Well after the research and stress I finally made the jump into some new tires and wheels.

I ordered up a set of 37X12.50 BFG AT's and four new Mickey Thompson Classic Beadlock wheels. They are 17X9 with 5" backspace. I have flares now which will easily cover the additional 1.5" extended tire width using these wheels.

I live in a very rural area so I can't get them put on til next week Thursday or so. They have to be shipped up to the closest Discount tire store. I'll take a few snaps with the digi cam and post up what this setup looks like after that.

Thanks again for the help with the various options on the tires and wheels

 

Are you running a 6 speed or an automatic?

 

I have the 48re autotrans. with the 4.10 LS axles

 

This was a post of mine a few days ago,

I just got back from a camping trip and towed my 5er (10k lbs) over to the coast, only a few hills on this trip and a couple of steep short hills but what I noticed is if you are going to run 22.5" wheels or any tire approx 36" tall and you have 3.73 gears, i think it would be best to do itwith a 6 speed truck and not an automatic or a 5 speed like mine, I have no intentions of removing the 22.5" wheels instead I choose to just add more power (Bigger Turbo,injectors & Fass ) I noticed if I didn't rev it high enough before I shifted the rpm would drop down to 1200 to 1500rpm although I now tow at 65mph in 4th gear instead of 5th and i do like that part=cooler EGTs and right in the power range of 4th gear, my MPG while towing is down about 1.5 to 2 mpg when Towing although when not towing i am up 4 mpg. With my somewhat agressive driving habits I would average between 14.5 and sometimes 16 mpg with stock tires and wheels, so far now with the new 22.5" tire set up,I have averaged 20.7 mpg on a 80% freeway trip,and 18.8mpg on a normal around town and some freeway tank of fuel and yes these are hand calc numbers. I am now at 1500rpm @ 55mph and 1750rpm @ 65mph in 5th gear
So in conclusion I dont tow every weekend etc and I actually have to use my 1st gear now when taking off but the gearing difference is not enough to bother me, so if anyone is thinking of doing this or something similar I would recommend 4.10 gears and a 6 speed to reduce any gearing loss

 

Post some pics when its finished, I'd really like to see some pics of the finished product.

Jesse

 

Daytripper, this is exactly why I bought my truck with the 4.10's from the start. I knew I was going bigger in Diameter and wanted to see how things work with the 35" tires. The probem is the hidious markings on the tires do not at all match what they really are. My 35X12.50's are actually only 34.25" and ideally I need 36" tires to meet the factory standard 3.73 ratio.

So I searched the manufacturers sites to find exact diameters. The 37X12.50 BFG's are actually 36.2" tall which is as close as anyone makes. Well Actually Interco makes a super swamper radial at 36 exactly but I don't want those fast wearing hard to balance noisy tires.

I have also searched for wheels that would not stick out like pontoons on my truck. Stock backspace is 6.25 almost all aftermarket tires regardless of width are 4 or 4.5" backspace which sticks them way to far out for my taste. I did see a truck just recently that had the 5" backspace and the bushwacker flares. The tires were hardly noticable from stock the way they were mounted under the flares. It was then I accepted 5" of backspace as acceptable for my truck. So with the near exact 36" tires I will be right at the factory stock 373 ratio and with the new wheels I will have turning capability without any rubbing the control arms using a 37" tire and the simple 4.5" lift.

At least is sounds good on paper! I'm anxious to have this worked out next week. I'll post up either on this thread or I'll start a new one when it's put together.

Just as a side note I drove from North Bend Wa. to Lagrande Or today. I'm in my hotel room right now. I filled up and put on about 270 miles over several mountain passes and with some really strong winds. I got 17mpg on the meter right now, which has been historically accurate for me. However on my GPS I show 67.5 mph when the speedo shows 70 exactly. My RPM's are at or possibly just a hair over 1900. I'm sure with the bigger diameter tires, (7% taller) my RPM should go to below 1800 and my speedo might just be perfect, or very VERY close.

Just for the record the only trailler I pull is my boat which is about 2500 pounds with gear. So I'm not overly worried about my towing situation. Although I'm sure with what I have now pulling anything is not going to be an issue!