1989 B150 Questions

[johnnybroc]

I just joined this forum (first forum I ever joined) so I apologize if I am asking questions that have been answered many times before.

Within the last two weeks I bought a 1989 Dodge Ram Van B150. It had 40,000 miles on it and runs great. I was going to use it as a work van originally but it is in such great shape I didn’t want to do that to it. Anyway, to make a long story short, I am “fixing” it up and had two questions about what I wanted to do.

1) I am buying 2004 Dodge Durango 17" wheels from CraigsList. The bolt pattern is 5 x 5.5" so it should fit with regards to the lug pattern but I have no idea what offset or backspacing is. I just want to make sure the wheels will “work” on my van. Also, does anyone know what size tire those rims would require? As you can tell I am not a car guy.

2) The van right now has some cheesy chrome fender trim. It also has aluminum running boards which I am not sure if they are factory or not. I want to replace the fender trim with the Bushwacker Extend-a-Fender Flare that they make for this van. Will those work with the running boards? Has anyone used these? Can they be modified to work around the running boards?

Thanks guys!

[Dodgevanman]

Since the van has smaller wheelwells than a Durango, you're going to be very limited on tires. You definitely will need to use a low profile tire and nothing too wide for the front. I have a P255/60R15 on my '94 and 255 is about as wide as I can go for the front. You may need to go to a 50 or 45 series profile.

[johnnybroc]

Thanks VanMan. Do you know where I could find the factory specs for the wheels on my van? I have been doing a lot of reading/searching and the most detailed information I can find about the wheels is that they are 15" x 7" with a 5x5.5" lug pattern. I really would love to find out what the offset is. I tried measuring it myself and the best guess I can come up with is that it is +69mm to +70mm. I also don't know if wheel diameter will affect the offset. If I buy the 17"'s will the offset required be the same as it is on the 15"'s?

[Dodgevanman]

That kind of stuff is out of my league, but I don't think diameter changes affect offsets. Rim width would, but diameter shouldn't.

[johnnybroc]

Well, I found out, the hard way, that 8" 2004 Dodge Durango wheels do not fit my van. I bought one just to test fit it and the backspacing was so large that the back lip of the wheel was hitting the control arm. Live and learn. Maybe a wheel with a negative offset might work.

[Dodgevanman]

Also on a van the rear wheels track narrower than the fronts, so there is plenty of room for something nice and wide in the rear, but you want the offset outwards away from the rear leaf springs.