40x15.5 tires on an XL

[Joe Average]

Has anyone ran 40x15.5 tires on their XL? If so, any issues with rubbing?

My 13.5s are getting close to needing replaced and I would like a little more floatation for snow and sand.

[ExpoCrawler]

There are folks that run them on the 20" wheels. If you're really after flotation, get beadlocks and air down to low single digit pressures. A wider tire technically doesn't produce (at the same pressure) any better flotation than a narrower tire, you just have a wider (vs longer) contact patch.

[PorkChopExpress]

Here's a pretty detailed video that explains the differences in tire performance for wide vs narrow tires as it relates to off-road vehicles. You can skip to 10:00 to get into the more off-road aspects, the beginning of the video is a lot of explanation about the tests and the differences between high-profile and low-profile tires. He could cover the effect of dropping tire pressures more, but he does cover it somewhat.

L2SFBC - Are wide or narrow tyres best for a 4x4?

Anecdotally, I live near West Yellowstone and the over-snow coaches there use MASSIVE tires for this purpose. Seeing them up close, puts our "little" 40x13.5 to shame. I looked up the specs and they're 620/50-R22.5 tires (roughly 47x24.5). So, unless you're pushing to extremes and optimizing for a single environment, then I think you'll find little benefit to a wider tire for these conditions. Also, they aren't seeing any kind of real harsh terrain, whereas you're still going to be seeing normal roads, uneven/off-camber roads, and rocks where a narrower/longer contact patch will still serve you better while having no significant negative impact on your flotation.

Here's what those Yellowstone snow coaches look like:

https://magicvalley.com/yellowstone-...53d9633f2.html

[desertfox73]

I ran 40x15.50 r20 tires on my 21 PXL. They were on 20x12 black rhino armory wheels with -44 offset. I never experienced any rubbing of any kind. I’m not sure what the build tolerances of an AEV modified truck are, and certainly there are variations in factory tolerances, so I can’t say whether they would rub on any other truck. But 15.50 tires pushed pretty far out did just fine.

[AEVNTRR]

what rack is on the back of the truck. I need one that also does not extend taller than the roof of the vehicle so I can continue to pull into my garage.

[PorkChopExpress]

what rack is on the back of the truck. I need one that also does not extend taller than the roof of the vehicle so I can continue to pull into my garage.

I remember reading that it was a Nuthouse Industries rack. He has some additional details on the For Sale page he posted:

https://forum.aev-conversions.com/forum/aev-for-sale/preowned-aev-prospector-for-sale/269302-fs-2021-prospector-xl-nashville-tn

[desertfox73]

what rack is on the back of the truck. I need one that also does not extend taller than the roof of the vehicle so I can continue to pull into my garage.

Yes - Nuthouse Industries rack, I’ve run them on a couple of trucks. Custom made with lots of different options. As far as I know, they are the only ones who put together a system of bed rack and coiling tonneau that works with Ramboxes.

Their stuff is amazingly well built, light (aluminum), and can be customized for lighting, mounts, etc. They really work with every person to dial it in for their specific needs.