Tire size for 12 inch lift on 1985 suburban?

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Raider L

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@Vbb199,

Wow, the one ton shafts make those regular shafts look spinly. I've seen shafts on this forum before that I couldn't figure out how they carried a tire "that big". (means the pic of the tires and axles)
 

bucket

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...I thought it was as simple as buying the tires and lift kit and that's it.

Well, it CAN be that simple. People used to do just that all the time, with the big lifts and 44" tires. However, their trucks were always broken, they didn't have a front driveline, and they had a hard time driving them down the road and keeping them between the ditches.
 

Vbb199

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@Vbb199,

Wow, the one ton shafts make those regular shafts look spinly. I've seen shafts on this forum before that I couldn't figure out how they carried a tire "that big". (means the pic of the tires and axles)
If you think that 1 ton is pretty beefy, you should see the size of a 5 ton shaft... its 2x bigger than that 1 ton lol
 

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77 K20

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I can understand the cost of a fully built dana 60 for the front anyway. $$$$

What you could do- is get some chromoly axle shafts. They are stronger than the stock shafts. Better metal and usually don't have the necked-down weak points. But once that is stronger then where is the next weak link. Differential/gears/driveshafts...

On my '78 K15 I just had 33" tires and romped on it at a stoplight years ago. Snapped the rear axleshaft on the 12 bolt axle on it...
 

short

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Hey bucket, one more question. Does the burban have both the front and back of the fenders trimmed? It looks like it to me but I want to ask you since you're more knowledgeable. I watched a video online of flares being installed on a truck, but the cuts they made had more of an angle to them. The brown burban seems to maintain more of a square shape(to me at least)
 

bucket

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Hey bucket, one more question. Does the burban have both the front and back of the fenders trimmed? It looks like it to me but I want to ask you since you're more knowledgeable. I watched a video online of flares being installed on a truck, but the cuts they made had more of an angle to them. The brown burban seems to maintain more of a square shape(to me at least)

I'm fairly certain about the rear wheel opening, based on the pictures. The front wheel opening though, that sucker has definitely been cut at the front and rear.
 

78C10BigTen

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My truck is the "little" stock height 3/4 ton in the photos.
The green Sub is on an 8" lift and 37's.
The monster rolling through is on a 12 inch lift and was built for 44's, but in the photo it is rolling on 42's.
The black truck is on a 6 or 8 inch lift riding on 36's.
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I like them all! But the huge multi color one is awesome! And the black one is setup perfect!
 

ak4life

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Thanks for the help. Can you help me out trying to guess the lift and tire size on this suburban? The guy who owned it told me it was a 12 in lift on 40s, but i don't think that's accurate.
he lied to you......there is no way in hell he has 12 in lift, id be surprised if wasnt a 4 inch at most..
 

short

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I'm fairly certain about the rear wheel opening, based on the pictures. The front wheel opening though, that sucker has definitely been cut at the front and rear.
Got another photo of the rear. You have a better eye than me so I thought I'd message you. Do you think the fenders were cut as far as they could be horizontally? They seem to still maintain the same shape of uncut fenders(to me at least), just wider. Also thought id ask you if theres any chance you know any place that sells those strips of rubber that come on the bumper? Not sure what the actual name is, I've heard bumper gaurd/cushion
 

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bucket

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Got another photo of the rear. You have a better eye than me so I thought I'd message you. Do you think the fenders were cut as far as they could be horizontally? They seem to still maintain the same shape of uncut fenders(to me at least), just wider. Also thought id ask you if theres any chance you know any place that sells those strips of rubber that come on the bumper? Not sure what the actual name is, I've heard bumper gaurd/cushion

The upper (horizontal part) portions of the wheel openings don't look like they have been cut.

That rub strip on the front bumper is the '89-'91 style used on K5's and Suburbans. Theres a few threads around here, discussing the different rub strips and bumper guards used in different years, I don't believe anything is available new yet.
 

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