Walk any truck stop and you will see the two sizes side by side: 11R22.5 and 295/75R22.5. They mount on the same 22.5-inch wheel, they carry the same trucks, and to most eyes they look identical. They are not the same tire — and for fleets, the difference shows up in deck height, weight, fuel, and what your equipment was built around. Here is the practical version of the comparison, without the catalog fog.
Two Naming Systems on One Wheel
11R22.5 is the older, conventional format: roughly an 11-inch section width on a 22.5-inch wheel, with a tall standard-profile sidewall implied rather than stated. 295/75R22.5 is metric: 295 millimeters of section width, a sidewall that is 75 percent of that width, on the same 22.5-inch wheel. Because the metric size states its aspect ratio openly, it is often called a "low profile" tire — the sidewall is genuinely shorter. Both formats decode fully in our sidewall reading guide.
The Physical Difference That Drives Everything Else
The conventional 11R22.5 stands roughly 41.5 inches tall. The 295/75R22.5 comes in around 40 inches — call it an inch and a half shorter, with a slightly wider footprint and, in most designs, a few pounds less weight per tire. Multiply a small height and weight difference by eighteen wheel positions and it stops being small: it changes trailer deck height, lowers the center of gravity slightly, and trims rolling mass.
Load Capacity: Nearly a Wash
Both sizes are commonly built in load range G, with load range H versions widely available for heavier axle work. At equivalent load ranges, their rated capacities sit close enough that capacity alone rarely decides the choice. What decides it is fit and fleet standardization — the letter on the sidewall still has to match your axle loads, which is a per-tire specification to confirm at quoting, not a property of the size format.
Why Modern Fleets Spec the Low-Profile
Van and reefer fleets moved heavily to 295/75R22.5 for practical reasons: the shorter tire buys interior and deck-height clearance, the lower stance helps stability, the reduced weight and stiffer, shorter sidewall contribute a real if modest fuel benefit, and the size has become the de facto standard — which means broad availability across brands and price tiers.
Why 11R22.5 Refuses to Retire
The conventional size holds on for equally practical reasons. The taller sidewall gives more cushion over rough pavement and curbs, which vocational and regional operators appreciate. Dump, mixer, and older equipment was often geared and built around the taller tire — swap shorter tires onto a truck geared for 41.5 inches and your engine turns more RPM at cruise than the spec sheet intended. And in the used-equipment world, 11R22.5 remains the size everyone recognizes, stocks, and retreads.
Can You Switch From One to the Other?
The wheel accepts either, but the truck has opinions. Moving between the sizes changes overall diameter by more than an inch, which alters effective gearing, speedometer accuracy, and ride height at the axle you change. Two rules are non-negotiable: never mix the two sizes across a dual pair, and keep every position on an axle the same size. Beyond that, treat a switch as a spec decision — check gearing, clearances, and mudflap and landing-gear heights before committing a whole trailer pool, not after.
The Same Story at 24.5
Everything above repeats one wheel size up: 11R24.5 is the conventional tall size, 285/75R24.5 its low-profile counterpart, and the trade-offs — height, weight, gearing, standardization — map across almost exactly. Fleets running 24.5 equipment face the identical decision, one inch higher.
How to Get the Right Answer for Your Equipment
The size on your trucks today is the starting point, not the conclusion. Send us the full sidewall marking, the axle position, and what the truck or trailer does for work, and we will quote availability across the brands we source in the correct size and load range — confirmed before you commit, as always. Position-by-position differences matter here; our guide to steer, drive, and trailer tires covers that side of the specification.
Worth Considering Before Your Next Order:
Do you know the overall diameter your drivetrain was geared around — and whether the tires on the truck today still match it?
If your fleet runs both sizes across different units, is that a deliberate specification or an accumulation of whatever was available at replacement time?
When you last changed tire sizes, did anyone recheck speedometer accuracy and clearances afterward — or was the wheel fitting treated as the whole answer?