Does anyone know the offset of the factory wheels? I am wanting to purchase after market wheels but I would like to stay as close to the factory offset as possible to keep them inside the fenders.

 

The factory wheels have something along the lines of 6" of backspacing on an 8" wheel. If you go with a wider wheel, you'll have to get more backspacing. To date there is only one company that is selling a correct wheel that doesn't require the use of fender flares to cover the portion of tire that is sticking out from the wheel well. T-Rex Engineering got with Weld and had ~200 pieces (I'm not sure if it's sets or just wheels) made that are 18x8.5" and have the correct backspacing to keep the tires/wheels up under the wheel well. Going with anything else aftermarket, you're likely to find just a bit over 6" backspacing on a 9" or larger wheel, and that will require fender flares to cover the tire.

You can find T-Rex here and the wheels can only be ordered from them. Not even Weld is selling them.

**Edit**
The only design they are available in is the Weld Cheyenne 8.

 

i haven't been able to find a 9" wheel with 6" backspacing anywhere. have you seen such a wheel? [all i find is 17"x9" with like 4 5/8" bs]

 

That's exactly the reason T-Rex had the special Weld wheel made.

For me, it's stock rims until I can afford the T-Rex wheels. I hate it when tires stick out several inches past the wheel well, not to meniton the extra stress on the hub and steering components, or that fact you'll rub the fender at full articulation.

 

I'm pretty sure you can get a wheel staright from Weld that is 18x9" (may be 18x9.5"), and it has a backspacing of 6.12 inches. I've seen them in person on a truck from one of the guys that posts here, and with fender flares in place they look really good. If you don't want fender flares, though, you're not going to find a wheel with the correct backspacing except from T-Rex.

You can check out Gary's rig by following this link.

 

There are some wheels that are very close...AMERICAN EAGLES STYLE 114. They have an 18inch with 6" backspace and +22mm offset rated for 3420lbs. Also I believe a 20inch with 5.475 BS and +20mm offset, also rated 3420lbs. Hope this helps