If the lift is done right then it will be a great open trail truck; mainly desert. Climbing over rocks, through washes and gullies; that's what 38" tires on a full size truck are for. If that will be the primary use of this truck, go for it. Otherwise a stock setup is much more desirable for towing and mileage.
68 Me & DW
93 DD
03 DD
06 F150 Screw 6.5' Bed, 4x4, 5.4, 3.73
04 Tahoe 23RB-GL Honda EU2000 Parallel Cables "I hope you like Guinness, Sir. I find it a refreshing substitute for...food." Col. Jack O'Neill, Stargate SG-1.
If your trailer is under 12,000 and the truck is a diesel you'll be ok.
I tow a 40' 5er (17,500) with 6" lift and 35's with 4.11's. Get the same 9-11 mpg I got when I towed stock with a 9,000 trailer and 3.73 axles. I travel all over socal, 60mph, and have no problems and hold OD 95% of the time.
I have friends that tow with stock 3.73 and 37's with 12,000pd TH (tow behind)and they get 9-11 mpg.
38's are big, I would regear to 4.88's to help out otherwise OD maybe useless on the hiway and your mileage will be lower then mine by a few gallons.
Also with your tires foot print in the sand you will go many places stock tire trucks will not. I drive all over Glamis in 2wd, tires aired to 8-10pds.
I went from stock 245/75/17's to 285/70/17's. My truck has a 3.73 rear end. But the Dodge 6 speed manual is very low geared even in 6th. This tire switch improved my mpg by almost 2. The extra weight is pretty much a non factor. A hundred pounds here or there has almost zero effect on mileage. Do you get worse gas mileage when your wife is in the truck with you? Not enough to tell.
Right after the switch I drove past one of those radar gun trailers on the highway. With my old tires at 55 on my speedo, the radar gun showed 53. With the new tires it shows 58 when my speedo says 55. So running the same rpm I'm traveling almost 10 percent faster. That means better mileage. I had plenty of power to spare since my whole rig weighs less than 14k.
I'm guessing though that with the extra big tires on your rig it your performance may not be the same as mine.
No question you need a gear swap. When I bought my truck it still had the 4.10's and I felt like I had no control when towing my trailer. That is when I changed to 5.13's which put me right where I wanted to be and will even work if I decide to go down a little in tire size.
I figured the truck is used mainly for towing so I don't need to go 85mph. If I stick around 60mph I am turning just about 2000 rpms. That is my trailer towing speed.
Mileage on the highway unloaded is a surprising 15mpg. Towing is about 9 mpg.
2000 F350 DRW 4wd CC 7.3l PSD
37" Tires w/ 5.13's
Suncoast 4R100
2007 Host Yellowstone Democracy is 2 foxes and a sheep deciding on what to have for lunch, liberty is a well armed sheep contesting the vote.
Are you looking for a TV or a toy? As many said any major lift pretty much kills the practicality of a truck as a TV. 11" is a huge lift. Just look at the drop you will need just to tow your trailer tongue level.
I had 38" swampers on the crew cab and had to downshift to third on a couple of small hills near our place in Northern Alberta, switched to the 33"s that are on there now, and made it up and over the hills without downshifting. The people above that suggested regearing to the high 4s or low 5s are right indeed. I have a set of 36s sitting in the garage and I'm going to give those a try and see how it works out.
TV: 1978 F250 4x4 Crew Cab, 400CI, 4 speed & 4:10s (the diesel collective is coming for me....resistance is futile...I too will be assimilated)
TT: 2005 Jayco 29BHS
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