I have a questiion about larger tires for my 1970 f250 4x4. I currently have the original stock split rims, with 16 inch tires on it. I would like to get rid of the split rims, and tires, and go to a taller tire. Can anyone advise me about how tall of a tire i can put on, without a lift kit or fender trim, and still retain good power with a 360, and 4.10 gears? I have a Dana 44 up front, and a Dana 60 out back.
TIA

 

I run 33" tires on my 71' 4X F250. I have plenty room left over. I do have new leaf packs on all four corners (stock highboy packs not lifted). The old front packs finally saged to where they were resting on the bump stops. I don't think 35" will work unless your rig is a pavement pounder. I would think they would rub on the corners of the front fenders if the truck was articulated and the wheels were turned.

 

I have a 1970 f-250 highboy. it has 33/12.50 tires on it. i cant get the tires to rub on anything when flexed any way

 

Go with a 16 inch rim and not a 16.5 if your buying new rims and like said above stick with the 33's. 16.5's are only made by a few tire companys, so if you want a selection on tires go with a 16.

 

I have a set of Super Swamper SSR's 35x14.50 on 16.5 rims. They will NOT fit on my Highboy! But they look pretty nice. The tires come extremely close to the front corner of the fenders and they rub on the drag ling if you turn all the way right. I guess I need to sell the tires as I do not want to cut fenders or lift the truck.

 

It depends on what you want the truck to do and what kind of off road terrain you will be dealing with. I had found that the best all around off road tire was the taller narrow tires. I have seen a few sets of 8x19.5 which look to be 34-35 inches tall. The wider tires will do some things better, but they are really popular just to make your truck look "bad". I have found that anything over a 10.50 in width will cause premature wear in your front steering and suspension components.
I have broke trail with 7.50x16 tires and had to pull guys with the big tires through the mud. Also in breaking trail in the snow the skinny tires are far superior. The wider tires will run up on the snow and spin down leaving you to dig out. In sand or tundra you will definately want the wider tires for floation.
I see these guys running down the highway with those huge howling swampers and I think 25 years ago that could have been me but it looks pretty ridiculous to me now.
We still play with those toys, we just don't drive them on the road. And if you want a really bad set of tires, get some "apples".Not the fruit. These are the tires some guys use on their Alaskan swamp buggys. They are like 26 inches wide and 44 tall with directional tread. Those are the smaller ones.
Also remember that the 44 front is pretty weanie for even mediocre off roading and it doesn't take much to destroy them.

 

Thanks alot for the input....
I am just using the truck for back trail driving to my favorite fishing hole, here in the Rockies, and want the truck to remain somewhat stock, so i think i will stick with something fairly close to the original size.
Thanks again for your help.

 

My 71 F250 hiboy fits 35's with room to spare with no lift. Thge firstr set of tires I ever put on it were actually 36" tall and they fit fine too and it is still a capable off roader. The tires are 12.5 inches wide on 16x10 aluminum wheels

 

I have had excellant satisfaction with B F Goodrich tires and the T/As come in a wide variety of sizes and tread patterns. Although a bit pricey they will prove to be a very economical tire in the long run. And you can get them at Sam's club. I got over 60,000 miles on my last set of 31x10.50x16.5 on a 72 F-250, with no flats.

 

Big Mike, That gets me to wondering about the 35" tires. I did read on FTE that other guys have had 35" tires with no problems. Now I wonder what constitutes a "highboy". When I was hunting down a highboy, I did notice the ones I looked at had "double" stack leaf springs on the rear with the factory lift block. The one I bought didn't have the double stack, but did have the factory lift blocks. I didn't notice any difference in height. I wasn't too concerned anyway because I've hauled tons of gravel in my F100 2wd with stock springs and figured the F250 would work better because of the axles. So, what does make a Highboy a Highboy?

 

There is a definate difference in stance fom the standard gvw to the heavier rated ones. Most noticably in the rear. I think the standard gvw was around 6400-6500 and it went all the way to like 8500 or so. If you saw one that sagged a bit in the rear it was the lighter duty and if it sat up with the tail a bit higher than the front you had a heavier duty version, which almost undoubtedly had heavier front springs also. Another way to tell is the front hubs. The heavier duty front dana 44 used a cylindrical hub while the lighter duty had a bit of a conical shape to it. Most years there were several gvw ratings available so there are some in the middle.

 

Well I thought that all of the F250 4x4's were hiboys until I started looking for one. I always noticed that some of them sat a little higher so i just looked for one that sat higher. I also thought that the hiboy wasnt even an option, just some name that caught on but I think now that hiboys are real. Mine has the heavy duty 44 that I tore up, and the big leaf springs. that thing is a tank, much stiffer than my 95 F250. But yeah it fits 35's with no problem. It has plenty of clearance and has never rubbed, and always drove pretty good too.

 

I have tore up, broken in half and generally destroyed several 44s in F-250 highboys. They are just plain wimpy for any serious off roading. It is really the same center as a half ton. You really need a dana 60 to have a diff that is as tough as the rest of the truck. I also like the brace that they put on the very last highboy t-case. I had a lot of trouble with the one on my 74 jumping into nuetral when you hit a big bump. That brace cures it. If I ever build another one I will use the 78-79 60 front. The flipped axle gets you a lot more drive shaft clearance. I have also cratered a few drivelines from them hitting the ground when you drop the front tires in a ditch. The 67-77 F-250s are still the best and toughest 4x4 ever made, but you can improve on some of the stock setup. The power steering on the later ones is junk too, so don't be tempted to do that swap.

 

How would I ID a dana 60 front? Should I be looking at 78 and 79 F250's? What do you mean by flipped axle? If I do get the Dana 60 from a 78-79, then it most likely would have the disc brakes, right?

 

They used the Dana 60 on some highboys but they are scarce. You will find them on the F-350 heavy duty. Mid year of the 77 model Ford changed to the "married" transfer case and turned the front axle over so the pinion was more toward the top of the differential instead of the bottom as in the earlier versions. That was the end of the highboy. This new version didn't set quite as high but had about 6 inches more clearance under the front driveline. These axles are called "flipped" or reverse rotation and they no longer used the same gears as a rear unit but had the teeth cut the opposite way. The divorced transfer case of the highboy gives you more options as far as engine/transmissions since you only need to alter the center drive line to make a major swap. Actually I think I prefer the married units due to the ground clearance
You can ID most Dana axles by looking on the web that is cast in the center section. It will have a 60 or a 44. Just look at your rear end. It should be a 60. There are also Id numbers on the metal tag if it is still there and they can be found on top of the axle tube usually. The metal tag should be under two of the diff cover bolts,