Anyone running BIG tires on a dually? Ncv3 or other wheels?

Just piked up a 2004 3500 and HATE the tiny wheels/tires!

I've searched and read what I think is every thread on the topic with little luck.

Most of the threads are many years old and end with little conclusion.

Seems some guys run 215/75/15 instead do the stock 195/70/15. Anything bigger seems to rub in the rear(dually tires rub together) Anyone make a "spacer to run between the rear duals to gain more room between them?

I've seen that the early cab and chassis T1N ran 16" wheels with potentially a different offset?

Later Sprinters NCV3s had 16s that should fit? Can wider tires be run on those under a T1N?

Super single options? Anyone?

Ultimately I'd like to run a larger All Terrrain or off road type tire. I realize this would probably have been easier to start with a 2500, but that wasn't the deal on a van I found


Want to archive a look more like this. (Realize I don't have a 4x4 yet) but it's going to be a family adventure van and should look the part.

Oberaigner do a conversion which puts Super single tyres on all four corners. They won't sell it to you as a kit though.

As yours as post 2003 it has ESP, so all wheels must rotate at the same speed otherwise ESP has a hissy fit. Really you're choices are fit larger tyres to your 15s or get some 16s and do the same.

Pretty sure the 15s to 16s thing has been written up previously on here - have you had a search?

Yep. Understand the ESP issue. Also read all the "theoretical discussions" on 16s from either a 2006 cab/chassis or 2007+ncv3 dually. (Which is why I mentioned those things)

There is no mention of what tire size can then ultimately be run with either or these set ups!!

there are 2" taller 15" tires that fit toyo makes in size 7R15 or 7.00R15 , one a hiway truck tire, the other a M&S truck tire
https://sprinter-source.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10388&highlight=larger+tires+3500

https://sprinter-source.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29972&highlight=taller+road

Yeah, I was hoping to run something a little bigger in the 235-255 width and 75-85 height at least.

Are folks having success running 215/75/15 sized tires on a 15" dually sprinter van? I've searched this forum for the last 2 days with no yes/no answer. I am in the same situation as what appears to be a common concern; wanting to replace the tiny Conti Vanco tires for something larger and more aggressive. Eyeballing these, but not 100% sure they will fit: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...rain+T/A+KO&partnum=175SR5ATAKORWLV2&i1_Qty=7

kerkovej said:

Are folks having success running 215/75/15 sized tires on a 15" dually sprinter van? I've searched this forum for the last 2 days with no yes/no answer. I am in the same situation as what appears to be a common concern; wanting to replace the tiny Conti Vanco tires for something larger and more aggressive.

Click to expand...

Exactly my point. Its been discussed but there are no *real* answers

I went ahead and ordered the BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/A KO in 215/75/15 from TireRack.com. Found about 5 sources on the web where '06 3500 Sprinter Van owners stated they were having fantastic results using this tire.

Where in Colorado are you? I'd be curious to see it in person when you get them on.

I'm in the Vail Valley. I'll post up pics once they are confirmed installed.

So does anyone know the wheel specs of the T1N 15" dually wheels vs the NCV3 16" Dually wheels?

I've read more "rumors" that I the 16" wheels from the newer vans fit. But am curios about the offset. Seems the new vans can fit a 235/85/16 and they don't rub between the duallies!

Are the late model wheels somehow further apart ? How? Seems like any offset change wouldn't change the distance between the wheels, just the placement under the van.

Did you know that late model T1Ns were shipped on 16s, if that gives you another option?

mean_in_green said:

Did you know that late model T1Ns were shipped on 16s, if that gives you another option?

Click to expand...

My understanding from reading this forum, and correct me if I'm wrong, is that only the Cab & chassis 06 had 16s and they are wider. Also much harder to find used.

I have the 2005 manufacture date Sprinter as the base for my Serenity RV and it has 16" dually tires. So Cab&Chassis like you had already discovered, but 2005. Cab&Chassis also have a 2" shorter windshield, that was disappointing to discover after driving a beautiful van conversion for years... At first I thought I had adjusted my chair wrong.

-Randy

Well, I ordered 6 16" NCV3 Dually wheels today. Guess someone has to try it with big tires!

Cole,
Why did you order 6?
You cannot use the smaller spare tire if you have a flat out on the road.
You need 7 rims and 7 tires.....all of them the same size!
Put that small 15" spare on, and you may be able to go about 100 ft before the ASR goes beserk and shuts you down.
Hope this helps,
Roger

sailquik said:

Cole,
Why did you order 6?
You cannot use the smaller spare tire if you have a flat out on the road.
You need 7 rims and 7 tires.....all of them the same size!
Put that small 15" spare on, and you may be able to go about 100 ft before the ASR goes beserk and shuts you down.
Hope this helps,
Roger

Click to expand...

I won't have a place to put the 7th tire once they have bigger tires on them. it will be too big to fit under the van. I'd also like to use that space for other things.

I also don't totally see the point of a "spare" tire on the dually. Since all 6 rims are the the same you can take the duals off and use them as you need for spares. I can't think of a single situation where having the 7th wheel helps. (Other than putting it in the rotation but I'll never put enough miles on for it to matter)

Flat front tire? Use an outside dual up front to get you to a tire shop!

Flat dual? Take it off and run with one to get you to a tire shop!

TWO flat duals or two flat fronts?! Take two off and run with only 4!!

THREE FLAT TIRES!!.....okay well maybe having the spare would help here


These will be pretty HD all terrains too, so not very prone to issues.

Since all 6 rims are the the same you can take the duals off and use them as you need for spares

Click to expand...

Sure it's rare to get a flat with good tyres, many new cars are coming out with no spare at all these days so from that point of view it's your choice.

But I wouldn't use a dualy as a spare, they're necessary to carry the weight. If they weren't necessary they wouldn't be there.

Let me tell you a similar story, I had a friend with a vw syncro 4wd van, those things have both air and water cooling, half way between an air cooled beetle or combi van and a watercooled engine. One day off road he gets a big stick up under the car and punches a hole in the radiator. all the coolant runs out. Ofcourse, he thinks "I know, it's got a spare cooling system, I'll just drive to the nearest mechanic, slowly and carefully, and it should be ok". It wasn't. Within 15 mins the motor seized from overheating, the air cooling alone wasn't up to the task. What should have been a couple of hundred for a rebuilt radiator cost him thousands.

Moral of the story is, don't assume the engineers who designed the car were stupid. They are under enormous cost pressures and anything that could be removed has already been removed.

Um....nobody is making any assumptions about the engineers here.

The simple fact is that I'll NEVER have anywhere near the weight limit in this van. So the duals for the weight doesn't matter to me. I like the way dual look and just happen to find the right deal on a van that was a dually.

I've done extreme back country travel for nearly 35 years. Lived off a motorcycle for 6 months & 18k miles of back road travel. Spent months at a time camping all over North America in a Jeep with no top.

I've only needed a spare tire once, ever. And that was on an Audi with 245/35/18s, not truck tires.

My plans for this van will put a max of about 2k lbs in it total. Which includes 2-3 motorcycles. (which make pretty decent spares themselves)

It's also pretty hard these days to get more than 50 miles from any town. Even if the closest town doesn't have the right tire it's unlikely you will ever have to run more than a few hundred miles with only one dual on.

At the moment I'd prefer to save the extra $300-700(tire, wheel, rack to mount it on, etc) for something I see little need for. I bet I won't put more than 5k miles a year on this van, and probably way less. Will just have to see how we like it.

Cole,
I have a set (7) of the NCV3 Cab/Chassis wheels. Almost brand new (< 4 k miles on them). Ran them on my '06 T1N 3500.
They have more offset and are wider than the normal NCV3 3500 Wheels.
The narrow the front track on a T1N by about 5/8" per side and are 6Jx16 rather than the normal USA 3500 5.5Jx16.
Running a single wheel on a dual rear wheel vehicle (that does not have dual stud system like big trucks) is not a very good idea.
If the tires that you are getting are so big they won't fit in the normal 3500 spare tire rack, have you thought what that's going
to do to your rear axle ratio.
Better plan to run in 4th gear most of the time if you want to get any mileage as the % Load is going to be way too high most of the
time.
Maybe just shift to 5th gear for going down hill with a tailwind.
Roger