I also have to ask why you thick you need to change with a dually? The people useing 19.5s are the SRW people. My GMC dually has just over 10,000#s of rating at 80 psi that exceeds the axle rating.
Unless you just like spending thousands of dollars for the heck of it, there is no real reason to change to 19.5's on a 350/3500 dually pickup.
The 4 factory stock 17" rear tires and wheels have more combined load capacity than the truck's rear axle and springs are rated for. You're not gaining any additional load capacity for the truck, since your stock tires have plenty more than enough as-is. Your springs and axle are the weak points, not the tires and wheels.
While there is a benefit to swapping to 19.5's for trucks with single rear wheels, there is no lack of rear tire load capacity reason for a dually to switch to 19.5's.
Run your 17" tires at 80 psi if you want stiffer side walls when loaded.
The 17's will ride much more comfortable at 45-65 psi unloaded than the 19.5's can ever hope to. I'm assuming you bought the GM 3500HD because of GM's supposed great ride. You'll lose that great ride if you swap to 19.5's.
There are several around my area who have swapped 22.5" tires on to their duallys.
It's a "bling" thing. The tires are so tall I can't imagine the truck has much pulling power, unless they went to a 4.56 or 5.13 differential ratio.
2002 Chevy 3500 DRW 8.1L/Allison
2000 Palomino B1500
...and the reason why I need a DRW to haul a Palomino:
2004 United 7x14 tandem axle enclosed toy trailer
2011 PJ 8x20 7-ton deckover equipment trailer
If he thinks he needs it he can justify it I know I could for my dually.
On my 2011 Dodge 3500 Dually, the factory rims are rated for 2,750# or 11,000# for the entire rear axle. The rear axle rating is (memory here) about 9,350? or so.
Last weekend loaded up went over a scale and the rear end was 9,100. This is a AF 1150, 1/4 full of water, full propane, plus a 7*12' utility trailer hooked up with a quad in it.
Now fully loaded with water and the same trailer I've scaled the rear at 9,900. Yep just over the Rear axle rating. So this ends up being only about 250# or so under each rim rating. Ad we know campers are not equal side to side.
So I could ''justify'' moving to 19.5 rims for a higher rim rating; greater safety margin, plus moving to a higher rated f/g/h rated tire that should last (twice as long?) longer then the usual 17'' dually tires.
I'm in the middle of making the decision too, I can spend about $2,000 for six Toyo M55 tires and be ''fine/okay'' or I can spend $4-4,500ish and move up to 19.5 rims and tires and be ''better then good''. Tough choice to make, need to decide by fall (rain/snow season).
At this point I have plenty of money in the bank to do the 19.5 so I am leaning that way.
Supposedly 20'' dually rims are coming but I have not seem them yet nor weight ratings on them yet. This would allow some Toyo AT/MT applications and others that have almost 4K rated tires.
The 22.5 rims use adaptors and to me are stupid looking and I think ruin the whole hauling towing ability of the truck.
2011 Dodge Ram 3500 4*4 Black dually Laramie 4.10 gears
2011 Arctic Fox 1150 Drybath
2009 Polaris RZR w/fun parts
2011 Polaris Sportsman 550 XP EPS w/stuff
2006 Polaris Sportsman 500 w/stuff
1977 K5 Blazer 1 ton modified
2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid (her car)
The reason that I origionally wanted to upgrade to 19.5" tires and rims is that in the Body Builders Guide, there is a 3500HD that comes with 225/70R19.5". I has the same running gear as my 3500 with 215/85R16. Same spring rates, same shocks, same brakes ... the only difference is that the HD is running 19.5" tires and rims. My 2002 truck has a GVW of 11400# out of the factory. The 2002 -03 3500HD has 15000# GVW.
What I did find out was that the HD uses different hub adapters and uses a 10lug wheel. I tried to cut the corner and use 8 lug wheels and that is why I can't get the higher rating.
As for the rear axle, I use a G-80 in my 3500 and in my Class "A" I had the same G-80, which was rated at 12000# with 8R19.5" tires. So I am not worried about overloading the axle itself. If I wanted to, I would have to revamp the springs to get up into the higher capacity. It would also take larger rotors and calipers to bring it up to that 12K capacity ... so that is out. But I am looking for the hub adapters that GM offered in 2002 and 2003, which are currently out of stock. I do have a set of 19.5 X 7" 10 bolt rims sitting out in the back that I can use, rather than the 8 bolt 19.5 X 6.5" that I have now.
Combat Vietnam VeteranSupport our troops for serving our great country.
1997 Veri Lite RL1200 on a '02, K3500, CC, DRW, 8.1L, Allison, 4.1 gears, Bridgestone 225/70R19.5 tires.
Photog101 , you might want to do a little more investigation on the difference between a 3500 and a 3500HD . The HD has a reinforced frame , larger brakes , different rear axle, and different springs , along with the 19.5 wheels , to name a few. It was the predecessor of the 4500 and only came in 2wd .
I'll have to recheck the frames, but I know that the rest of the parts show up in the database as being the same. Yes, the 3500 HD was only 2WD and utilized a Rockwell "I" beam front axle. I changed my calipers and rotors last year and they were the same for both. I also know that they both used the G-80 rear pig. Engine /Trans options were also the same for "02 and "03 3500 and 3500HD.
SoCalDesertRider wrote: Unless you just like spending thousands of dollars for the heck of it, there is no real reason to change to 19.5's on a 350/3500 dually pickup.
The 4 factory stock 17" rear tires and wheels have more combined load capacity than the truck's rear axle and springs are rated for. You're not gaining any additional load capacity for the truck, since your stock tires have plenty more than enough as-is. Your springs and axle are the weak points, not the tires and wheels.
While there is a benefit to swapping to 19.5's for trucks with single rear wheels, there is no lack of rear tire load capacity reason for a dually to switch to 19.5's.
Run your 17" tires at 80 psi if you want stiffer side walls when loaded.
The 17's will ride much more comfortable at 45-65 psi unloaded than the 19.5's can ever hope to. I'm assuming you bought the GM 3500HD because of GM's supposed great ride. You'll lose that great ride if you swap to 19.5's.
Great post hit the nail on the head
AF 1140 2 optima yellow tops Honda eu3000 honda eu 2000 companion
2012 Ram 3500 DRW Roadmaster Sway Bar, Airbags, stableloads, superhitch, Buckstop bumper, carli lift, Alcoa's with 3970lb toyo AT's
Photog101 wrote: I'll have to recheck the frames, but I know that the rest of the parts show up in the database as being the same. Yes, the 3500 HD was only 2WD and utilized a Rockwell "I" beam front axle. I changed my calipers and rotors last year and they were the same for both. I also know that they both used the G-80 rear pig. Engine /Trans options were also the same for "02 and "03 3500 and 3500HD.
That is interesting on the brakes . The specs that I have seen said the 3500HD had 13.9 F and 13.58 R rotors and the 3500 had 12.8 F & R . Also wouldn't the 3500HD have 10 bolt and the 3500 have 8 bolt ? Which do you have?
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I know I could for my dually.
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