bigger rubber 35+

[98dango]

How many hear run a 35" and taller tire. I have had many larger tires but with more and more long range trips I'm wavering. I encounter mud rocks and snow. I have always had a theory that a taller tire rolls over the obstacle easier there for less stress on the truck.

I run big axles 60 70 14 bolts. So a minimum of 35s just to retain stock 1/2ton ground clearance. I am getting all my ducks lined up for a truck build. I have 39" irocks sitting hear but not sure if I need that big or truck that tall yes less lift and cutting but at what point is bigger going to big.

Also with longer trips means you bring a spair or 2. With the popularly of 37s growing your chances of finding a replacement on the road is growing.

So at what point do you feel big is to big to be comfortable on a 2000 mile trip.

Every one always asks and this is directed more at full size truck. 1ton to 1/2 ton. The bigger the truck the bigger the tire must be to keep the break over angle up as well as approach and departure angle. I relise I spend more time on trails and in the rocks than most hear.

 

[01tundra]

I ran up to 40" tires on my old DD (D60 front / 14-Bolt rear) and my opinion is 37's are about the largest I'd go in order to maintain a road friendly, full size rig.

The 37" tire will get you anywhere a 40" will, may just take a little more work or a different approach on things.

I would usually say 33"-35" max for a dual purpose vehicle, but I've been in your shoes and the only way to make that even half way realistic is with a lot of custom work shaving those big differential housings. With fuel prices like they are it makes choices like this even tougher. If you have a ball joint front end there is no way I'd run over 37's, just from a maintenance stand point. My plan was to shave the differentials once I went back down to 37's, but I ended up selling it before I got around to it.

I was running a king pin set up, but I still noticed more wear & tear on brakes, TRE's etc. moving up to 40" tires. Once you go over 37" there's a lot of things that change, including lots of sheet metal trimming to maintain the same suspension travel, possibly having to limit steering stops because most tires over 37" get ridiculously wide, and on and on.......

 

[tarditi]

37x12.50 16.5 is a HMMWV/Hummer (H1) tire - you can find these pretty readily (relative to the general scale of that size tire), too.

 

[98dango]

01tundra
I was hoping you would chime in on this.

The axle is a 87 dodge Dana 60 king pin 30/35 set up rear 92 gm 14. The truck is your plan stripped down 2002 Chevy work truck. Main purpose is to an from work 8 miles round trip and camping trips to Moab all over Colorado Montana Oregon and Washington


The 37" take offs are not bad had a few sets but there not great off road. I may try them as I have 16.5 wheels and tires can be had inexpensive but not easy to come by in the event of a failure.

 

[01tundra]

01tundra
I was hoping you would chime in on this.

The axle is a 87 dodge Dana 60 king pin 30/35 set up rear 92 gm 14. The truck is your plan stripped down 2002 Chevy work truck. Main purpose is to an from work 8 miles round trip and camping trips to Moab all over Colorado Montana Oregon and Washington


The 37" take offs are not bad had a few sets but there not great off road. I may try them as I have 16.5 wheels and tires can be had inexpensive but not easy to come by in the event of a failure.

17" wheels were always my preference. The 16.5" seemed too limited on tire options for us, considering how far we would travel from home it our truck. I can't remember the specifics about them now, but wasn't there was something different on the beads with the 16.5"?

 

[98dango]

Ya 16.5 haves crap bead on the wheel 17 is what I run on almost all my trucks. The 16.5 was brought up for the 37" goodyear take offs that many buy. I saw cooper has a 37-12.5-17 stt might be a good choice. I have always been a Interco guy but never ran as much street as this truck will. I'm also not against 2 sets of tires and wheels.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

I had more fun in my Jeep on 33's with stock axles in Moab than I did in my other Jeep on 35's and built axles, there comes a point where bigger axles become pointless if you know what you are doing on the trail. It's also nice to have a different rig for each type of terrain, that's how I ended up with 5 vehicles. So if I just want to cruise to a fun trail that leads to fishing I can take the Chevy diesel or the Montero, if it's harder trails in Moab then I can tow the Jeep down behind the truck.

 

[98dango]

I have done the jeep thing these are not for a jeep Icant get all of what I want in on or about my jeep.

 

[86tuning]

I'm on 35s on my 80-series because that's the optimum value point for tire size vs suspension and body mods. In my case the spare lives in the stock spot, and the truck drives fine at any speed.

 

[Box Rocket]

I agree that a 37" tire is the biggest tire that can really be a comfortable road and long range tire. I have 35's on my 80 series cruiser and it's a nice size. I am seriously considering bumping it up to a 37 though.

But you are correct that the you probably need a larger tire on a fullsize pickup. The 33's that work great on my Tacoma probably wouldn't cut it on your Super Duty. It's a balancing act. My philosophy is keep the tires as small as you can but big enough to accomplish what you need them too. For me, that means 33's on the small end of the spectrum and 37's on the large side. Anything bigger or smaller than that won't work for me.

 

[01tundra]

I can say that my most fond memory of a trip consisted of a basically stock Jeep Cherokee on 31" BFG AT's up at Tellico in the middle of the night in a snow storm. The bigger and more capable my rigs got, the more bored and focused on vehicle performance I got. It kind of made me forget to look around and take in my surroundings and enjoy being out in the middle of nowhere.

I missed the simple days so much that I am back on 32" tires in a very mild rig .

 

[jeep-N-montero]

I agree that a 37" tire is the biggest tire that can really be a comfortable road and long range tire. I have 35's on my 80 series cruiser and it's a nice size. I am seriously considering bumping it up to a 37 though.

But you are correct that the you probably need a larger tire on a fullsize pickup. The 33's that work great on my Tacoma probably wouldn't cut it on your Super Duty. It's a balancing act. My philosophy is keep the tires as small as you can but big enough to accomplish what you need them too. For me, that means 33's on the small end of the spectrum and 37's on the large side. Anything bigger or smaller than that won't work for me.

Adam, do you live in Davis County?

 

[jeep-N-montero]

I can say that my most fond memory of a trip consisted of a basically stock Jeep Cherokee on 31" BFG AT's up at Tellico in the middle of the night in a snow storm. The bigger and more capable my rigs got, the more bored and focused on vehicle performance I got. It kind of made me forget to look around and take in my surroundings and enjoy being out in the middle of nowhere.

I missed the simple days so much that I am back on 32" tires in a very mild rig .

Agreed, seems like I got out more when it was on 31's as well. But then again gas was only a dollar a gallon back in 99.

 

[chilliwak]

I run BFG AT 35s on my old 78 Chevy pick-up with no probs. I will likely be going for 37s next time around. I am also considering going from a 11 inch tires to a taller, more narrow 37 that is `E´rated. Considering going with a set of Toyo tires, but I would be interested in hearing any recommenddations as I want a tire that is `snow tire´rated for trouble free winter driving but that is also good in mud. Cheers, Chilli...

 

[98dango]

I have run the little tiers and big I find mud and snow that leaves trucks on 31s sitting. Yes if I ran a jeep or small Toyota is be in the 33 and under but I run a long box so 35+ is for me.