To Lift or Not to Lift... That is the Question

[goldenroads]

So my TV is a 2015 Sierra 3500 Diesel Dually. This winter I used the stock rims for winter tires and am now ready to change them back to the summer ones -but instead of moving tires, I was just going to pop for new wheels. Which made me think, time to get some upgrades.... This slippery slope now has me contemplating moving from 285/80 R17's to 3xx/50R24's with the applicable load capacity rating to handle my heavy 5th wheel (2750 pounds payload in the box, 16,500 Gross Weight.)

What I am looking at ending up with is something like this picture below. But to do that, I'm looking at a 2-3" lift kit as well. Is this going to be a big concern overall? I'm fairly new to towing, but put on over 3000 miles last summer in July, and another 1500 miles before winterizing and parking. I am looking at another 4-5000 mile trek this summer and don't want to kill performance or massively affect fuel economy, but overall, I want to have fun, I want to love the look and feel of my truck whether the trailer is attached or not.... Is this insane? Or will it be no big deal?

The Duramax has gobs of power, I'm not too worried about that aspect of it.

[ArcticFire]

Off the top .... i'd say no. Lifting your truck will reduce the space between the sides / tail gate and the front of your toy hauler.

[Jhowemca]

Dude that truck is lifted like 8"!
Your truck looks better imo

[goldenroads]

That pic is of the wheels I was looking at - and to go up to 24" rims I need to lift about 2-3" to avoid rubbing.... So I wouldn't do exactly what is in the pic, just "enough" -unless that's going to be an issue. A couple friends have said it would be fine, but they don't tow what I tow. My mechanic said it would likely be ok if I kept it small, and he does to a big trailer, but it is a bumper pull, so that's different......

[canadiankid]

Personally I prefer the look of a smaller wheel with more rubber, that's not the question here tho and I have no experience to answer what you are actually asking so I will shut up now!

[Jhowemca]

2"-3" shouldn't be a big deal

[goldenroads]

Originally Posted by canadiankid

Personally I prefer the look of a smaller wheel with more rubber, that's not the question here tho and I have no experience to answer what you are actually asking so I will shut up now!

Love it - thanks for your honesty.

I don't dislike the look of my stock Denali. Not at all. Just the fact I need to get a second set of wheels - it opens up options and for me, that's when things tend to start to snowball.... Hence. Here we are.

[TexasA&M]

Any kind of lift and upgrade in tire size (especially if you go with an aggressive tread) is going to kill your fuel economy. That said, I put a leveling kit on mine and raised the rear 2" as well and couldn't be happier. No adverse effects while towing (some people will say that you'll kill a bus load of nuns and children by towing with a lifted vehicle, but that's just not the case).

[rabalin]

The tire side wall is what gives it, it's strength. Don't think any 24" tires will meet your demand.

[Sledgehammer]

Thats a nice looking dually in the picture, but I'd forget a lift of any kind unless your prepared to lift the 5th wheel too. Just my opinion.

Travel trailer, lift away!

[314BHDS]

Personally I love lifted truck,my previous was a f-250 with 8" lift and 40"tires,it was fun but I would never had towed my trailer with it.That being said I have a Chevy 2500 with the Duramax, they do sit to low in the front to begin with,mostly to try to make it ride better and keep fuel mileage and wind resistance low I would guess.But I did a set of aftermarket torsion keys and leveled the truck out and was able to fit 33" tires with no issues.The price of lift kits for Chevys is ridiculous,especially with torsion bar front end. My opinion go with a leveling kit and get some 22.5 rims and truck tires and you'll be happy.if I had a dually I would definitely go that route.By whatever you decide is up to you,just make sure if you do high lift your trailer clears the rails or you will be lifting that also,Good luck!

[need-a-vacation]

Originally Posted by Sledgehammer

Thats a nice looking dually in the picture, but I'd forget a lift of any kind unless your prepared to lift the 5th wheel too. Just my opinion.

Travel trailer, lift away!

My buddy has an '11 (I think it is) Puma 5ver, and to just level it out on his '13 Ram 2500 MegaCab 4x4, he had to lift his 5ver 6", for a stock suspension truck with only slightly larger tires, no leveling kit of any kind.

Other issue is fitting the same size spare up under the truck so if a flat happens, all tires are the same size with the spare mounted.

[goldenroads]

Decided that I was going to upgrade the wheel and tire package. Instead of the full Lift Kit, I did a 3" Level Kit and moved from 17" 80 series to 20" 55 Series tires. Actually a higher load rating than the OEM tires, but quite a bit wider.

No real change in the ride height in the back, 3" was needed up front so I could still turn lock to lock, and let's face it, fuel economy while towing isn't going to change from the height of the truck when the trailer is 13.5' tall....

Love it so far!

[need-a-vacation]

Looks good!

[goldenroads]

Originally Posted by 314BHDS

Personally I love lifted truck,my previous was a f-250 with 8" lift and 40"tires,it was fun but I would never had towed my trailer with it.That being said I have a Chevy 2500 with the Duramax, they do sit to low in the front to begin with,mostly to try to make it ride better and keep fuel mileage and wind resistance low I would guess.But I did a set of aftermarket torsion keys and leveled the truck out and was able to fit 33" tires with no issues.The price of lift kits for Chevys is ridiculous,especially with torsion bar front end. My opinion go with a leveling kit and get some 22.5 rims and truck tires and you'll be happy.if I had a dually I would definitely go that route.By whatever you decide is up to you,just make sure if you do high lift your trailer clears the rails or you will be lifting that also,Good luck!

I did the level kit and 20" 55-series tires. Very happy with the outcome! I looked at the 22" wheels - couldn't justify that bump in cost....

These stick out about 3" past the fender flares, so I probably still have some adds to do.