What to do with a 2500 Crew cab

[Quinnor]

As a daily driver and my tow vehicle for my toy hauler, I bought a 2000 Chevy Crew Cab 2500. I had planned on getting a 4wd but I got a FANTASTIC deal on this one so I couldn't pass it up. Anyways, the 2000 Crew Cab is the older body style and it is the HD (8 lug, etc) with 3.73 in the rear.

Since I race cross country, I tow my toy hauler into some rough areas and I would like to equip my truck with a better tire and possibly a few more inches. I don't want to affect the towing capability nor do I wish to run 33's or 35's...I am ususally towing 7000lbs behind me and I don't want to go through the trouble of switching to 4:10s. Currently I'm running 245/75 R16 Seasonals and I would like to go to another size all terrain or off road tire without rubbing. I'm also contemplating a 3" Body lift since it will not alter my towing but will allow me to run a little bit larger tire. I'm running a 16x10 wheel....

So I guess what I'm asking is what is the largest size tire can I run with my truck in stock form and what size would I be looking at with a 3" body lift? I believe the 2500 2wd trucks sit as tall as the 1500 Z71 in stock form.

[J to the izA]

with 16x10s and a 3 inch body lift you could clear up to a 33 inch tire.

are you sure you are running 16x10 wheels with 245/75 tires? are those tires even 10 inches wide? i would run 16x7s and no wider with that size tire. wow


you could do a 3 inch spindle lift in the front and an add-a-leaf in the back. that would give you a better stance and you could clear some decent tires.

any tire over the stockers is going to hurt your towing, so plan on regearing if you go any bigger on the tire size. its just something that has to be done, especially if you are going to be towing 7000 pounds.

maybe just put some 245/75 BFG all terrains and call it a day?

[Quinnor]

I may be wrong as to how to correctly measure the wheel. The tape measure from rim to rim says 10" so I assume they are 16x10s.

I was thinking about going to a 265/75 R16 without the body lift or a 285/75 R16 combined with a 3" body lift.

I'm thinking about just staying away from the body lift and stuff what I can tire wise underneath it because I'm also wanting to remove the bumper and go with a roll pan.

[J to the izA]

im pretty sure you can fit a 265/75 tire in there. i would just do that. body lift is gonna look bad IMO as the only lift with that much frame showing. nothing wrong with a stock truck that serves a purpose.

good luck with your racing

[westcoast]

you can fit a 265 size tire in there with no problems that wouldbe your best bet.