Roadtripping With an Extra Set of Wheels?

[Phoenix864]

After doing some basic off-raoding with the 21's, I've gotten intrigued and am looking at picking up a set of 20's with ATs for my R1S. I've got a road trip planned up to Michigan later this summer and hope to do some offroading while I'm there - it looks like there's lots of great trails out there.

Problem is, I'd like to take a set of 20's with ATs up for the off-roading, but I don't want to drive the ATs for long miles on the highway. Has anyone done a long-haul trip while hauling an extra set of wheels in a R1S? I was planning to sleep in the back, but I'm concerned the bulk of the wheels will make it infeasible.

Alternatively, I could just use the 21's for everything - it would make logistics easier, but I'm worried that I'll be significantly limiting what I can do off-road.

I'd appreciate any advice regarding dealing with the hassle of hauling a set of 20's out with me vs the capability I'll lose by just sticking with the 21's. Is hauling a second set of wheels a massive pain? How much might I be missing out on if I just stick with the 21's?

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[jjswan33]

Friends don't lets friends road trip with 21s... I know from personal experience it can have complications.

 

[Riviot]

Is hauling a second set of wheels a massive pain? How much might I be missing out on if I just stick with the 21's?

Pain, yes.

You'll be missing out on a LOT if you severely damage a tire/wheel.

Option 1: just deal with the NVH and efficiency hit if off roading is that important
Option 2: https://www.harborfreight.com/500-lb-capacity-deluxe-cargo-carrier-66983.html

Friends don't lets friends road trip with 21s... I know from personal experience it can have complications.

Never Forget

 

[nomis]

Option 1: just deal with the NVH and efficiency hit if off roading is that important

I second that. Just deal with it and drive on the AT's. We all do it.... if you wanted a dedicated set of off road tires, might as well get M/Ts. Afterall, the "All" part in All-Terrain is what makes it road worthy.

But maybe I'm missing something here... What's the problem in road tripping with the 21s?

 

[Riviot]

But maybe I'm missing something here... What's the problem in road tripping with the 21s?

Getting sidewall damage, not carrying a full spare, and having to wait a week for the remote Discount Tire to receive the strange sized tire they definitely don't carry in stock.

 

[HaveBlue]

There are plenty of road worthy 20" AT tires.
Conti terraincontact
Bridgestone dueler AT had sets of early revos on my 4runner
Ltx AT2 I'm running on my gx470
Wranglers
Kumho Road venture

 

[CharonPDX]

Two things here:

1. Why don't you want to offload on the 21s? They shouldn't "significantly limit" you unless you're doing the most extreme edge of rock crawling.

2. Why don't you want to highway-drive the 20s? I've got over 20,000 miles on my 20" Pirelli ATs, including probably 8000 miles towing. The range hit isn't a significant one unless you happen to be in an area where there are DC chargers every 250 miles, but not every 200 miles. (Halve those when towing.) The ride is great, other than slightly louder cabin noise compared to the 21s. But that cabin noise is still well under any ICE vehicle of any kind.

 

[blturner]

I have 21s and 20s. They fit in the bed standing up side by side. Can’t close the cover. I have not tried to put the racks on but I don’t think they would fit.
Changing the wheels is a bit harder than I was used to. The pucks, tire change mode, the extra height and heavy wheels all add up to make it a chore.
I don’t get rated range on road trips because I drive fast. It gets weird when driving 10 under the speed limit will get you there sooner.
I would just use the 20s if there was any off roading possible.
The range hit of the 20s is just not that much.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Crossbar pair is rated for 250 lbs, so three would be 375.... I'd be comfortable putting my 20" ATs in a basket on my R1S if we had one that could span all three bars. Assuming you're strong enough to lift them above your head.

Range with my KO2s is probably bad enough that 21s on the ground and 20s in a basket on top would still net more range.

 

[Riviot]

Crossbar pair is rated for 250 lbs, so three would be 375

I had to check you here because I was concerned about my RTT with 2 adults and a dog:

Why is it 140% capacity more when still?

 

[beatle]

I had to check you here because I was concerned about my RTT with 2 adults and a dog:

Why is it 140% capacity more when still?

Probably because a lawyer engineered it.

 

[Dark-Fx]

I had to check you here because I was concerned about my RTT with 2 adults and a dog:

Why is it 140% capacity more when still?

Dynamic vs static forces. Weight on the bars has to withstand all the g-forces applied to them when in motion. Most vehicles don't have a static weight rating, just dynamic one.

So no Beverly Hillbillies for you

 

[Phoenix864]

I appreciate all the comments - the 20" set of wheels I'm looking at is a RAM 2363/K02S set that another local Rivan owner is selling for ~$900. Tires are a little worn at 5/32-7/32. The wear, efficiency loss, and additional noise (current owner reports they are loud) were steering me away from roadtripping on them. Obviously roadtripping on them is still viable, though. I'm hauling a bike on a hitch rack, so unfortunately throwing extra wheels on the back isn't an option.

After looking more into the RAM wheels, I'm also wondering if I should do it 'right' and get 20" rims that are designed for the Rivian (so no concerns about weight rating or rubbing). Downside being ~$900 entry price vs ~$4k.

I definitely get the concerns surrounding damaging one of the 21" tires and then being stuck waiting for a replacement. If I was to hypothetically off-road with the 21"s somewhere like Bundy Hill Off Road or Holly Oaks ORV Park, would I likely be missing out on a lot/significantly risking getting stuck?

 

[Riviot]

After looking more into the RAM wheels, I'm also wondering if I should do it 'right' and get 20" rims that are designed for the Rivian (so no concerns about weight rating or rubbing). Downside being ~$900 entry price vs ~$4k.

I have two sets of 2363s, AS and AT, and have had zero issues. ATs are inherently louder and rougher, so it goes, but the 2363s are tough as nails. I run 115 load index Falken Wildpeak AT3W in 275/60R20 and they're so much better than stock 20s. Zero rub, weight rating is fine (many companies ship them with 115+ load index tires), and better (in my testing with identical tires) efficiency.

Caveat: you need hub centric rings for 2363s, so switching between 21s and 2363s could be a pain if it's a frequent occurrence. Install the rings with anti seize and have a flathead screwdriver in case they don't pry off easily with a different non-marring tool, those rings are sensitive.

The hub centric rings are my reason for trying to figure out if I want just All Weather tires on OEM 20s year round (middle road between AS and AT), or stick with my dual 2363s. I'm leaning toward dual 2363s at the moment, no good All Weather have split the efficiency difference, only matched ATs.

 

[Phoenix864]

I have two sets of 2363s, AS and AT, and have had zero issues. ATs are inherently louder and rougher, so it goes, but the 2363s are tough as nails. I run 115 load index Falken Wildpeak AT3W in 275/60R20 and they're so much better than stock 20s. Zero rub, weight rating is fine (many companies ship them with 115+ load index tires), and better (in my testing with identical tires) efficiency.

Caveat: you need hub centric rings for 2363s, so switching between 21s and 2363s could be a pain if it's a frequent occurrence. Install the rings with anti seize and have a flathead screwdriver in case they don't pry off easily with a different non-marring tool, those rings are sensitive.

The hub centric rings are my reason for trying to figure out if I want just All Weather tires on OEM 20s year round (middle road between AS and AT), or stick with my dual 2363s. I'm leaning toward dual 2363s at the moment, no good All Weather have split the efficiency difference, only matched ATs.

Good point about the rings on the 2363 - the seller is including them, but I wasn't familiar with the hassle of installing/removing them. I'm on the fence between picking up the 2363 as a compliment to the 21"s vs getting a nice set of 20"s and selling the 21"s. The only time I really need to maximize range is when roadtripping, and if I'm already roadtripping on the 2363 then having a single set of lighter, nicer 20" wheels makes sense (plus I don't have to go through the hassle of swapping wheels or storing the extra set).

Could do something like this for ~$3700, sell the 21"s for maybe ~$1.2k, and then just stick with a single nice set of wheels and get access to the much better tire selection on the 20"s.

Very much on the fence on which way to go.

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