Wow. Why not just buy a trailer?
All this weight and having to purchase special wheels and tires.
Seems like such a pain in the ***.
3.9L hauling 2000lbs. Thats gotta suck with or without a trailer.
So you wanted a small truck with a small engine to haul big loads?
Weird.

 

To each his/her own - I'd rather have a functional truck than something with a dinky little bed. I personally think it's "weird" to have a short bed on a pickup. The tires that are on it would be fine load-wise, no need to purchase "special" ones... but the current ones are old, worn, and cracked. It needs new tires no matter what I do. The verdict is still out on the wheels and that's what I'm trying to learn.

Even the old TBI 3.9 is more than capable of handling 2000 lbs. I wanted a medium-sized truck with a more than adequate engine that'll get decent gas mileage and be able to haul a fair amount when I need it. I'll probably end up with a diesel 3/4 or 1 ton in another 4-5 years but it didn't make sense at this point in time. So... I went with a first gen Dakota. It's tougher to find the later Dakotas with my specs since they became more family-oriented type vehicles vs. work vehicles.

 

So go to a tire shop and buy steel wheels. Tell them you want heavy duty ones for hauling a ton or more weight in the truck. Maybe even opt for air bag install.
Really, why not go all out and not be cheap about it.
Make the little truck a kick *** hauler.
Long box's on a truck are beauty. If you need them.
I've put motorcycles and dirt and rocks and hauled water and trees and even stuffed a 1200lb moose in my short box.
I get a better looking truck that is still capable of hauling everything I need. Plus I own a couple trailers for things that wont fit. Like hauling cars.
Hmm... air bags.
Good idea. I'll price them out at work.
I know my factory aluminum wheels will hold up just fine.

 

I definitely would've looked at airbags if I had decided to fix up and drive my 2WD. The stock base level 1250 lb. payload capacity springs gave a nice ride around town but sure couldn't handle any weight. The stiff springs on the 4WD truck don't like speed bumps although I don't notice them at all on the highway. I finally got a chance to get out and put a hundred miles on the truck. It drives much nicer with the new pitman arm... now I need to do the brakes and the timing chain.

I'll try to get to a few junkyards on Saturday. Once I have wheels I'll get some new tires.

 

Tire wise I love my Duratracs. Just saying. Lol.
Amazing.

 

I had a set of those on my Jeep and they were awesome.

 

Well, I went to a yard today and got a set of the 5-spoke aluminum wheels and a 2WD parking brake cable tensioner that I think I can make work.

The rear GAWR on my truck is 3650, which seems about right if you consider 2000 pounds of payload plus say 1500 or so pounds of truck (the truck weighs around 4000 pounds, but obviously there's more weight on the front end). These aluminum wheels are fairly thick and from my research were always an optional upgrade regardless of the payload package. I can't find anything that says they weren't allowed with the higher payload ratings, and I also noticed that the 2550 pound package (highest available) notes that it requires WJB or WJC wheels.

Now, I'm not 100% sure which wheels those codes represent, but I think the WJC has always been an aluminum wheel option code for Dodge over the years. Anybody able to confirm that from their build sheet for a '90 or earlier?

Now tires... I never would've considered something like Duratracs with a 2WD, but now that I have 4WD maybe I should step up a little. I need to start shopping around. Thanks for all of the input so far!

 

One nice thing about the Duratracs is that they wear pretty well on the street, unlike a lot of aggressive tires. Just in case that's one factor you're considering.

 

Dang, I LIKE those wheels!

I'd almost want to change to them ... if I could find some!

RwP

 

And they are unbelievably quiet on the road.
Off road they shine in the mud like a Super Swamper yet they are also a winter rated snow tire.
So they can be run year round with comfort of knowing you have great tires.
Although they are not a true winter only tire. But I can push through very deep drifts where a winter tire would leave me stuck.