rookie in trouble

[Rubber duck]

got tired of my dodge looking sad in the yard , so off to the body shop its gone i need some advice on the complications that are sure to come with a 5in suspension life and tires I've had 33's on it before with no lift wanting to move to some 38x12.50 any ideas on backspacing and if those will require me to gear it or if 5 inches is going to be enough. Any ideas or help would be great.

 

[SmokedRam]

With 38's I'd definately regear it, no question on that...

 

[Okiespaniel]

Your truck must be a 1500 with the 318. Forget gearing for 38's your front diff unit bearings are going to hate you amd so is your rear pinion bearing. 1500 axles barely tolerate 35's even with 4:56 gears.

I would be looking for some 2500 axles and some 5:13s. Backspacing won't matter at this point because most 10 or 12 inch rims will be around 4.5 to 3.75 inch backspacing.
To effectively run 38's you'll need about 10 inches of lift. This will involve removing your stock suspension and running some kind of true long arm setup in the front and if you stay with leaf springs, new packs, and a shackle flip for starters. You'll also want to upgrade your steering and trackbar.

There's really no half azzed way for doing this.

Dodge Off Road makes a real nice kit that gives you insane off road capability and excellent on road manners. DODGE OFF ROAD • Dodge Off Road - Ram 4x4 Lift Suspension Kits

 

[BaileysOffroad]

Well....you could use your 5" suspension lift and throw on a 3" body lift...much cheaper than all that other stuff just mentioned...not that the above isnt the "Right" way to do it...

How you going to be using these 38's...or this truck rather...lots of wheeling or pavement pusher...be honest...it will make a big difference.

You could also do some cutting to fit the larger tires without going to 10 inches...Icelanders do it all the time on everything...











Look up Arctic trucks...read a little...pretty much no motor changes...they do regear but run stock axles...not all of them...but alot of them...and go with little or no lift...but stuff 38's and 44's regularly...

The suggestion of axles from a 2500 is a good one though....no way around it...60/70 would be way better...and would allow for lower gear ratio...you can find these in u-pick yards for 2-300 bux for the pair....or you can scout for a parts truck from an insurance auction or junkyard and just buy the whole truck...take the tranny an tcase axles etc...

I'm running 5" suspension, 3" body and 37 x 13.5 nitto mud grapplers on big heavy 22" Rims....staying with 4.56 gears on these diffs as after much contemplation the 4.88s would be at a greater risk of breakage due to them thinning out in order to fit in these smaller diffs.






Just to be perfectly clear however....nothing Okie said up there is a lie lol.....he was spot on with his advice...

 

[Tmanram]

I'm running bone stock 1500 axles with my 43" tires and the motor/tranny has no problem. My only suggestion is that is you have the automatic tranny, pop off the overdrive and let the engine run 2500 rpm at highways speeds cuz with big tires you'll easily drop below 2000 maybe even 1750 rpm and the truck will run sluggish.