Simple rims for modern full size trucks?

[FAW3]

My 2005 Ram 3500 has what I think are the OEM steel wheels.

Thoughts:

Weight... Rig scales at 10K fully loaded. Not much use trying to save some weight on the wheels.

Price: the purchase of some aftermarket aluminum wheels, mounting, balance and the rest would likely run me around $1200 easy.

After a day running on a dirt/gravel FS or BLM road my black painted steels will look the same as a nice aluminum Method wheel.

$1200 would buy me about 240 gallons of diesel at $5 a gallon. At my normal 15 MPG that's 3600 miles of travel.

 

[jadmt]

Thanks - good looking setup. How much more offset are those Saltas vs stock?

Aev are +27mm stock power wagon wheels are +44 or so

 

[jadmt]

I think field repairing a steel wheel is so unlikely it shouldn't be a consideration. If you're running a decent sized tire and still hit something so hard that the rim gets damaged, you are going to have more significant problems than a bent wheel. I like factory steelies, but that is based on cost and aesthetic.

Ditto guys say it all the time and it sounds good but not all that easy

 

[Dougnuts]

Another vote for the Methods. I get lots of complements.

IMG_9193

 

[Tex68w]

Method is the easy default, I am guilty of it many times over but they have definitely gone way up in price over the years. I love the look of steelies but there aren't any good options for these big trucks should you plan to run bigger meats with the proper offset. I ditched the awful grade 8 looking hardware on my Methods in favor of black bolts, IMHO it looks a lot better now. I still need to do the spare, see the pic's below to see the difference.

 

[D45]

Silver satin finish Hummer H2 wheels

I ran these for a while on my old 2004 3500

Hummer H2 Wheels:
Size: 17" x 8.5"
Bolt Pattern: 8x6.5
Off-set: 18 MM
Backspacing: 5.5"
Weight Rating: 3,195 lbs per rim

You can find them cheap also

 

[yfarm]

I have a question maybe some of you guys can answer....for full size vehicles I've been somewhat torn. Part of me thinks steel factory wheels would be better because of the initial cost plus if I do hit some bad pothole or something I could hammer it straight to get home as opposed to breaking a wheel. And not that I'm racing or anything, I'm not a rock crawler either, I just like the idea of being able to fix something to get home should it be needed.

That being said I like the idea of (true) beadlocks so I could more easily self mount tires and balance using internal beads instead of paying tire shops for mounting and balancing. But of course the cost is quite a bit more for them.

Just curious if others have thought through that and what their decisions were. Thx.

I put 17” Methods with Falken 315-70-17 tires on my 2020 F250. After the tire shop mounted and drove around the block, had a clicking sound from the front due to a tire weight. Shop could not place the weight to avoid the caliper so they replaced the weights with beads, have driven about 16k miles with the beads with even tire wear. Truck is mainly used for trips and heavy towing so it sits alot. After sitting, has a little vibration but this resolves after a couple of miles. This is reported as normal with beads. If I had a do over would go with 18s.

 

[eyemgh]

Another vote for Method

 

[Regcabguy]

I put 17” Methods with Falken 315-70-17 tires on my 2020 F250. After the tire shop mounted and drove around the block, had a clicking sound from the front due to a tire weight. Shop could not place the weight to avoid the caliper so they replaced the weights with beads, have driven about 16k miles with the beads with even tire wear. Truck is mainly used for trips and heavy towing so it sits alot. After sitting, has a little vibration but this resolves after a couple of miles. This is reported as normal with beads. If I had a do over would go with 18s.

I have Toyos on Methods and have never had any vibes. I got some Centramatic's from a guy for $100 and really couldn't feel any improvement. The Toyos have always been easy to balance according to the tire installers at Discount.

 

[Grassland]

What are you guys doing about the much less positive offset on all these aftermarket wheels?
You are also adding wider than stock tires. Even if this isn't causing clearance issues, what about the tire poke a) throwing dirt and rocks up the side of your truck and b) traffic laws in your area?

 

[yfarm]

Thats why the flares are on mine. 0 offset 4.75” backspace, no rubbing. Method no longer lists a 701 non hd but the 703 is currently listed,looks the same.

 

[Zuber]

This is what I used on my 2021 RAM/Cummins:

Method 701 Trail Series, 18" - these are forged AL, have a 4500 lb rating - the highest I've found. Price is $100 up from last year. They have the proper back spacing if you want to go all the way up to 37". These also have the extra bead retention ribs, so you can safely air down and not worry about popping the tire off.

https://www.4wheelparts.com/p/method-701-trail-series-matte-black-wheels/prod2330029?Bolt+Pattern_PQMS=8+on+6.5&Wheel+Diameter_PQMS=18+Inches&Wheel+Width_PQMS=9+Inches&Offset_PQMS=18

I went with the Cooper AT3's, 295-70-18, 4000 lb weight rating. These are actually a 34.5" tire and it will fit in the spare location, Just. Very smooth and quiet. Commonly available. One tire needed a lot of weight, but runs smooth. I run 40/30 psi on gravel roads and it gives a good ride. 55/40 on highway unloaded. 60/65 loaded.

With the 1" wider wheels and the 3/4" more offset I went to the Bushwacker Extenda Flare for another 2.5" coverage. I also made my own mud flaps that extend out even with these. Mud control is very good.

https://www.4wheelparts.com/p/bushwacker-extend-a-fender-style-fender-flare-set-50931-02/_/R-BDMQ-50931-02

 

[chet6.7]

Method is the easy default, I am guilty of it many times over but they have definitely gone way up in price over the years. I love the look of steelies but there aren't any good options for these big trucks should you plan to run bigger meats with the proper offset. I ditched the awful grade 8 looking hardware on my Methods in favor of black bolts, IMHO it looks a lot better now. I still need to do the spare, see the pic's below to see the difference.

That looks good, I keep meaning to paint the bolts on mine but never get around to it.

 

[Tex68w]

That looks good, I keep meaning to paint the bolts on mine but never get around to it.

Thanks, I agree that it's a vast improvement. I cheated and just bought the black lip kit hardware lol.

 

[Dougnuts]

Truck is mainly used for trips and heavy towing so it sits alot. After sitting, has a little vibration but this resolves after a couple of miles. This is reported as normal with beads.

My truck stays parked a lot and the KO2s will also flat spot from sitting. It resolves itself quick though.