honestly, the tire model and design are just as important as the difference between 18's and 20's. My only experience is this...

First I have a 1996 Roadmaster wagon I used to tow with. I have 17's on it for the summer and at one point had 235/55VR17 high performance tires on it that definitely had better towing stability than the all season Michelin's that were on it before (Energy LX4 245/60R17). This was a 26' ultralight travel trailer.

My current tow vehicle is a 2003 2500 4x4 8.1L Suburban. When I bought it, it had 245/75R16 LRE Michelin LTX2 tires, they towed great. I wanted to maintain or improve towing performance and have more off road capability for some of our camping adventures. I bought 18" rims and put Cooper Discoverer AT3 tires on it (265/75R18 LRE). They have a higher load rating but you can really feel the tire tread squirm with the all terrain tread. It is noticeable but still tolerable. I've towed a few thousand miles with my 28' travel trailer and they are fine, but I look forward to the tread wearing down a bit. However, I"ll appreciate them when camping in the Michigan UP this summer and we get in some mud or sand on the trails.

 

[AZjeff]

Originally Posted by Linctex
Originally Posted by AZjeff

Swap 4 wheels to tow then back when done? No thanks unless it's once a year.

It's not that big of a deal.

With a good jack and a good tire wrench, I can do all 4 in just 20 minutes.


X2 every time you tow? Get old fast, better be big benefits. Sounds like OP is re-calibrating his thinking anyway.

 

[OVERKILL]

I'd just stick with the 20's and forget about it. We have 22's on the current RAM (Sport wheels) and even with those the truck rides incredibly well. I'm certainly not wanting for a "softer" feel.

 

[meep]

yeah. OP is moving back to the "grown up" camp of put the key in it and drive and stop thinking like he did when he was younger.... I appreciate ALL of the responses above. Good Friday, gentlemen.

-m

 

[AZjeff]

20s are the new 16s. Apparently the makers have figured out how to calibrate the springs and shocks with the higher unsprung weight. Good call meep, solid towing is a good thing.

 

[CKN]

I towed a 5,500-pound 30 foot travel trailer with a 2011 Silverado with 275/55/20s from Utah all the way to the East coast and back.

The truck tires and the trailer tires performed flawlessly.

So-as someone who actually STILL TOWS with those size tires on a NEW 2018 Silervardo-all over the Inter-mountain west, I'm really not sure why you would want to mess with them.,

 

[CarbonSteel]

Originally Posted by OVERKILL
I'd just stick with the 20's and forget about it. We have 22's on the current RAM (Sport wheels) and even with those the truck rides incredibly well. I'm certainly not wanting for a "softer" feel.
Same. My last two trucks had 20" wheels/tires--one a F150 and the other a F250. I towed from TX to MT/WY/CO/NM/AZ in all climates and had zero issues with them. I would not even consider dropping from 20" to 18".

 

[WishIhadatruck]

Originally Posted by WishIhadatruck

My current tow vehicle is a 2003 2500 4x4 8.1L Suburban. When I bought it, it had 245/75R16 LRE Michelin LTX2 tires, they towed great. I wanted to maintain or improve towing performance and have more off road capability for some of our camping adventures. I bought 18" rims and put Cooper Discoverer AT3 tires on it (265/75R18 LRE). They have a higher load rating but you can really feel the tire tread squirm with the all terrain tread. It is noticeable but still tolerable. I've towed a few thousand miles with my 28' travel trailer and they are fine, but I look forward to the tread wearing down a bit. However, I"ll appreciate them when camping in the Michigan UP this summer and we get in some mud or sand on the trails.


Quoting myself because I realized I made a typo last week when I posted this and it is too late to edit. My new tires on the Suburban were 265/65R18 LRE (not 265/75R18), so only slightly larger in diameter than what was on there originally.

 

[dareo]

When i got my current truck last summer i considered a downgrade to 18" but just couldn't do it. I like the OE 20" wheels too much but wanted some more sidewall. Turns out Michelin makes the MS/2 in a 35 12.50 20 size. Now i have 20" wheels and sidewall. Lift kit and $350 tires added up real fast but i'm quite happy with the end result.