Heres what I'm working with:

-'99 F-250 4x4 ex. cab long bed with 150K on the ticker, bone stock
-PSD
-6 speed
-3.73 ratio
-B&W gooseneck hitch, 25K rated

Currently dad has been using this truck as his DD and occasionally towing various trailers (MAX weight of 17K, and it really doesn't like that much). We are soon to be purchasing a new tractor that weighs right at 14K and need to be able to safely and reliably tow it on our 26' tandem dually gooseneck, which weighs 6,000lbs empty (20K, about 26K GCW).

I know everyones first answer is to trade it for an F-450/550 or the like, but that isn't really an option, nor would it suit our needs very well. I'd like to keep the truck SRW since it also will be our overall farm truck and be used in moderate off-road conditions.

My thoughts:

-some sort of 19.5" rim super single tires and wheels, preferably about 33" tall, 10.50-12.50 wide, as agressive tread pattern as they make.

-swap out 3.73's for 4.10's, maybe 4.30's

-2" leveling kit in the front, 2" add-a-leafs in the rear with air bags (must support about 5,000lbs of tounge wieght)


There are a few things that I have questions about however,

1. Will the sterling 10.50 take this sort of use on a moderate basis(about twice a month, hauling 80mi each way, fairly mountainous)? If not what would be a SRW axle that could be swapped in that would do the job?

2.I need some recomendations on tires, I've seen a few people on here running super singles (or the smaller versions, 19.5" rim etc), but I haven't seen anything in the 33" range with an agressive tread pattern.

3. Air bags. What would yall reccomend for the weight range described?

Any other critiquing of my proposed setup would be welcome to, a build-up thread will probably ensue when we decide on how to go about this. Thanks for any info.

My thoughts - You are going to flog the shit out of your drivetrain if you hitch up to 20k pounds on a frequent basis.

Bottom line: You are gonna waste your money trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

Is it a diesel, or V10?

19.5's are great, the 10.5 is rated for 9k lbs. My Toyo's are just shy of 33" (something like 32.5"), and are load rated G (4500lbs ea at 110PSI) Aggressive usually means loud, noisy, quick wearing tires.

Did the truck come with the heavy duty suspension (you'll have overloads if it did)? If so, ditch the rear spring idea, just get the F350 spring blocks (F250 = 2" block, F350 = 4" block) and air bags (5k lbs load rated).

Does it still have the stock clutch? You'll probably want to upgrade that; it will probably slip when you load up the truck.

threadkiller, why do you think this? The engine/tranny/t-case are the exact same units found in F-450/550's, only thing in question here is the rear axle...

tdavis, yes the truck has a powerstroke. What is the size of your toyo's?

Getting something that is moderately agressive is mandatory, this thing see's lots of mud, snow, etc around the farm and has to be able to take it in stride. If we could get 40K mi out of a set that would be pleanty.

As for the suspension, it has the factory overload springs (just the flat bar spring under the main spring pack), and they rear springs are WAY too soft. The gooseneck when empty squats the back end of the truck down a couple inches. I'd like not to add any more lift block height to the setup, if anything I'd like to get rid of them.

As for the clutch, we put a new, OEM replacement about a year ago. There are no power mods on the engine nor will there be. I think with low axle gears it will be fine.

What are people using for rims on a setup like this? Cheaper the better, I'd rather use steel wheels if possible.

There is no cheap 19.5" rims. The only steel rim manufacturer is Rickson Tire. There is also a Vision 81 aluminum rim, which can be a hit and miss on getting.

My tires are the Toyo m608z 245/70-19.5 - which is a 32.9" tire.

I'll lay odds the Superduty you have has the stock leafs on it - there was a factory option for a Heavy Duty supension, which added a leaf above the pack that hits a pair of out riggers.

In that case, yes it has the stock leaves.

I'm begining to wonder if 19.5" tires are really needed. Standard load range E tires will hold about 6800lbs per pair, which is probably suffiecient, IDK.