Wheel Spacers????

[Jb1rd]

After taking the side skirts off my B190 I noticed last night that the rear wheels seem to sit in closer to the van, does anyone have a recommended wheel spacer to use? Even the studs on the back wheel are considerably longer than the fronts, I have not seen anything like it before. Is this common?

 

[Jb1rd]

Front wheels are 62.5" inside to inside and the rear wheels are 59" inside to inside



Sent by magic, I mean come on really, pictures through thin air, MAGIC!!!

 

[ujoint]

All of these vans have a narrower trac width in the rear. If you're going to go 4wd then wait until then for spacers so you don't have to buy them twice.

Bonus on that full float D60!

 

[Jb1rd]

All of these vans have a narrower trac width in the rear. If you're going to go 4wd then wait until then for spacers so you don't have to buy them twice.

Bonus on that full float D60!

How do I know if its a full float?

 

[Skooter_Built]

How do I know if its a full float?

Look at the rear axle, see how their are 8 bolts at the end. Those 8 bolts hold the axle shafts into the axle hub. Full float axles have spindles and support the hub on 2 sides with bearings. Much stronger design then a semi float axle which only has 1 bearing to support the axle shafts at the axle. The bonus with full float is if you were ever to break a shafts you can remove it and still drive, a semi float you cannot as the wheel mount surface is attached to the shaft.

 

[Jb1rd]

Got it, thank you, learning new stuff all the time. Love this forum!!

 

[sourdough]

My Explorer camper van was like that, no big deal. You can get wider positive offset steel wheels for the back. FYI, If yours has rear drum brakes. Check that the brake shoes are full width of the drum. Many had narrow shoes and less stopping power. Just replace with the wider shoes that are available.

 

[Jb1rd]

That does not solve the problem of the rear axle being narrower and would make rotating the tires an issue. But I am going to wait and see what wheels I end up with before I get the spacers.

 

[sourdough]

Why is narrower a problem?

 

[Jb1rd]

I'm not sure narrow is a problem but my line of thinking is that wider is more stable and with a top heavy RV every little bit helps.

 

[sourdough]

If that's a factory installed axle. I'd be more concerned that the complete suspension system is in good shape including all the mounting hardware. My self-contained class B Dodge Explorer was loaded even had hydrulic levelers and was crazy heavy. I ran same wheels and tires all around. Sway wasn't an issue. Braking was a big problem. It was over loaded with options. As far as different size wheels and tires. A lot of vehicles don't swap tires front to rear. Duallie trucks are a good example. Performance is the goal. Anyway, just saying. Cheers

 

[BajaSportsmobile]

The factory uses different track widths, front and rear, for better tracking and handling. You don't want the front tire riding in the same grooves as the rear. They went wider in the front for more stability. I would leave it as is and avoid wheel spacers where possible.

 

[r_w]

Rear spacers were the single best thing I did to improve driving on potholed roads, better than good shocks.

If you are staying 2wd, order from Fred at wheeladapters.com He turns his from billet steel and makes them both lug and hub centric. I would NOT trust the aluminum ones with that much weight.

If you are going to wait a couple years to convert to 4wd, I would probably get them and then resell them here--you will get most of your money back.

 

[BajaSportsmobile]

Rear spacers were the single best thing I did to improve driving on potholed roads, better than good shocks.

I'm curious as to what you think the reason for that is - wider being better on "potholed roads". I could see some benefit to stability with a wider track width... any way just interested in why.

 

[r_w]

I don't think it is wider so much as it is a closer match to the front. If you steer to miss with the front, you miss with the rear. If you steer to hit square with the front, you hit square with the rear.

I think a lot of the instability used to come from the back hitting the holes different than the front and rolling the tires a little to nudge the back end sideways. But that is speculation on my part.

The back definitely used to try to ride up the ruts on dirt roads or worn blacktop and that just doesn't happen anymore.