Hi everyone,

I will be stationed in Fairbanks, Alaska next year and I need some guidance on what type of rims and tires are good for the long winter up there. I have a 99 F150 shortbed with 16x10 rims and 285/60-16 all around at the moment.
I really need some help to find out the best combination of tire and rim size.
I've bought the truck with this tire/rim combo and have no idea what size the original tires or rims have been and where to get them.

I would really appreciate any real help in this matter.

Thanks folks.

 

I'm not sure what the best tire/rim combo might be. 16" rims are fine; as far as width, I dunno, those seem a little wide for winter driving but there are lots of guys here that can answer that better than me. I have the stock rims on my truck and BFG 265/70 17's. We lived in Alaska for 5 years and I never had a problem getting around with the BFG's, they're a great tire. Granted we didn't live in Fairbanks, we were in Cordova for 3 years and Juneau for 2; but we got snow, wet heavy snow most of the time, and plenty of ice. Fairbanks gets way cold and the snow is mostly dry powdery stuff but I don't think you'd go wrong with the BFG's.

BTW, good luck on your move to Alaska. I hope you love it there as much as we did!! My sister and her husband were at Eielson for 2 years and they loved it too!

 

The Interco(superswamper) all terrain trxs tire is supposed to be very good in ice and sand, lol ice in your case, its not a super aggresive tire either, so if your driving in alot of ice and snow, may want to look into those tires. There site has alot of good info on them, www.intercotire.com

 

update.

It seems that my question was too confusing, I'm looking for help with the original wheel/tire size for the 99' F150. I know it is rather pointless to drive in the snow with 285's. I would liketo buy a set of winter tires and wheels, but have no idea about the correct size of both of them. Can anyone please help?

 

Hey Mikevolkerabc,

Welcome to Fairbanks (well, next year at any rate). Where are you gonna be stationed at, Eielson or Wainwright? Winter driving in Fairbanks can be a little challenging. In 1999, the F150's came standard with 16 X 7.5" (I think) rims and really dinky 235 70 R 16's. Actually, those size tires do pretty well up here. The 285 60 16's are a bit wide, but that's not to say you couldn't manage with them. I've seen plenty of jacked up trucks up here in the dead of winter running their 33's and 35's, but it's also common to see a 6" lift on a truck and see them running with their stock rims with winter tires on them. Sure, looks unproportional, but they're not sliding into the car in front of them at a stoplight. The really bad times of the winter are actually during fall and spring, when it actually rains and freezes when it hits the road. During the dead of winter, DOT keeps the roads plowed and sanded in areas where it needs it, and the military does a great job in keeping their roads cleared and sanded as well. If you're looking at getting a spare set of rims and some tires just for winter, maybe look at Blizzak tires (not sure or the manufacture name). They sell really well up here and perform great. You could also get studded and siped tires from any manufacture, mount them on a spare set of 16" rims, and swap 'em out every winter. It's actually pretty common up here, my mom does it on her 2002 Explorer. Also, the winters up here aren't THAT bad, global warming's doing it's part to warm things up here a bit , so we're not seeing as many 20 to 30 degree below zero cold snaps as we're all used to.

 

thanks for the great advise, you are really very helpful to me. I can't wait to see the (everyone tells me so) beautiful state of Alaska. I will be stationed in Fairbanks, and from my understanding it is pretty much in the center of the state. So I will hopefully have a chance to discover AK to the fullest. Thanks again for the great reply and the heads-up, I really appreciated that.
See you next year on the roads.

Mike