Wheels and Tires 22.5" Vs. 24.5"

Well let's see my comment about the helmet was for people that think 1" is a significant difference in ground clearance.

Spent my youth chasing choppers, combine, baler, and on occasion a feed wagon. Never saw that different tires equaled better or worse ground clearance. Proper installation and securing of wet lines, staying on the ruts, and knowing what the hell you were doing made huge differences. Tires? Not so much.

Ask a tire rep. 22.5's can be treaded to dissipate any potential heat build up, and is proven by the amount of flat bed companies running them. Very few haul less than max gross the majority of the time.

Yeah you wanna run big rubber thats your choice. Even logical in a few instances. Coal hauling? Nope. I would, like I did hauling grain, go with the smallest lightest set up I possibly could. See most commodities are by bulk weight. Never understood running the extra weight of tall rubber or taller tires when that could be product I would get paid for instead of equipment I didn't.


I was approaching this as a cost issue that the OP asked about. Cost wise 22.5 win hands down. Cheaper to buy, replace, and when concerned with weight lighter. Which is why the mega fleets run them.

Sure people have their preferences. Some like blondes, some like red heads, some like Jersey's. To each their own. But you'll never convince me it is cheaper to run big rubber. If it was more cost effective you can bet those bean counters at Hunt" Swift, Wiener would be all over them. That's what bean counters do, find the most cost effective solution.

 

After absorbing some of your knowledge of what's the most profitable I just placed an order for 26 new wheels/tires and new gears for one tractor/trailer combo. I'm thinking with all the money I'll save with 22.5's the swap will pay for it's self in about 30yrs. If it works I'll switch the other trucks also. I also ordered all steel wheels since that's what the fleets do, they must be better.

 

FINE we get it you love YOUR 24.5s,settle down dang man.

 

No actually I have both, and have good luck with both sizes. We've always had 24.5's and have had ZERO tire issues. However we've bought some repo equipment lately that happened to come with 22.5's. I just love it when people like Tazz know everything there is to know about everything and make blanket statements like "if the fleets do it it must be better" and I think anyone with even half a brain knows otherwise. Fleets are known for continuously cutting rates lower and lower, beating up on equipment MFG's to make things cheaper to compensate for the cheaper rates. Cutting driver pay to also compensate, then when they can't make it they bail. Who in they're right mind wants to emulate that thought process.

 

ya got me there.

 

Chinese (roadmaster or double coin) 22.5's unless a MFG was having a sale on 24.5's. I don't think the argument was ever over what was cheaper to buy originally. 24.5's turn fewer times per mile so in theory they should last longer. I say in theory because you would have to take 2 identical trailers running identical routes with the same loads for years to ever find out if it pans out.

The problem with getting a straight answer on which is better is you'll find out (just like engines or truck brands) if a guy has good luck with a certain thing, say 24.5's, its extremely hard to convince them to take a chance with 22.5's. I mean money talks and if you order a new trailer with 22.5's and find out they don't work out as well for your operation as the 24.5's you had before. Unless you can find someone to trade with it's going to cost you ~$3000.00 just to swap the wheels. The little wheel guys and big wheel guys like what they have and both have good reasons. Clear as mud?

 

1. 24.5 cost more because they are not as common as 22.5 and they cost more to produce, manufactures sell 4 times more 22.5 than 24.5 thus higher cost = higher price, companies use 22.5 to help keep tops on trailers

2. 22.5 have a lower roll resistance due to the fact that they lower the vehicle 1 inch out of the wind less drag

3. 24.5 will last only about 1% longer than 22.5 giving you about an extra 1200 +/- miles depending on your driving habit

 

See you keep bringing the other attributes big fleets are known for. They are also known for making loads of money for their owners/ stock holders.

How they price their trucks, pay their drivers are irrelevant to the discussion about cheapest tire to run. Equally absurd is your statement that bigger tires will turn less and so last longer. But hey knock yourself out trying to reinvent the wheel with your recent order.


The point you keep dancing around with all your bluster about the evil big companies is they operate for the most part very profitabley. Now your going to cite Arrow or Dick Simon but if your honest you will concede their choice of tire size had absolutely nothing to do with their demise.

But yes truckers are creature's of habit and some just will not believe fuel or profit numbers of equipment they do not have experience with.

 

The Chinese tire brand is prime well. I do not know jack about truck tires so I'll learn from the experts. My questions:

Is their situations where a 22.5 tire would be more beneficial?? Is their such thing as a low grade virgin tire?? How much does it cost to have the tires rotated?? What is your preferred brand based upon your experience?? Finally, do you send the old tires you have somewhere special to get em recapped??

KH