How to mount 37" - 24 bolt HMMWV wheels and tires on an M1028

[cucvrus]

I have a set of 37" 24 bolt HMMWV wheels and tires and want to run them on a 1984 CUCV M1028. It has a 6" lift which I want to remove and get it down to as stock as possible. I know stock height won't work but I need to know what the proper way is to space the wheels out and get this thing to go down the road properly. And also I want the minimum lift as possible. I did not put the lift on the truck and I am just trying to rescue the truck from an abusive owner. My Son. He can't drive it because it is so hacked up on the front suspension that it will not turn properly. I read a lot of threads and wanted to know the right way. It seems everyone has a different way. Any ideas? I have everything to get it back to stock and really want it to be his daily driver. It will not pass PA inspection. And officer friendly lurks at every corner.Any solid proven ideas are appreciated.

 

[Skinny]

So I see two seperate issues:

1) It won't pass inspection and officers harassing you: I don't see how running HMMWV tires will make this any better. They are oversized and even though DOT approved still a beadlock. Most inspection stations and LEO's will frown upon both of these regardless of whether they are legal in your state or not.

2) The truck doesn't turn probably because it could use crossover steering a new box. I personally would leave the height the way it is, install a zero rate to push the axle forward and inch to get the tires out of the rear fender area, and convert to crossover. I know it isn't stock but crossover is roughtly 1000x better than push/pull steering. It will drive and ride much better lifted with crossover than stock height with push/pull. Granted you don't have some super stiff cheap front springs.

Seems like the best of all worlds with a performance gain. To run the tires you will need 2.5 to 3" front spacers all around. Or you have someone recenter the HMMWV rims to the proper backspacing. Or you install DRW hubs on both axles which allows you to bolt the HMMWV rims on with the perfect offset.

 

[cucvrus]

The 6 inch lift has to go. That is the biggest issue with the police. Bumper and headlamp height. The 40's are gone.(SOLD) One of his friends cam up with the idea of putting a 4" steel tube under the front spring mounts to gain more height. That is when all the steering issues developed. The lift kit was fine as it was. But now it has to go. I was asking what the absolute minimum lift is to run these tires. And I understand that we can get the dually spacer kit for the truck. Thank you for that information. But we want the lift gone. Stock as possible with the 37" tires. bead locks are not an issue here. Will a 2" lift help clear this issue? And another thing this truck had helper springs front and back when I purchased it. is that something special? And what were they on the front for?

 

[doghead]

One of his friends cam up with the idea of putting a 4" steel tube under the front spring mounts to gain more height.

That is not a lift kit, it's a cob job.

That is why your steering is messed up.


You need 4" minimum lift to run the 37" humvee tires and it will still touch the rear fender/innerfender at times with mild driving(worse when off road)

 

[Skinny]

Helper springs on the back? What...the 5/4 ton 10 leaf with overload not enough???

Fitting 37's on a stock height or even 2" lift truck is not ideal but can be done without massive trimming. It is not necessarily the lift height that will help you clear tires on this truck. You need to push the front axle forward ideally. That is where the zero rate and crossover steering comes in.

Your post is confusing. You read alot, know alot, yet are looking for the right way. I'm not sure there is a right way to run a 37" tire. Bolt it on, use DRW hubs, trim as necessary would probably suit you best since you like everything stock.

 

[porkysplace]

You need to read your state laws on what the vehicle code requires . Here in michigan lifts are fairly regulated , no wheel spacers and cross-over probably won't pass here either .

 

[Skinny]

Most of the country do not like spacers. I never had an issue with inspections but most techs say no way. The DRW hubs will get you past that since they are a stock item. I think you could almost get away with crossover as long as the tech isn't a Chevy guru. The box appears stock, the pitman and steering arms can be painted flat black to look stock, and the TRE's are OEM. Covered in dirt, no one would be the wiser

 

[jeremymx26]

You could use drop bumpers to fix the bumper height law. Wheel spacers can be no thicker than 1/4 inch. You will need to watch the tires sticking outside the body as that is a big no no.
Why not sell the HMMWV tires and wheels and return the truck to full stock configuration.

 

[Skinny]

Drop bumper may not work, law states "securely attached to the chassis or frame". They may get you on it not being attached to the stock mounting points. You can't have anything over 30" to the bottom of the bumper in PA. This is all in the book: http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/pdotforms/pub_45/SubchapterE.pdf

Always an interesting read. I saw nothing on frame height, headlamp height, oversized tires, etc. Realistically if your tires are not sticking out, a spacer is not over 1/4" wide, bottom of bumper under 30", and your headlamps are aimed correctly at that height...LEO can't get you on anything according to the book.

 

[cucvrus]

Your post is confusing. You read alot, know alot, yet are looking for the right way. I'm not sure there is a right way to run a 37" tire. Bolt it on, use DRW hubs, trim as necessary would probably suit you best since you like everything stock
This not my fish to fry. If it were mine it would be stock. Better yet SOLD. Thanks for the help. I have seen these trucks that have these tires and wheels on and still sitting relatively stock. And yes I agree the whole idea of lifting one of these trucks is a cob job in my book. But I have these tires and wheels and they are all paid for so it is an inexpensive way to get my sons truck back on the road. I was asking for a simple solution . But thank you. I will go on instinct trial and error to get it done. Or look thru the pictures again and find the member that has the truck that has these on it and get his answer. Thank you.

 

[jeremymx26]

State inspection is kinda weak in a lot of areas. Drop bumpers work due to it being a bumper height restriction.

"Securely attached to frame" usually means not falling off.

Due to different offsets in wheels and shortening of axles. Tires do not need to be sticking out for a spacer to be installed.
No more than 1/4 inch spacer is the law, tire tread cannot extend outside the body, and flares to cover such tire cannot exceed 3" past factory fender.

 

[doghead]

Or look thru the pictures again and find the member that has the truck that has these on it and get his answer. Thank you.

More than one of us that have replied to this thread, have the tires on our trucks.

I never said lift kits(in general) are cob jobs.

idea of putting a 4" steel tube under the front spring mounts to gain more height.

This and helper springs are cob jobs.

I remember TV commercials that said "reading is fundamental" when I grew up. I didn't understand back then why this was driven into us back then. With people today(and the internet) I can now see the point of it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkliVuyKB6A

http://www.rif.org/

 

[Skinny]

What is the current bumper height right now? From the pic (guessing those are the 40's), you may be pretty close as is with the 37's.

As far as steering goes, what corrections have been done to it? At 4" on mine and a 2" drop pitman, it steers ok on the street. Wouldn't want to get it all crossed up off road and you sure do have to know what is going to happen if you stab the brakes hard enough but I wouldn't consider it unsafe. With stock push/pull at 6", I'm sure it wants to dive all over the place going down the road.

Jeremymx26: Good to know in PA. With that information, maybe a couple of bumper brackets would solve a lot of issues in this scenario.

 

[cucvrus]

As the truck appears in the picture it is legal and yes they are M16 super swapper 40" tires on 20" wheels. Now that them wheels and tires went bye bye. He has 16.5 steel wheels with 42" super swamper TSL's and they are not legal and the bumper is out of height. To remedy the problem we want to get rid of as much of the 6" ORD lift as possible to get it down and to utilize these HMMWV tire and wheels that I have. I have them they are here and paid for and would male nice tires and wheels for the truck. So I appreciate your help.( I don't need any off topic rude comments from other people. So please if you don't have anything good and useful to say don't post. This is like a big bully club. ) We do know that the tubing up front is a no no. We are in the process of eliminating that poor front spring modification. That was a friend trying to help out and was trusted that he knew what he was doing. Obviously NOT. So with that aside. The steering has the dreaded 6" block and studs on the knuckle. We know that is no good either. I saw a truck in the CUCV pictures that was hauling firewood with an exhaust stack on the left side. That is the look we are trying to achieve. Any help with that would be appreciated. If not thank you anyway. I am not your child so don't treat me as such.

 

[porkysplace]

As the truck appears in the picture it is legal and yes they are M16 super swapper 40" tires on 20" wheels. Now that them wheels and tires went bye bye. He has 16.5 steel wheels with 42" super swamper TSL's and they are not legal and the bumper is out of height. To remedy the problem we want to get rid of as much of the 6" ORD lift as possible to get it down and to utilize these HMMWV tire and wheels that I have. I have them they are here and paid for and would male nice tires and wheels for the truck. So I appreciate your help.( I don't need any off topic rude comments from other people. So please if you don't have anything good and useful to say don't post. This is like a big bully club. ) We do know that the tubing up front is a no no. We are in the process of eliminating that poor front spring modification. That was a friend trying to help out and was trusted that he knew what he was doing. Obviously NOT. So with that aside. The steering has the dreaded 6" block and studs on the knuckle. We know that is no good either. I saw a truck in the CUCV pictures that was hauling firewood with an exhaust stack on the left side. That is the look we are trying to achieve. Any help with that would be appreciated. If not thank you anyway. I am not your child so don't treat me as such.

If you don't want peoples opinions the internet isn't the place to ask questions.

 

[doghead]

The steering has the dreaded 6" block and studs on the knuckle.

I've never seen a 6" spacer. Could you post a picture of that?

 

[cucvrus]

OK you could have me there. The truck is not at my disposal at this moment. I was going off what I was told on the phone by the inspection mechanic. I will double check and report back with a full photo. I do recall it was a huge block of steel and he commented on it stressing the studs. I will not be able to look for a couple of days. I will get back to you. Even with that being unproven. What is the first step to get underway?

 

[xenocath]

I run the Humvee take off 37s on my truck I have a four inch lift and cut fenders. I have a four inch block on the driver side steering knuckle with studs and have run like this for about four years. i broke the studs once and replaced them as well as the king pin bushings and springs. its not optimal nor is it unsafe its my daily driver and other than the one set of broken studs no other issues with the lift or suspension.

 

[richingalveston]

4 inch is the minimum for the 37 inch tires without massive fender cutting. Repair and keep the 6 inch lift put the 37's on it and then check the measurements. 6 inch lift would be the correct lift for 37's doing serious off-roading. You would not have any rub.

The cross over steer is a must, It is safer and allows full turning in any off camber situation. I doubt anyone inspecting would ever know the difference and if they knew their stuff they would approve because it is better than stock.

If spacers are not legal in your area then re-centering the wheels is probably not legal either. Once you alter the rim, the DOT stamp is no longer valid. go the DRW route.

cross over will cost about $1000, not sure about DRW hubs and fixing your 6 inch lift. But I think this course of action is your cheapest way out. I would not spend the money on a lift that is two inches less, put that money into the cross over steering and have a safer truck to drive.

As far as a drop bumper If you end up needing it, put a two inch receiver on the front and build a drop bumper that plugs into the hitch with additional headlights mounted on it. It can be removed for off-road use. And when off road you have a place to plug in the winch you can buy with all the money you saved.

I had 5 inch lift with re-centered hummers and my tires rubbed. The hummer tires are wide. I did a pretty large fender alteration on the front. I now run 39 inch tires that are only 11 wide and have no rubbing.

 

[richingalveston]

here is what my 09 looks like with 5 inch lift on 39's using 8 inch wide rims with 4 inch back spacing. I have zero rates where the front axle is in stock location, the back axle has been moved back 1 inch.
The back fender is stock, the front is modified