Part of the problem is that there's not a tire on the planet that exactly conforms to the specifications printed on the side wall, think of those as more of a guide than a hard fast rule. For example if you put a pro Comp brand tire next to a BF Goodrich brand tire both in the same exact nominal size, the BF Goodrich will look much bigger then the Pro Comp pretty much size for size. A pro Comp 31 x 12.50, is physically smaller than a BF Goodrich atko 31x 10.50. Dick Cepek tires are notoriously wider than the nominal size printed on their side wall. Try carrying a small tape measure around with you, and whenever you see a truck with big tires look at the size printed on the side wall, and then measure the things as they sit, you will be shocked at the variation you find.

On my 1999 Dakota I have been running 325/60 15 BFG's for years with absolutely no lift and not even a torsion bar crank. On my 2008 I required two and a half inches in the front and 2 inches in the rear to be able to fit 285 70 17's and even at that I had to trim the factory mudguard pieces.

 

Hey guys! I was wondering what other modifications needed to be done to fit the 285/75/16's on the 3rd generation Dakota? I have the 3" P.A. body lift, daystar leveling kit and put the 285/75/16 duratracs and I'm getting rubbing on the frame which I didn't expect as this thread never mentioned anything about frame rub. If you guys went with wheel adapters, which size did you use? If you used new rims which offset/ backspacing did you use?

 

Hello. Im new to the forum. I have an 05 quad cab 4x4 dakota. And i was looking to put the rough country 2.5" full leveling kit (spacer for front and blocks for rear) on the truck with 285/75r16 cooper at3s on the stock rims. Would that rub or need any trimming? I have the stock 265/70/r16s now. Thank you

 

Im thinking about moving to the 17" factory rims and the rough country 2.5" kit. What tire sizes could i run without any or minimul trimming

 

Check the first post in this thread or the answer, any size leveling kit will be roughly the same deal.

265/70/17

 

The 265-75s did fit. I sent the info from the sticky to performance off road in northern KY. Roy is one of the premier shops in the country. (Ever have questions concerning anything off road he's the man. Will talk too). We measured. I have a half inch clearance all around. Thanks to all those, especially the original poster, for all the help.

Tires 265-75-16 Dick cepek fun countries.
See pics. This truck now looks like it should have rolling off the assembly line!

 

hello I am new to the forum.. and I had a question about lifting my 2008 Dakota 4X4 SLT 4.7 V8.. I am planning on doing a full suspension lift from supreme suspensions doing 3" front and rear. I am planning using 265/70or 75/16s Cooper discoverers ATMs. my question is do I need to get longer shocks... if so which ones are recomened? and where can I get them?

 

Don't know if you will need longer shocks, but you will need ball joints, tie-rod ends, and CV joints - many times over a very short time.


3" is too much on the front end for a Dakota 4x4.

 

Longer shocks will not be required. As stated though, stock up on CV axles, ball joints, tire rods and sway bar end links. You will be replacing them often.

 

I have the exact same truck and I put the lift kit in mine for a few years and then took it back out. I had all kinds of issues because of that kit. The truck did look nice but it just wasn't worth the problems it caused. First thing was the tires I was gonna put on which were 265/75/16 did not fit at all without a good deal of trimming to the bumper and wheel well. The second problem I had was with the struts. Every time I went over a bump they would reach there limit and bottom out. The third problem I had is what was mention by someone else which was the tie rods and cv joints. In the few years I had the lift in I went through 3 cv joints, 2 tie rods, a steering column, 1 anti-sway bar, a rack and pinion and lower ball joints. Now I don't drive very far maybe 5 miles round trip to work and home. So in 3 years I though that was crazy. Now granted it is a dodge and the front ends are not the best but still it should have held up better than that so I decided to return it back to stock cause I was tired of getting it fix. Ultimately it comes down to what you want to do and makes you happy don't let any of us decide for you. Im just letting you know to give you a heads up with the problems I had.