[DeerMeadowFarm]

I went to look at a 1995 2500 Cheyenne last night. It was a town truck. It only has 59K on it, the body is mint and you could eat off of the motor. It has a beacon on the roof and 2 antennae. The seat has a hole in it; it would need reupholstering. It is a basic work truck; crank up windows, rubber floor mat which is fine; it’s yellow which isn’t great, but I could live with it. The price is right, actually coming in at trade-in blue-book cost. But I have a couple of questions/concerns.

The first one sounds dumb, but it does bother me. The truck is so low to the ground; I thought it was 2WD when I first looked at it. The town had put on new tires and they are dinky. 225/75 R16 in size and they have highway tread. I will have them replaced with BFG All-Terrains but does anyone know how big I can go? There was a newer 1500 truck next to it with aluminum (factory) wheels (Z71 Package) and those tires were 265/75 R 16 so I assume I could go at least that big. Would 285’s fit? According to the chart 265’s are only a couple of inches bigger in diameter than the 225’s on it already. I drive a 1987 V10 with 4” lift and 33” tires now; I know it won’t be that tall, but it seems to me that most of the newer trucks are coming out almost as tall as mine straight from the factory; especially the ¾ and 1 tons. Are 1995 2500’s just low by design or did the work trucks come lower for some reason?

Also, the rear end is a 14 bolt. I am assuming this is not a full-floating axle, correct? How do these trucks plow? My experience has been with the old straight axle trucks.

Thanks for all the help!

 

[wyldman]

You can crank up the torsion bars to get a small amount of front end lift out of it.You could then run larger tires as well,to increase the ground clearance.If this is basically a plow truck,then you want tall and skinny,like a 235 or 255/85R16.

 

[nben]

I've got 265/75R16 on my 97 2500. I don't think you could get 285/75 on without rubbing (especially with a plow). I also don't think they would fit so well on the stock 6.5" wide rims.

As far as the rear-end, they came with both semi and full floating 14 bolts. Most of the 5.7's had the semi-floaters while the diesels and 7.4's had the full floaters. You would have to crawl under or pull the wheel to check.

 

[wyldman]

To determine if it's a full floater or not,you just need to pop off a hubcab,or center cap.If you see a large hub sticking out,with bolts holding the axle on,it's a full floater.

 

[GLS]

Hi.

I have a 1995 cheyenne K2500 with 83k miles currently. The stock tire size for your truck should be 245/75/R16. I upgraded mine to 265/75/R16. I think you could make 285s fit with a little trimming, but they don't fit very well on a 6.5" rim. It will wear unevenly and having a larger tire diameter will give you less power. I have the torsion bars cranked on mine a little bit. It sits fairly level. I can post a pic if you want. Like wyldman posted, if this is just a plow truck, put skinnier tires on it. It will give you better traction in snow. I have the newer style forged alum rims on mine and I still have the original steel wheels, I thought about putting on stock size snow tires for winter.

 

[DeerMeadowFarm]

Keep it coming!

Ryan – Please post pictures! How do feel the truck performs? As far as tire size goes I think I’m going to go with what Wyldman suggested. I looked at the BF Goodrich catalog and the LT235/85/R16 has the same diameter as the LT265/75/R16 (31.8”) but they are narrower (9.3 vs. 10.5). Plus they are about $30 or more cheaper/tire.
Both you guys have mentioned cranking up the torsion bars; what does this involve? Is it something I can do at home or does a dealer/mechanic need to make the change? Does it affect wheel alignment? Thanks for all the help guys; this site is awesome!

 

[wyldman]

To crank the torsion bars up,just put a socket on the adjuster bolts (at the back end of the bars),and turn them up 3-6 full turns.Whatever you do to one side,do the same to the other.It can be done at home quite easily.

Adding a set of Timbrens will help the truck deal with the added weight of the plow.

An alignment is a good idea after you turn the torsion bars up some.

 

[DeerMeadowFarm]

Timbrens? I am not familiar with this, please explain.

 

[wyldman]

A Timbren is a hollow rubber Aeon spring,that helps the suspension deal with heavy loads.You can check them out at www.timbren.com

They are cheap (under $150.00),and easy to install.One of the best additions you could make to your truck.

 

[DeerMeadowFarm]

Very interesting. Where does one purchase these?

 

[wyldman]

Most truck accessory shops,plow suppliers,and numerous places on the internet carry them.There are also a few guys on here who sell them too,maybe they will chime in.

 

[mac]

you can get 285/75 r16

I have done it. With a plow, however only a 7.5 pro-plow

I have 265/75 r16 on now with the ploy vee plow

 

[GLS]

Here's a few pictures I said I would post

#1
This is what it looks like after a coat of wax...

 

[GLS]

#2
Taken yesterday, first time I had the plow out this year
Plow raised

 

[GLS]

#3
Plow down (no timbrens, yet anyways, just a few turns to the torsion bars)

 

[90plow]

DeerMeadow before you buy crawl underneath and check it out, look for heavy rust and on the frame brake lines and everything hidden because it was a town truck and plowed with just something to think about. OryanO I love your truck looks so nice. I have a baby one just like yours 1500 short bed. I love the way those wheels/tires look on there. When was that first pic without the dump and plow taken? Heres mine after it got washed but no wax in that pic (always has ten coats on so I don't wax it everytime :shades )
Eric

 

[GLS]

90plow-

Thanks I like your truck too. The first pic was taken about 5 months ago, I took it on a trip and decided to take the dumper out. The dumper should be out until spring within a week or two, if people stop calling about leaves. I want to add some roof marker lamps to mine like you have, did you add those yourself?

 

[90plow]

Oryano thanks- I added the lights myself from JCwhitney I think they were like 35 bucks, wired them so they come on witht he parking lights. They all cracked so I think they were to tight or maybe in the wrong part of the roof I kept hearing loud poping noises I got out and they lenses were cracked. I called JC and they sent me a new set so I have to put them on and figure out why they busted maybe I over tightened them oh well fairly easy install and I like the appearance they add to the truck. BTW I like your tires what brand/size are they? And how were they on that road trip? I'm looking for new tires for the spring.
Thanks,
Eric

 

[GLS]

90plow -

Tires are goodyear wrangler mt/r. 265/75/R16 load range D. Paid $168/tire. This is the first mud tire i've ever tried, and I think they are a nice mud tire, but I will probably go with an all-terrain type tire next time. I don't really go offroading enough to justify them. They seem to wear fine, we'll see how many miles I get out of them. They were great on the road trip. I used them for a little off-roading in CO. They don't make much noise, nothing like I thought they would. Next time I will probably find a tire the same size, but in load range E. I kinda like the bridgestone dueler at revos.

Here's a pic of the tread pattern. Nice for offroading, very aggressive, good sidewall tread. Just not very practical for a work truck

 

[JCurtis]

Ryan,

I was just reading your last post.

I bought the Bridgestone AT Dueler REVO's for my truck.

I have a 2000 GMC 2500, and I put 265. 75R x 16 's on it.

After much research, I decided on the REVO's because of the purported wet and snow traction ratings advertised.

I can Honestly say that during the recent 12 inch storm, I had no trouble at all ( except on that icy hill but not even chains woulda helped there)

The traction in the snow was excellent IMO

:grinz which is good because I was a little leery of buying a bridgestone after many years of Generals, Goodyear and Michelin