Hello,

We have had our eye on this truck for almost a month and between work and well, work nobody had time to go look at it. We got lucky and were able to take a 7+ hour (one way) road trip on Friday afternoon to hook it up. 150k on the clock, one owner automatic with red guts. It got 21-22mpg driving 60-70 through the mountains on the 400+ mile ride home.

I'll try to get some better detail pics tomorrow!

With the CB radio, power mirrors, A/C and power windows she is a real cowboy cadillac. I should probably go apologize to the truck for that comment. Dig the push bar! I think it is factory. This truck has the optional dealer installed trans cooler that brings the GVWR up to 14k as well.

I am thinking some 235/85/16's will be a good fit on the factory rims?

Wow, that is totally nice. Can I ask what they were asking for that beauty?

235/85s are a tad Small

Nice truck!

You'll need to be careful on the tire width, to wide and they'll hit the running boards when you turn.

Ed

235/85/16 was the stock size on my D series 250 .. i,d think a W series truck would have had at least the same size if not bigger from the factory ?

i upsized to 265/75/16 on the factory steel rims, same height as the stock tires but about an inch wider.
They look big on a lowly 2wd but i think would be about perfect on a stock height 4x4 that,s used for work.

Its not even funny how nice some of the trucks in the pacific northwest are compared to here......

Stock rims are 16x6. They came stock with 235-85-16 tires. Guys have tried 265-85-16, 285-75 and 255-85-16 tires and except for the 285, they fit (285 rubs some trucks at full turn) BUT the rim is so damn narrow, the tread tends to crown (just middle touches road). Easy to fix (but $$$) with aftermarket rims or 16x7 Ford F250/350 rims from ~1980s-1999 (pre-superduty). Reasonably easy to find on craigslist. Even better are the Ford alcoa rims from the same tire era.

Thank you all for the info. Would a 255-85-16 be a good compromise on the stock wheel? Toyo makes a Open Country M/T in that size (load E) and I have had good luck with those towing at work. They are spendy though. I was also looking at Treadwright tires. They have 235/85r16 in an aggressive tread pattern.

One of my concerns about going from a 32" tire to a 33.5" is not being able to run chains without tearing up the body. Sometimes we get chain restrictions on the mountain passes in the winter.

https://www.treadwright.com/individual-product/137/CRAWLER-235-85R16.00-E

Toyo makes a tire in the same size and their minimum approved rim width is 6.0". I am going to run these tires for a long time so I need to be able to appease the manufacturer's warranty stipulations in the case one or more fails.

After we get the KDP taken care of I will start looking for a 2nd tank so we can start running vegetable oil on the highway.

Alot of guys on other forums love the 255s but I have no personal experience with them. I know for a fact that load range E 265/75/16s will crown. Seen a set of C plys that did not on a 92.But honestly, you should not be running C or D ply tires on that rig

In MY opinion, determining factor for big(er) tires is if the frame is cracked near the steering box. Big tires theoretically put more load on that weak spot and there is no good AND easy fix now. There is a nice kit by member jungle on RCC but you have to go crossover steering and the alternative factory fix/brace is a junkyard only piece. I've seen one on ebay in the last year. Just not easy to get anymore.
Even if its not cracked YET, I still would brace it.

More good info, thank you!

I looked under the truck today and the spare tire is the original Goodyear 235/85r16 so I guess that solidifies my tire size choice. The spare has never been used so replacing it would be wasteful IMO.

I also located a new factory steering box/frame brace so that is on the way.

Upon close inspection the transmission lines under the hood seem to be a little wet in spots so I will keep an eye on those. Hopefully I can tighten the clamps to get by. If not I'll pull them off and have the local Parker dealer make a new set.

Here is the interior:

Hopefully I can have our local 12V Cummins expert (30 year Chrysler tech) work on the engine to get a little more MPG out of it.

If the old girl has got 4.10's, you're getting about what you should get. I used to get 25-26 mpg (imperial) before I got carried away with BD performance stuff....then it dropped to about 20. But it would haul Azz.....not many other trucks would get it until I hit about 75 MPH, then the gears were holding me back. If those trucks had a lock-up convertor, they would be awesome. They weren't built for smooth ridin' though!


Loved those interiors!! Yours has obviously been looked after well....

Great looking truck. My son just bought a 93, 5 speed, 4X4 Dually today. He'll be letting his W250 go I guess.

Sheldon

Thanks Sheldon! It sure does drive nice.

Here is a pic with a new set of Toyo A/T's in 235/85/16. They have a 50k mile tread life warranty. We'll see how that goes!

Nice! You should be able to wear out at least 10 sets of those tires.

Sheldon

I ran 295/75-16s on my Stock 76 D200. Yes a 2wd. Only rubbed when hitting a good dip in the road and turning into driveways and it was the outer part of the inner fender that rubbed. if it wasn't for the Dodge lead it would have been fine. Also ran 245/70-19.5s from treadwright. Claimed to very 33" tall but were every bit as tall as my 35s obviously the rear so about a 34" tire. they cleared do to being Narrow

I took all the vegetable oil stuff off of my 93 D350, not sure what all the stuff was used for but I can take pics if you are interested in it.

Thank would be cool Jim! PM me if you don't have my email address.

The largest tire I was able to run without rubbing (after removing the factory flares) was a 265/75/17, on a 9.25" wide Moto Metal wheel.

The factory fender flare takes up a lot of room towards the inner lower area of the fender opening. I plan to trim the factory flare to allow the wider, taller tire on my Ramcharger. Currently running a 28/75/17 with a 440 and add-a-leaf in front.