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Lee , Jeff will take good care of you , just be patient as he is a busy man but he will get back to you .

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What wheel are you running? Width and back space?

The reason I ask... I've run 37x13.50 Toyo MT's on my 2005 Ram 2500 4x4 with a 3" Carli kit and had minimal initial rubbing on the plastic inner wheel well liner. I used a heat gun and pushed the inner liner away from the tire and as it cooled it holds its new shape (farther away from the tire - gained clearance).

I could jump the truck 2-3' in the air and it would not rub, even when the airbumps were at max compression.

These trucks will clear a 35" tire with a stock height suspension and stock wheels or an aftermarket wheel with the same width and back space as stock. Once you run a wheel that's either too wide or has too little back space you open a can of worms. The amount of lift necessary to properly clear a 35" tire on the wrong wheels will depend on the wheel width and back space.

-Jeff

Wheels are Diamo 8-karat 18" x 9" with 4.61 backspacing. Tires are Nitto Terra Grapplers 295/70R18. Everybody I talked to said they would clear fine but I'm certainly interested in your input.

The black plastic wheel well liner is what they are rubbing on. I have heat guns on all my trucks at work. I could try to see if that works but I'm still concerned that the little bit of thickness the bushwhacker pocket flare will add might cause additional rubbing.

I will try the heat gun and then check the clearance for it and the flare. However, if you don't mind I would still appreciate to hear what you have to say with the wheel and tire measurements.

Thanks much.

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I measured my flares for you . Looks like the extra thickness of the flares are 1/8 inch . Hope that helps

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Thanks Dave. I don't think I'll have a problem with them. I'm gonna have one of my guys bring a heat gun into my office tomorrow and try to push that black plastic liner back a little...I think someone on the other forum recommended that before but I had forgotten.

I still want to see what Jeff has to say about the wheel size and backspacing in relation to a lift kit.

Your truck looks sweet with that 6" lift.

BTW, why did you go back to 35's?

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Ya the 35's give me all the flex I need as Im off road hunting ect with it most of the time .

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The factory Dodge Ram 2500/3500 wheels have anywhere from 6.00" inches to around 6.25" inches of back space. You have gone to an 18x9" wheel which is at minimum 1" wider than an OEM wheel. Your new wheels have considerably less back space, around 1.5" inches. That means you now have about 2.50" inches of additional wheel sticking farther out (away from the frame) than with an OEM Dodge wheel.

The widest factory Dodge tire we're seeing off the dealer lot is a 265 series tire. These are only 10.50" inches wide. You have installed a 11.50 wide tire. So you have 1/2" of increase in overall width from the larger tires. That means overall you are running a tire/wheel combo that sticks out almost 3" inches more than an OEM setup. Those 3" inches might not sound like much but as you can see from your tire rubbing issue it is making all the difference in the world.

In my opinion the 18x9 wheel with 4.61" inches of back space is the wrong wheel for the truck. The 295/70/18 is just under 34.5" inches in diameter. That's a small 35" tire. If you had the correct wheel size/backspace this tire would clear with no lift and no rubbing.

To clear a true 35" diameter tire with this wheel combo will require 4 to 5" inches of lift. Another option is you can move and trim away the inner wheel well material to provide additional clearance. A couple of ZIP ties on the inner liner run forward to the bumper support can help. It will pull the liner away from the tire. Drill two holes about two inches apart in line with the front bumper support. Thread 1 zip tie through those holes and wrap it around the bumper support. The tighter you snug this zip tie down the more it will pull the liner forward. If you are rubbing on the rear portion of the liner or fender a pair of longer control links can be used. This will allow you to push the entire front axle assembly forward (not much, but sometimes it's enough) which can gain additional clearance. The farther the axle moves forward the less clearance you'll have in the front. It's a tradeoff. On these trucks it's usually easier to clearance material in front of the front tires than it is at the firewall side.

Regarding the current tire rub... where is the tire rubbing right now that has you must concerned?

-Jeff

WOW! Outstanding information, Jeff. And it figures the backspacing is wrong, the guy that sold them to me swore they were fine for my truck...imagine him wanting to sell them, huh? I really love the wheels but had he told me I would've selected another wheel that fit properly, because I hate having issues such as this. What to do now, I don't think it's an option to sell the wheels and lose money at this point, I've only had them about 6 months.

In regards to the rubbing, it is rubbing on the black plastic liner to the rear of the wheel well/fender. It appears I have plenty of clearance in the front. And the rear isn't rubbing by much. I am going to try to heat gun first to see if the fixes the issue, and gives me enough clearance for the flares. Moving the axle forward is too big of a job for my tool chest. I'm sure I could find a shop to do it, but how much money do you think (ballpark, not holding you to it) it would cost for parts and labor? Although I would love the height of 4" or 5" lift, the control links may be a better option until I can get rid of my RV.

Again, the information is greatly appreciated...I don't mind saying that I'm still learning.

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