rim conversion 16.5 to 16?

[Gargamel]

Hello everyone! I have a 1978 Dodge Jamboree Rallye. It has a 1 ton chassis I believe and I think it's a B350? Anywho it has 8.75R16.5 tires on it and they are very expensive to replace and tough to find so I've decided to replace the rims with 16's for practicality sake.

I've seen from looking around the interwebs that many others have done this and have found some good information about it. I guess what I'm wondering is what models and years of Dodge or Ford vehicles will have the correct rims (8 lug) to go on this beast? I know Chevy/GMC won't work as the center bore hole is too small. I found this out the hard way when my spare wouldn't go on after a blow out far from home.

Also, would regular truck wheels work with a vehicle as heavy as this or will the rims need to be a specific type to handle the load capacity?
Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have tons of reservations coming up and four old tires on now with no spare so I want to get this figured out as soon as possible.
Thanks!

[Gargamel]

http://ricksontruckwheels.com/wheels-oe.php

according to this the "offset" is 0.25"
Not sure what this means though. The tires I have on now seem to have plenty of clearance so I'm thinking that if they're a little larger it shouldn't really matter... Then again I've never tried to do anything like this before.

[Gargamel]

what does fully collapsed mean? Also what is the offset? I am not very savvy when it comes to tires and these terms are something I'm not familiar with in regards to tires and rims. When I put the new rim on it had no tire on it. The junkyard i found them at was "you pull it" and I didn't want to pay for the old, bad tires that were on them so I had to remove them myself with their manual tire machine, which was a total pain in the ass. If LT225's would work I would rather go that route. I was just thinking the 245's would be better since that was what was already on the rims I found. So basically I would have to put them on with a tire on them and turn my wheels fully to see if they are scraping on anything? This is all very confusing to me.

[CapriRacer]

Gargamel wrote:
Ok. So I have found 3 rims that are 16x7 from an old ford van in the junkyard. The tires on them are 245/75R16LT. The rims were $7.50 each and in good condition. I am assuming from the link that CapriRacer left that these are slightly wider that the rims currently on my RV. I jacked it up and removed one of the tires and put on one of the new rims I found. There seems to be no clearance issues and they fit nicely. Will a wider tire hurt anything? I'd assume it would be better because it could handle more weight...
If these will work I just need to find 2 more.

If you are going to use an LT225/75R16, then that size will fit on a 7" wheel - BUT - what I wrote about clearance no longer applies. The side clearance needed is now 0.2" more.

Just a thought: You are aware that the worst case for clearance is with the front wheels fully turned AND fully collapsed, right? Fully turned is easy to do, but fully collapsed isn't. Look very carefully at this.

Also, did you check the offsets of the 2 wheels? That might affect the clearance as well.

If you are considering LT245.75R16's, just be aware that you need even more clearance than with the 16.5's.

[Gargamel]

Ok. So I have found 3 rims that are 16x7 from an old ford van in the junkyard. The tires on them are 245/75R16LT. The rims were $7.50 each and in good condition. I am assuming from the link that CapriRacer left that these are slightly wider that the rims currently on my RV. I jacked it up and removed one of the tires and put on one of the new rims I found. There seems to be no clearance issues and they fit nicely. Will a wider tire hurt anything? I'd assume it would be better because it could handle more weight...
If these will work I just need to find 2 more.

[Matt_Colie]

Greg,

Our group has had this same issue for years. Firestone is the remaining US manufacturer. They are now down to running that tire once a year. You can frequently get offered 3yo goods as new. (The tire age is from molding date.)

The local junkyards may not be much help. They sure weren't in my case. You might try looking for wheels at Southwest Wheel. This will at least get you their cross-catalog. While there collect all data. The hub diameter and offset are critical and not that easy to measure.

Good Hunting

Matt

[Gargamel]

Thanks a lot everyone. I'm going to have to hit up the local junkyard on saturday. Happy Travels!

Greg

[CapriRacer]

Gargamel wrote:
Hello everyone! I have a 1978 Dodge Jamboree Rallye. It has a 1 ton chassis I believe and I think it's a B350? Anywho it has 8.75R16.5 tires on it and they are very expensive to replace and tough to find so I've decided to replace the rims with 16's for practicality sake.

I've seen from looking around the interwebs that many others have done this and have found some good information about it. I guess what I'm wondering is what models and years of Dodge or Ford vehicles will have the correct rims (8 lug) to go on this beast? I know Chevy/GMC won't work as the center bore hole is too small. I found this out the hard way when my spare wouldn't go on after a blow out far from home.

Also, would regular truck wheels work with a vehicle as heavy as this or will the rims need to be a specific type to handle the load capacity?
Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have tons of reservations coming up and four old tires on now with no spare so I want to get this figured out as soon as possible.
Thanks!

Start with this:

Barry's Tire Tech - 16.5" tires

Post back with any questions.

[cpaulsen]

Find some Ford or Dodge wheels that are 16". The bolt pattern is the same....and only Ford up to 98. Ford changed their bolt pattern in 99. The center hole will be ok on those wheels.

[time2roll]

As much as I loathe Firestone they do have a TransForce AT in that size listed at $156 on tirerack.com

[Golden_HVAC]

My guess is that you MIGHT have a 8 lug 6.5" diameter bolt pattern, same as used on the 1985 - 97 F-250/350.

This is one place that lists the bolt pattern size and center hole diameter. It is lug centered bolts, meaning that the lug nuts keep the rim centered on the drum. Hub centered rims require the center of the hub fit exactly on the center hub, while the lug nuts do not keep the tire from moving around.

http://www.ricksontruckwheels.com/wheels-ford-srw.php

The chart at the bottom of the page shows that 6" wide rims should be used with 225 to 235 mm wide tires and 6.75" wide rims for the 245 mm wide tires.

If you have single rear wheels, I still would recommend the 3,042 pound rated 235/85R16E tire such as my motorhome has or a 245/75R16E such as the E-350 van uses, also rated at 3,042 pounds. If you have dual rear wheels, then you will need to find tires from a dually van or truck with your bolt pattern. Probably a F-350 from 85 - 97 or E-350 of about those same years. The F-450 and F-Super Duty (yes that was the F-450 before it became it's own number in 94 or so) have 10 lug rims, and rims are only rated at 3050 pounds at 90 PSI. While the 8 lug rims can be rated at anything from 2,200 to 3050 pounds, but will fit all the different models of trucks and vans.



Fred.

[Golden_HVAC]

Hi,

On my 1975 F-350 I was able to buy some 16" rims on Craigslist for them. The bolt pattern was the same.

Your rear axle is probably built by Dana, and is the same bolt pattern as my 75 Ford was. Chances are that you can find a F-250 - F-350 in a junkyard with 16" rims that will work fine. Look for years 1985 to 1999. It was a few years later when Ford went Metric, and changed it's bolt pattern to something else.

I would be looking at 6.5" wide rims and if you have single rear wheels then 245 mm wide tires, such as the 245/75R16E that is used on the E-350 vans. In fact vans from 1985 to 1995 should use the same bolt pattern. But buy one first, then try it on your van before buying more.

By taking a careful measurement from one bolt to one on the other side, you can compare the bolt pattern. If you have 8 holes, then the F-250 - F-350 bolt pattern should be the same. However if it is 6 bolts, then you are pretty much on your own.

Fred.

[Ray___June]

check "Tirerack.com". I bought two of their 16.5 Firestone tires three years ago, and it was cheaper (even with shipping) than buying locally.

[donn0128]

Finding 16 inch wheels with that bolt pattern is almost as hard to find as 16.5 tires. Sadly you are probably better off keepjng what you have and paying the price for new tires.

[Gargamel]

Also, how wide of 16's would be best?