Running steel spare wheels with 35s with front leveling spacers only? (1 Viewer)

[Hilndr1701]

I have a 2013 Tundra that I got for pulling a camper trailer. It came with 20" Fuel wheels with 33"12.5 tires, which seemed to work great as a puller. I sold the camper a couple of years ago, about the same time I sold my 80 series. I now have a 40 series but I hate taking it on longer trips and it doesn't fit the family very well.
I want to make my Tundra more off-road capable without turning it into a tall monster. I love the looks of a Tundra with larger tires but kept at a close-to-normal height. I also love the looks of the spare wheels, but I want to run 35x11.5 R17s or something close and I don't want them sticking out too much. 1" or less is ideal so it tucks into the wheel well without a problem. It came with an aftermarket front bumper so I believe the tire size will clear the front.
My big question is; is anyone running spare wheels with 35s with front spacers? Or something similar? Do they even make a spare with an offset of 18 to 20 for the Tundra?
Please send pictures.
Thanks

 

[Jetboy]

A few narrower tires in the 35" height are available that most people say fit with minimal or no effort. 285/75/18s are probably the closest to a true 35" tall tire. Only downside is pretty limited tire options. I have 295/70/18s ordered and will put them on my stock 2016 on the stock 18" TRD wheels that are pretty similar to the OEM spare tire wheels. Those are more like 34.3-.4" tall, so a bit short of true 35" tire, but very close to same height as a 35x12.5x18 BFG KO2 for example. Mine has no lift and I expect them to fit with the only mod being trimming the front skid plate a little bit near the sway bar.

I would have gone for 285/75/18 size if I could have found them locally in a more street oriented tread pattern. I do mostly highway miles and roughly 7 months of the year are snowy so I didn't want the road noise of an MT tire and wanted the best winter performing large tire I could get. I wanted to get the Cooper AT3 in that size, but couldn't find them locally and shipping was pretty expensive to AK. Costco carries the Michelin Defender in the 295 size so I went with those. They're kind of boring visually, but one of the best snow performing all season tires that exist. If you want an MT or aggressive AT - there are more options in a 285/75/18.

I may add a 1 inch set of spacers if I think I'll ever need to put tire chains on. Not sure if I'll ever need to do that though. Haven't needed them the last two winters. I find that low tire pressure usually works better than chains.

Good luck.

 

[cruiserpilot]

You can fit 37" tires with no lift. There is a really slight trimming needing to be done.
Most 285/75R18" will fit with no cutting with a 18x8 +25 offset. I'm going to run that size
with factory +60 offset wheel. I've lowered my 2010 in back but it won't effect my truck.
I don't want it lifted, I want it low.

Here it is, the definitive set of instructions. I bought this bumper and the parts needed to trim.
I want option to run chains in winter without tearing it up!

Clearing 37” tires on a toyota tundra at any ride height

When venturing off-road with your vehicle, it's only a matter of time before you find yourself tackling increasingly challenging terrain. As the difficulty escalates, you may encounter trails where it’s impossible to avoid the bumpers, door sills, and undercarriage scraping against rocks, dirt...

www.coastaloffroad.com

 

[cruiserpilot]

You can fit 37" tires with no lift. There is a really slight trimming needing to be done.
Most 285/75R18" will fit with no cutting with a 18x8 +25 offset. I'm going to run that size
with factory +60 offset wheel. I've lowered my 2010 in back but it won't effect my truck.
I don't want it lifted, I want it low.

Here it is, the definitive set of instructions. I bought this bumper and the parts needed to trim.
I want option to run chains in winter without tearing it up!

Clearing 37” tires on a toyota tundra at any ride height

When venturing off-road with your vehicle, it's only a matter of time before you find yourself tackling increasingly challenging terrain. As the difficulty escalates, you may encounter trails where it’s impossible to avoid the bumpers, door sills, and undercarriage scraping against rocks, dirt...

www.coastaloffroad.com

I have decided I'm not that keen on 8" wheel for this tire, it's just not sitting right on the wheel to me. This is
gonna cost me cause these are brand new wheels, bought without really thinking it through. I run the same 285/75
in a 17" on the cruiser and they ride and plant better. Damn

 

[hoch]

I have decided I'm not that keen on 8" wheel for this tire, it's just not sitting right on the wheel to me. This is
gonna cost me cause these are brand new wheels, bought without really thinking it through. I run the same 285/75
in a 17" on the cruiser and they ride and plant better. Damn

Really? The 80-series guys run 315 tires on 8” rims. I’d not have problems running 295’s on stock rims.

 

[Jetboy]

FWIW - I have 295/70/18s on stock TRD wheels that are also 8 inches wide. Seems like a pretty good match to the wheels. The tread width is about 9 inches so it's relatively vertical sidewall. Just as a comparison I think most people put a 35x12.5 on a 10" wheel. These are about 34.5x11.8. An 8.5" wheel is ideal according the mfg. 9" might be a little better. But 8" works okay and visually looks pretty normal on the tires I have. Yours might be a bit more aggressive and look funny on the narrow wheels?

No lift or modifications needed other than a little trimming of the skid plate wings by the sway bar. They're so thin that you can just trim with tin snips without even taking the skid off off. At stock height with that size in a street tire tread - they really don't look very big. TBH I don't think you'd even know that they're oversize unless someone really looked close or it's parked side by side with a stock size tire.

Edit: here's the side profile with stock wheels if that's useful. Still inside the fender even without flares.

 

[cruiserpilot]

Really? The 80-series guys run 315 tires on 8” rims. I’d not have problems running 295’s on stock rims.

I run the others on a 9" rim. Just seem to be a bit softer and sidewall looks better. It's possible to run a
12.5" tread on a 8" rim, just not for me.