I have a 77 F250 4x4 which currently has 36x12.5x16.5 tires. It has the stock suspension. I do not have a spare tire, and I've been looking to buy one, but it appears that my tire size is almost impossible to find. Any suggestions as to where I could find a reasonably priced tire in that size?

I'm also willing to buy new rims if that would make getting tires easier. I've seen a lot of reasonably priced 35x12.5 inch tires on a 15 inch rim, but do 15 inch rims fit on this truck? If so, any suggestions for a cheap 15 inch rim that will work?

Also, I see a lot of 37x12.5x16.5 tires- would those fit with a stock suspension? I don't appear to have any clearance issues now, but I'd hate to spend the money only to find out they don't fit.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

I don't think you can use a 15" wheel on your 250. The calipers interfere. Plus finding an 8 bolt 15 is a tall order too. Possible but rare.
I went to Craigslist, found a nice set of factory steel 16" wheels with so-so tires on them. Drove the tires for a year then it was easy finding 16" tires next time around.

Be careful, I don't know the year exactly, late 90's in think, the 8 bolt pattern changed to a metric standard. Don't know for sure. Best to test fit before you buy.

 

The F250 would generally have 8 lug rims. I assume your does? Also generally, 16 inch wheels would be the smallest available with 8 lugs. Brake clearance, especially if you have the 2 piston calipers on the front requires 16" minimum wheels.

16.5" tires are pretty much obsolete. Available sizes and brands are limited. Common alternate choices are 16's or 17's. There are lots of wheels and tires available that will fit a dent. Later model stock wheels are a choice but not with big tires. The 8x6.5" bolt pattern was carried well into the 90's from memory. Later models are metric. With 2 piston calipers, not all 16's will fit.

On mine ('78 F250) I switched to 245/75/16 with US Wheel chrome 7" steel wheels. Fit was good.

16" tires are readily available and cost is reasonable. 17's are a bit more costly. For your application, wider wheels would be needed. I got my wheels from Summit and tires from the Tire Rack. The Tire rack web site is great to research available tires.

 

Mine does have 8 lug wheels. My big priority is to get a spare and hope I won't end up needing it since my tire size appears to be unavailable anywhere.

Is it possible to find a 16.5 rim at all? I see some cheap 35 inch tires for the 16.5 inch rim on tire rack, but I also would like to avoid buying new tires if I can't get a new rim if one goes bad.

I just looked at tire rack and it seems like there are plenty of alternatives available for both 16 and 17, so maybe I'll look around to see if I can find some cheap used wheels.

 

just buy one new 16" rim and a 35x12.50 16 8 hole for the spare. The one inch won't matter, and also that one inch is total diameter, not a big deal. If you need to use it only as necessary, and then when you are ready for tires, you only have 3 to buy.

 

I would think that on the Mo craigslist you could locate a 8 (8 lug) on 6 1/2 X 16 rim cheap. Same for getting a 35 or 36 good enough to make it a get off the trail/road spare.

Up to 98 ford was still 8 in 6 1/2 and 99 they went 8 on 170MM. Also hit up any local 4x4 and off road shops and tire shops for a single rim tire set up in the used cheap dept.

Stop on by the FTE Missouri chapter and drop a line in the monthly bs/chat thread. I have a few of everything you are looking for....even a single 36x12.50x16.5 with rim.

 

if you already have a 16.5 rim Military Offroad Tire sells individual 37 x12.5 x16.5 BFG