Put 37” tires on stock Power Wagon

[62Blazer]

Why is everybody so obsessed with a leveling kit. I like the look of a slightly raked pickup. I put 35's on my RAM. I'll change my profile pic soon

I agree. Would prefer to have the rear just a tad higher than the front. After I put the 1.5" front Thuren springs on my PW I thought ithe rear looked squatted and put a 1" spacer on the rear. Forget who it was, but a big name is suspension has made comments that from their experience most people prefer a slight rake (rear higher)....basically if the truck is truly level front to rear most people actually think the rear looks slightly squatted.

 

[buckeyexx]

I think for me it was more about the stock shocks and the miles they had on them. At 115k it was time for new ones so I ended up going with fox shocks and of course while searching for shocks Thuren came up a lot for these trucks. The more I read about the ride quality with the springs and shock package I ultimately ended up going with the 1.5in level and track bar set up. It has made a huge difference in the ride. And that was just going with fox 2.0 IFP shocks. Not that the wagon is bad from factory but it made it much better. As for the squat I will have once I put a load on it I will be putting air bags on to compensate for that.

 

[GRKN]

Why is everybody so obsessed with a leveling kit. I like the look of a slightly raked pickup. I put 35's on my RAM. I'll change my profile pic soon

Not to mention if you use your truck for any kind of work at all, as soon as you get some weight in a leveled truck it squats and looks terrible. At least an inch of rake for me

 

[olyelr]

I recently put 37" and I will go back to 35" once the tires are done. You give up way too much in articulation and everyday drivability. If you are willing to do 37" right with proper $5K suspension upgrades then it looks and works great. I have nearly 300K on my 2019 power wagon and I had 35" on it most of its life went to 37" just for a quick test and I can tell you its too much for stock power wagon with 6.4 Hemi. You can talk yourself into it being "good" but its really won't function well just look really good.

To me the issue isnt so much the fitment, as that can be fairly easily/cheaply corrected, but the overall drive-ability with heavier tires (in most cases anyway) and the detuned gearing. Im not sure how it is with the 8 speed, but with my 6 speed i cant even hardly stand 35’s…hell i wanted to regear with the stock tires.

 

[Docwagon1776]

To me the issue isnt so much the fitment, as that can be fairly easily/cheaply corrected, but the overall drive-ability with heavier tires (in most cases anyway) and the detuned gearing. Im not sure how it is with the 8 speed, but with my 6 speed i cant even hardly stand 35’s…hell i wanted to regear with the stock tires.

After test driving a 6 speed Power Wagon I was turned off so much I nearly bought a Raptor until I drove an 8 speed and saw what a difference it was. The 8 speed is a huge difference in the 2500. In the 1500, meh, it's nicer but not a huge deal.

 

[olyelr]

After test driving a 6 speed Power Wagon I was turned off so much I nearly bought a Raptor until I drove an 8 speed and saw what a difference it was. The 8 speed is a huge difference in the 2500. In the 1500, meh, it's nicer but not a huge deal.

If my power wagon felt half as snappy and peppy as my half ton i would be tickled pink. I never drove the older half tons without the 8 speed, so cant compare those…but the wagon is a **** in comparison to the 8 speed half ton. Can only imagine the wagon with an 8 speed!

 

[62Blazer]

I test drove an 8 speed PW and they definitely feel snappier off the line, but just couldn't pass up the deal on a '16 model they had on the lot. This was several years ago when the '16 was 3 years old with 24k miles on it. Yes, the 8 speed felt better but didn't feel $20,000 better (yes, I am cheap also...).
The 8 speed has a much lower 1st gear and is basically like driving an older 6 speed PW that has 6.00 axle gears! 2nd gear in the 8 speed is about the same as 1st gear on the 6 speed, and is why the 8 speed "handles" bigger tires on initial take off much better. However highway driving should be pretty much the same as the top 3 gears in either are basically identical ratios. This means that the truck will downshift just the same when hitting a grade or towing a trailer down the road regardless of being a 6 or 8 speed.
6 speed 4,5, 6 gear = 1.00, 0.82, 0.63
8 speed 6,7, 8 gear = 1.00, 0.84, 0.67

 

[Docwagon1776]

However highway driving should be pretty much the same as the top 3 gears in either are basically identical ratios.

It may be a difference in programming, but after driving them both in pretty short order the 8 speed felt much more responsive in "speed up to merge" or "2 lane passing" sort of highway speed acceleration tests as well. I drove the 6 speed, a Raptor, a Tremor, the 8 speed, and the Silverado ZR2 in that order in a pretty compressed time frame. The 6 speed was the only one that was a hard pass for me due to the meh acceleration at passing speeds. The Fords were definitely responsive but the 10 speed didn't feel nearly as smooth as the 8. Chevy did a better job with their programming and the 6.2/10 speed was a pretty decent combo. I just didn't like the rest of the truck as much as the PW, but the drive train was solid.

 

[Scottly]

Anything rides better than those mother F'in Good-for-a-years that come with it.

 

[Dean2]

I get for some guys it is all about tricking out the ride. However, the difference between 33, 35 and 37 inch tires, for all practical purposes off road is negligible. From 33 to 37 is 4", so you gain 2" of clearance at most, and have to do a bunch of futzing around to get it. These are full size pickups, they will never be more than semi-capable off road machines. They are what you use to haul your off road machine to the trail head, not what you thrash trying to go up that trail. If you want real off road capability get a quad, SxS or rig out a Jeep, Landcruiser etc. Beating the hell out of a $80,000 pickup to fight your way into where a quad will cruise to with zero effort does not make a lot of sense to me. My 4x4 Honda Foreman fits in the back, under the canopy nicely. Clean and out of sight. Get to where the trail gets bad, unload it and away you go.

For all the issues over size tires create on one of these full size pickups, I just leave the stock height ones on and call it a day.

If you step off the tracks the snow is armpit deep. Doesn't matter how tall your tires are they aren't tall enough for that. The red nylon belly/skid pan goes all the way to the back and works like a toboggan.

 

[buckeyexx]

I agree with most of your post. A quad, sxs, or any type of atv is made for going off road but to say the power wagon is a semi capable off road machine is non sense to me. Pretty sure it’s what they were built for straight off the factory line. Can it go everywhere an atv could go no but it’s an off road machine. Now a regular 2500 4x4 that is another story.

 

[Dean2]

Buckeye - I agree, of the full size pickups, even ones designed specifically for off road, I would put the Power Wagon right at the top of the list for capabilities as delivered. My point is 37" tires do not materially improve on the as delivered capabilities.

Off road capability exists on a continuum. I have owned G Wagons, Land Rovers, Land Cruisers, Range Rovers, Forerunners, Toyota SR pickups, Pathfinders, Jeeps, of various vintages and versions, Suzuki, Lada and a raft of others, including full size pickups. Given the width, weight and length of a Power Wagon it is not going into the same places a 2 door Jeep or Suzuki will, even if they are all in bone stock factory trim.

I am not trying to disparage the Powerwagon, it is amazingly capable for what it is, but you also can't fight physics. If you are 2 feet too wide you aren't going through that rock opening or between those trees. At 7000 pounds you aren't going tiptoeing through the skeg, no matter how wide and tall the tires are.

My whole point is, get the right unit for the job, spending an extra $20,000 kitting out an $80,000 Powerwagon is not going to make it into a Sherp or even a well rigged out Jeep that still seats 4 and is road legal.

 

[4xdad]

I think you’re right to a point. There’s no way my 9000lbpw can go where my 6ft 400lb quad can go. That being said me and the missus can’t sleep in the quad and the quad can’t tow the truck. The right tools for the job. I like the way the 35s work and look only slightly better but no major modifications or costs just a program er to tell the computer to change the tire size

 

[62Blazer]

In regards to off-road capability, I guess it's all relative to what you are comparing it to. As somebody who has ran highly modified off-road rigs (everything from quads, SxS's, and fullsize trucks) I will say a stock PW is just average, or maybe even marginal. I've ran a Chevy K5 Blazer off-road for years and it has progressed from 33" tires and limited slip front and rear diffs, to 35's, replacing the rear limited slip with a locker, replacing the front limited slip with a locker, going to 38" tires, and then 40" tires. I will say that the K5 on 35's and limited slip diffs would out perform my PW on 37's in 9 of 10 conditions. Most of that is because of the much heavier weight and the overhang/ground clearance of the PW. The only advantage in some situations the PW would have is it has more power and a longer wheelbase which helps in some situations. Compared to the K5 with 40" tires and lockers front and rear there is absolutely no comparison.
Now a stock PW compared to a stock regular 2500 is a decent difference in off-road ability......but still only so many places a 7k+ lb. fullsize truck on 33's can go. I do think that going from a 33" to 37" tires make a pretty big difference. 2" of ground clearance may not sound like much, but it makes a big difference.

 

[crazy jerry]

the axles ,shafts ,tcase ,ujoints and every other nut and bolt on them k5 look like tooth picks to the pw running gear. ya the very short wheelbase is nice but aside from that ,give me the pw every time

 

[4xdad]

Had both love both. My 84 gmc Jimmy was my fave it got me into wheeling my pw has all the things I wish Jimmy had

 

[Corvette427]

My PW is and always will be a pavement pounder. I bought this truck purely for the way it looks and its uniqueness compared to all the other trucks on the road (I see you looking Trail Boss and Raptor). Whenever someone says “why did you buy a PW if your not going to take it off road” I simply say, because I can and I’m American!



The USA has always been full of excess and unnecessary products (like the RV, Corvette and pontoon boats). The Power Wagon is the epitome of AMERICA!

 

[62Blazer]

the axles ,shafts ,tcase ,ujoints and every other nut and bolt on them k5 look like tooth picks to the pw running gear. ya the very short wheelbase is nice but aside from that ,give me the pw every time

My comment is that you size individual parts based on the overall size and weight of the vehicle. You don't need as beefy of parts when it weighs way less. That's why a Honda Civic and a Cummins Ram 3500 use different parts.
But will also say you do have to beef up components as you use the vehicle harder and put more stress on things (i.e. bigger tires). My K5 has axles out of a 1-ton truck and further beefed up with chromoly shafts to support the 40" tires and lockers. It has a rear driveshaft with larger u-joints, but really nothing else major was done to make it hold up. I've owned it for 30 years and it's been wheeled' hard for a long time so have a pretty good feel for how it holds up. I wouldn't feel comfortable on how well the PW would hold up if I put 40" tires on it and ran it the same way......maybe it would hold up okay?
Don't get me wrong, not trying to argue or anything but just giving my experience. I've broken multiple axle shafts, sheered off steering arms, broken suspension bolts, etc... over the years on my own rigs and have spent countless hours on the trail helping and fixing other rigs.

 

[4xdad]

If you have a blazer on one tons that’s not a simple mod not terrible hard but not simple either. If I was going to wheel something hard I would have a dedicated trail rig and a trailer

 

[Docwagon1776]

I think it's beyond intelligent debate that a modified purpose built machine will perform better at that specific purpose than a stock do it all vehicle. Might as well compare a C8 with a top fuel dragster then lament him slow the Corvette is and how poorly suited for road trips the dragster is.