Biggest Tires Without a Lift

[usmcpatriot]

I checked all the threads associated with this topic, and found that all five threads were about either lifting, or somehow putting HUMVEE tires on there rigs. Well I guess I will start a thread about people who don't want to lift there rigs, and still install the largest tires possible. I figured the M1008 that I have is a great truck. All steel construction, heavy duty drive train, but it has limited power. They threw this truck together, and the gov, signed off on it. So as a BOV, I wanted it to be able to, 1- Make it reliable, 2-Make it work better, 3-And do it now! Did the important conversions. Added a winch, with associated hardware, added a external fuel tank, and wished they the GOV, had made a smaller 6 foot bed style of the M1008. So this all being said, I went with the Cooper STT in the 285/75/16. This site will compare your present tire with what you have now.
Tire Dimensions Made Simple - Discount Tire

I went with this tire, mainly for several reasons. Load E, 3750lbs, fit perfectly without cutting, slicing, cursing, wishing. Rotations per mile went down from approximately 635.35 to 614.31. Circumference went to 3.46, and speedometer went 2.26 miles faster. I am very content with this tire and size. And understand the limitations of the truck. I feel if I put a lift on this truck, It will weaken what is already 28 years old. All this being said,I could have put 305/75/16, put the load capacity would have changed. The taller and wider you go, the weaker you get. Hopefully someone will get something from this thread.

 

[bshupe]

Great information Sir. Are you starting a conversation or making a statement?

If conversation then I have some questions and maybe some ideas.

Looks like great tires though. $$$?

 

[usmcpatriot]

Both, the thread is the conversation, I guess, then the statement, about the tires I chose.
This BOV is my tsunami escape vehicle. Oh, the tires were, $228.00.Sorry bro.

 

[bshupe]

I am putting 37" H1 take-offs on mine and I was very concerned about load rating as well. The thing is that a load E tire is a load E tire. Unless you are putting it on a 4" rim or an aluminum rim not rated equally then the load rating should carry through the whole system. On the other hand if you are truly going to be pushing to the max load rating on the truck I think your new tires will be the last thing to go on the truck. I would be worried about bearings, bushings, springs, wheel studs etc. etc. before losing sleep over the wheel/tire combo.

I also did not want to do any lifting as the truck is already tall enough in my opinion. I am not lacking in my personal life as to need a really tall truck (lol) but I did opt for the 1" body lift and new cab mounts. If the 37s still rub hard or frequently enough then I think I will go to the 1" zero rates and a small slide forward of the front axle. If there is still a problem then I will likely trim the fenders although it will be after much consideration that I would get to that.

It just kills me that tires like this are so much money. I dont think I would ever pay like that for tires even if money wasnt a problem for me.

For my own story, I have been really struggling with locating wheels for the tires I have but just recently a friend of mine met a guy who was lamenting needing to put tires on his truck but it had 16.5" wheels and all the tire stores told him "no way" they dont make that anymore. He thought he was going to have to buy all new wheels and tires. Now we are trying to work something out where he will get my good 16" wheels and tires and I will get his 16.5" wheels and some cash. Should be pretty good I think. The wheels are a little narrower than I would prefer for the tire size but many members on here have done this and it worked out great for them.

Incidentally, when I was doing my research on this issue one member sent me some info and a pic of his rig and he was running the 37s with no lift at all and said it worked just fine with only minor rubbing from time to time. Sorry, I dont recall his handle. If you want I can dig up the photo he sent and post it.

Thanks for the post and pics!

 

[bshupe]

I have a separate question for you but am not trying to send the thread off on a rabbit trail....

Do you think you will have a good load rating on the winch with it hanging way out in front like that?

Also, what is the little box on the passenger fender?

Thanks!

 

[usmcpatriot]

bshupe, no, please do. The winch weight is 125lbs, which is why I am going to amsteel synthetic rope. And I can always relocate the winch towards the rear. Amsteel rope is supposed to be a third lighter.
In the event I go max weight, I wanted the highest rating I could afford. I think your right about the other items, bearings, bushings, springs, wheel studs, so I concentrated on what I could get to with ease, and cost. I have coil over shocks in the front and rear to assist with load weight. Personally I just don't want other peoples junk when It comes to used tires....you get what you pay for. I think people try to make there cucv into something there not. I said, "some". Oh, the vent on the side of the truck front fender left is a cowl induction with a marine fan exhaust fan turned backwards to force cooler air into the engine compartment when the weather is hot. I hope to morph this thead into a BOV thread. And thanks for the reply and interest.

 

[Cletus09]

Thanks for this information. I am looking at buying Cooper SSt's myself. When are you going to paint the bottom of your front hubs?

 

[richingalveston]

for those of you putting big tires on a non lifted truck, It will work in most cases but what good is it to have big tires if it wont steer in off camber situations. In order to wheel the truck, most people lift the truck in order to do the cross over steer. minimum 4 inches. If you just want to be able to drive straight through some deeper mud or keep it on the street then just do what you can with the tires. If you actually want to improve off road and on road handling performance then the cross over steer is the best you can do for the truck.

It is your truck and you know what you are going to do with the truck so I am not knocking it, just trying to inform those who are against lifts that I like most people lift the truck to fix the poor steering issues and not because we just want a taller truck. The cross over steering makes the truck a whole new animal off road and makes the on road steering feel like you are in a sports car.

 

[Croatan_Kid]

That was the biggest reason I lifted my truck, just so I could do crossover steering. I went ahead and did hydro assist too so it would steer the 11.00R-16s better, plus I have a locker up front.

As far as strength goes, you've got one of the most stout pickups ever produced. The Dana 60 and GM 14 bolt are quite venerable, but with the 6.2 I'd be more worried about getting it up to speed before I'd be worried about breaking any drivetrain parts! LOL


Tire capacities also vary greatly per manufacturer, not sure much as height/width. Granted, there are usually certain sizes that are rated much higher than others, but that's because tire companies recognize those sizes as being very commonly used for certain applications. I had a set of 40x13.50-17 ProComp Xterrains that were rated to 3195 lbs @ 50 psi, but only a Load Range D. My current 11.00R-16 (about 38" tall) Michelin XZLs are rated to 4805 lbs @ 80 psi. They say Load Range E on them, but they're not a commercially available tire either, so it may be military specific, who knows?

There was a guy a while back that put a set of 11.00R-16s on his rig with 1" of front lift. I don't go for the huge tire, no lift look....but he liked it.

 

[bkwudzhom]

"Now we are trying to work something out where he will get my good 16" wheels and tires and I will get his 16.5" wheels and some cash."

I was looking for 16.5 inch rims and found that from '66 to '77 all Chevy, Dodge and Ford one tons had those size rims. I hit the junk yard and BANG 4 rims for less than $50. The plan is to hit them with the sand blaster and cart thenm off to the locak bed liner guy to get a shot of left over black bed liner. Then pick up a set of good hummer take offs. My truck dosen't have the best body in the world so a bit of reasonable fender trimming won't hurt.​

 

[twomorestrokes]

for those of you putting big tires on a non lifted truck, It will work in most cases but what good is it to have big tires if it wont steer in off camber situations.

Thank you for making that statement. The OP's truck looks good with the route he took, but that's about as tall as you'd really want to go on a stock truck. It's a very common question about 37's on a stock height truck and that makes no sense to me.

 

[mdiver]

Will the 285/75/16 fit on the stock rims?

 

[twomorestrokes]

Will the 285/75/16 fit on the stock rims?

The correct answer is no. Of course I put them on my 2500HD and theoretically I shouldn't have but they sure looked more at home than the 245s. The HD wheels were 6.5" wide and the tires were fine. I put 60,000 miles on them before selling the truck. They were only 33" tall and about 11.5" wide.

 

[Croatan_Kid]

285 is about as wide as I would go. There are some tires made in a 34/35x10-ish size. I wouldn't hesitate to run something like that on the stock rims. As common as different 8-lug rims are now, you could snag up whatever you like. I realllllly like Hummer H2 rims, perhaps powerder coated flat black. You can use a 9/16 lugnut with an external thread and use the stock 2500HD center caps in them too, for a more finished look.

Although, I think the OP was leaning more towards a stock look.

 

[usmcpatriot]

Cletus09, paint the hubs?, and what is crossover steering?

 

[pmramsey]

I did not raise my M1028. I mounted 285/85/16 Baha Claw Micky Thompsons 10" rims on the truck. The ride and performance is fantastic. AND, they are quiet, quiet, quiet. 15,000 miles so far. The tread on the MT Baha Claw is similar to the tread on the M35A3. No need for spinning and creating rooster tails of mud; the mud falls out of the tread at lower speeds.

 

[Sharecropper]

Well, ........... ahem, ................ I kinda like tall tires.

After installing 14 ounces of Dyna Beads in each tube, my 11.00/20 NDT's ride smoother than my wife's Honda. Hardly any tread noise with very low rolling resistance. At 44 inches tall, my rpm's are calculated to be 2024 at 55 mph, and with surprising engine power. I actually have to get on the brakes going down long hills to stay under the speed limit. Woo-hoo!

 

[bshupe]

I agree with Sharecropper. Putting the 37s on my 1031 makes the truck so much nicer to drive in almost every way. I too was worried about tread noise etc. but they are very quiet. On the freeway the engine is in a sweet spot that is neither bogged down nor yelling for mercy. Tall tires are great mod and pretty cheap if you go the take-off route as I did.