16 to 19.5 wheels

[tqracn]

I was told that the new 450 and 550, 2007 Super Dutys have 8 bolt 19.5 rims.I wonder if they would fit the old A class with 16 inch wheels? Any ideas

[tqracn]

I was told that the new 450 and 550, 2007 Super Dutys have 8 bolt 19.5 rims.I wonder if they would fit the old A class with 16 inch wheels? Any ideas

[machman72]

I would seriously doubt that you could find tires to fit the rims, and still get them up under the chassis. I'm sure your Southwind is like my 94, and the wheel wells are full. You would have to find some sort of low profile tire to fit the larger rim and still go into the wheel wells. I would think a low profile tire would be sriously dangerous on a heavy rig. JMO.

[Retired House Husband]

Here's a copy of a very good post from RV.NET. This should answer all your questions.

I recently looked into converting from 16 to 19.5 inch also(haven't done it yet), as I need to replace 4 tires on our motorhome due to age. Unfortunately, the 1999 and later 19.5 inch F53 wheels will not bolt on the earlier chassis. There are a couple of ways to go on this. Rickson makes a 10 lug, 7.25 inch bolt circle, 19.5 inch wheel that will fit the hub-centered pre-1999 F53 chassis. They do this by starting with a GMC wheel (from a GMC 3500HD, P-series, motorhome, etc.) with the same lug pattern, offset, and bolt circle as the Ford. They bore the center hole larger from 5.25 inches to 5.46 inches, ending up with a 19.5 inch by 6 inch wide wheel rated for 3000 lbs that will then fit the Ford. A recent price for these wheels was about $175 each, plus shipping. If you can find some good quality used, GMC 3500HD wheels, you can have a machine shop bore the center hole larger and accomplish the same thing. A local shop told me they would do this for $25 per wheel. Should you go this route, make sure the wheels have a thickness of .375 inches as this is the heavier duty wheel (a GMC HD wheel rated at 2780 lbs was also produced, having a thickness of .296 inches). Although the 19.5 wheel/tire combination will likely give a firmer ride, commercial, "all steel" tire availability is much better and brake cooling should also improve, along with a larger tire safety margin. http://www.ricksontruck.com/

I might add that 235/85R16 and 225/70R19.5 tires, have almost the same diameter. aprox. 32". So clearance and speedometer are not a problem.