Well....had the 245 75 16 MTRs fitted yesterday and my fears were confirmed. Fortunately, I had already trimmed enough to drive it the 2 1/2 miles home without damage, but man did I have to do some hacking. Still have to do some more today.
The front bumper doesn't create too much of a problem. I just used a razor/utility style knife and cut the underside. The black plastic liner on the inside of the wheel well will touch the tire ever so slightly on a sharp turn and somewhat compressed, but it's flexible, so no big deal. Behind the front wheels I have trimmed down to the sheetmetal (man, that plastic sh#* sucks), and hammered the metal a little to gain another 1/2 inch. Still looks pretty good, and there is very very slight contact. Compressed it would contact more, so I'll need to look into this. It's tricky to work on this area without creating an ugly Frankentruck!
On to the rear tires. In front of the rear tires is no problem....even with compression. The back side, however, is extremely tight. For some reason, I've got contact between the tire and the "mudflap" style fender piece on ONE side only. The other side is only about 1/4 inch breathing room. My rear bumper cover has taken a few hits from parking lot mishaps and a telephone pole, and I'm thinking this is the reason for the difference. Nonetheless, if I can't wrestle it into a better position, I'll have to remove both sides. This leaves a small part of the black metal mounting bracket sticking out, so that too will need to be hacked off. Then, I will have well over an inch of clearance. It will still look okay, even without the mudguard piece.
Is it worth it??? I think so. The tires look incredible!! Very beefy, with 19/32 of tread. Now, if only I had the money for the lower R&P gearing, stronger clutch, and lockers. After all.....I don't want this thing to be a "trailer queen." I want it to be the real deal!!! Oh well....maybe in another year or two.
Dave
