Wheels and Tires 22.5" Vs. 24.5"

Go talk to any tire dealer. Not some repair shop a dealer.

Hands down in all but a very few applications the 22.5 lp's over the life of a vehicle come out least expensive.

Some people prefer big rubber. More power to them. But the people that are in this business for the express purpose of making money choose the short rubber. Might be a clue.

 

I wouldn't automatically believe everything a fleet does is always the best at making money. Fleets buy what is the cheapest, they hardly ever keep equipment long enough to care what lasts the longest. The mega fleets your referring to don't haul heavy, they don't go off road, they don't drive fast. If you do any of the above you probably shouldn't try an imitate a fleet. They also haul cheap freight, hire steering wheel holders and some of their maintenance is only good on paper. (coming from a guy that has owned an ex Ryder truck that never saw a grease gun)

Your never going to get a straight answer on tires because there are too many variables that change to say what's going to work for you. We have 2 trucks that run super singles. They work great in the application they're being used in but would die a horrible death on any of our other trucks. Same can be said for 22.5 vs 24.5's. If you follow Tazz's logic the guys here in Ohio with their 6-7 axle dump trucks should follow Swift and run LP22.5. Of course when they're stuck because of zero ground clearance they're tunes might change a bit.

Hell Arrow Trucking was a mega fleet and they just went under. Probably had speed limiters, 22.5's, CHEAP cookie cutter aero trucks ect. Just because your big doesn't mean your not stupid.

 

And that my friends is why there are fleets that grow and people that go out of business.


I conceded the special application, and wont bother explaining each and every application. That would be a tire suppliers job not mine. People that believe 1 inch more or less of clearance probably should by a helmet though.

A fleets choice of speed, drivers, engine, transmission, management tools, and the like are all motivated by the profits they derive from those choices. The one universal you will see is 22.5 lp's. Even on Maverick, TMC, Western Express ............. all of which spend considerable time at max gross with coils, scrap, tubing, shingle's, paper rolls, etc. etc so the notion 22.5 can not handle weight is rather disproved yes?

 

The helmet joke is funny! I'm gonna have to guess you stay on paved roads all the time though... Probably don't haul heavy either?

I don't think anyone here is saying 22.5's can't handle the weight, its the tire manufacturers that say it, isn't it?

 

to answer your question simply. yes its cheaper to run small rubber thats why so many of us do it!

 

Also cube size of vans has gone up over the years from 45 feet to 53 feet, 96 inch wide to 102 wide, the only other way to make'em bigger was to go up in height and to do that they had to lower the truck with low profile 5th wheels and low pro tires.

Rolling resistance is 90% from tire side wall flex, the smaller the side wall the less flex. If rolling resistance on the drive tires is the main thing in fuel mileage that someone is looking for then super singles would be the way to go, your changing 16 sidewalls to 8.
Just as Jfaulk99, Les2 and others have said what mega fleets do is not all ways best for every one else.

 

Like every other "general" question asked on this forum, there is no single "right" answer. The trucking industry is VERY diverse and what is ideal for one application just won't cut it in another. For my application, I won't run a truck with anything smaller than 11r-24.5's, I won't buy a truck with diffs lighter than 46's and nothing but 18 speed trannys here. However, I can see where it would be advantageous for a highway hauler to run 22.5's, super 40 diffs and even a 10 speed trans where reducing tare weight is critical and the truck aren't pulling heavy. Everything has it's place.

 

Excellent post
well said Ltk...

 

You've got a lot to learn! You can only make money if you follow in lockstep with the mega fleets! Next time I got go West Virginia I'm going to tell those dumb coal haulers they need to follow Swift's lead and stop wasting money on all that heavy junk they run.

Seriously though the issue with getting people to switch anything including tire/wheel sizes is if a guy has had great luck with a certain type of truck your going to have a hard time changing them. I know what works for me, you know what works for you and I don't give a #### what the mega fleets do. There are plenty of O/O's that have been around longer than most of the mega fleets so they must be doing something right.

This may come as a shock to you Tazz but when I buy equipment, I don't drive around Swift's lot checking equipment specs first. However I'm sure we've got a lot to learn, we've only been in the business since the 40's when my grandpa was a single truck O/O with a milk route.

 

wow started a tire war! everyone has a prefference that suits them. 22.5s have a heavy load rating if you know what to buy jfaulk likes 24.5s licensetokill likes what he runs with 46 rears. to each their own,i haul heavy 8 axle 40 rears 18 spd works good for me thats why there are so many diff. choices.