Drw bigger tires questions
 

Hi, I have a 94 F350 Drw, 4x2. (7.3 idi, zf5, 4.10LS)

I have the factory wheels and am currently running 235/85 R16 tires on all 6.

Now, my front tires are newer general grabber's and I assume that going bigger in the back while keeping the front at current size will be ok?

I understand that I CANNOT go any taller in the rear without spacers or different wheels, can somebody help guide me in the right direction?

Btw, this truck does carry weight....It has an older 3k lb (empty) slide in camper that will be in the bed and towing bumper pull horse trailers (3 horse) on occasional weekends.

Thanks!

Gasoline = $5/ Gal. must not be an issue.

gas at $5/gal wont bother him at all... trucks a diesel, and takes FUEL. With a 2wd truck you can run different size tires front/rear and it wont cause any issue other than your headlights pointing at the ground

i also have a drw f350 235/85/16, i have been told cant go wider due to touching problem. but ive seen guys on cl that are selling 245/75/16 on dually wheels and claim they are stock set ups.

I doubt 245's would work as i can barely fit my fingers between the duals already, and I wouldn't dare go wider without getting the tires farther apart....

This truck isn't a daily driver as I can walk anywhere I need to go in my day to day routine..... I understand the cost of fuel and realized that before I bought the truck (also why I have the idi)

This is a good question, and you are definatly thinking on the right track. On duallies, it is not just the rubbing issue, it is also the lack of a air space for cooling as well as keeping smaller rocks/debri from getting jammed between the tires. Once the tires get too close, and you actually use your truck as a truck, IE load carry rather than just a car carrying people, you can experience unexpected tire failures. And it certainly seems from your post that you are using your truck as a truck!

Your current spacing seems too close (fingwer width?), according to your door sticker, was your truck origionaly set up to use 215R16 tires? Could it have the incorrect rims? If you can just get your fingers in, is this at the bottom where the tire bulge is at? Or higher up? If it is higher up then you definatly should NOT even use the 236R16 tires as they will rub when loaded due to a increased tire bulge and of course as you know, you are setting yourself up for failure if they are too close!

BTW - spacers between the rims are definatly a no-no. If you need more space, then proper offset rims are the only PROPER way to go on a load carring truck.

Just some thoughts!

David

Thank you for the replies, now, where I am still lost is how much more backspacing I should get (I imagine that too much backspacing would mean my inner duals get too close to suspension components, as well as front tires being too far in creating rubbing issues as well as looking funny)

Thank you dman for confirming my suspicion that spacers are a no-no. I want to make sure that my final setup is most importantly safe, not so much for my self, but most importantly other drivers, my human occupants in the truck and 4 legged-companions in the trailer.

For a dually, I would defenently try and keep as skinny rear tires as possible, skinnier tires, more room you have in-between the tires, better tire cooling you have.