Need to lower bronco to get into enclosed trailer

[ncdan]

I know there is ton of information on lifting these rigs but I need to lower mine about 2" temporarily.

I've pulled the shocks out and let the air out of the tires and I'm still about 2" too tall to get it into the trailer.

I might be able to get another half inch out of the tires and maybe stay on the bead.

I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions.

The only 2 things I can think of are removing the springs and or trying to compress the springs with a ratcheting strap of some sort. The truck will be like this for about 30 hours while I tow it cross country so this isn't some funky permanent setup I'm trying to do.

Any thoughts out there?

Thanks,
Dan

[Apache0715]

What size tires do you have on now? can you get a set of smaller tires?

[ncdan]

I have brand new 33's I think a second set of tires is a budget breaker for me but I can't say it's a bad idea. I do a spare set of steelies in the garage that I might be able to get some used tires on. Heck if I thought it would make it up the trailer on the steel rims I'd roll it up on those!

[Ewgoetz]

Try getting it up and in with the steel rims. Ratcheting the suspension would probably work also, I'd get some good ones though that are a min of 2 inch wide straps.

[ncdan]

It's looking like the ratcheting might be the fastest cheapest first attempt at this.
I'm thinking I might want to place a jack under the diff and slowly jack while ratcheting to help relieve the pressure from the ratchet to get maximum compression.

[Steve83]

Go to the JY & buy 4 of the cheapest rims you can find that will fit, and roll it in on bare steel. Maybe throw down some plywood strips to protect the trailer floor if necessary. But you'll have to strap the truck in-place so it doesn't slide inside the trailer. If you can find rims with tiny tires, even better. They don't have to be driveable tires.

Why are you using an enclosed trailer?

[Andrew James]

I was just about to say that Steve. So two votes there.

[ncdan]

I have a set of 15' steel wheels in the garage that are at the right price for sure. This may sound nuts but do you think they will have enough grip to get up a plywood ramp? I guess I always have the 4wd option.

[Andrew James]

Spray them with some rubber undercoating lol.

[Weber]

I'm on board with puting the steelies or some rollers on, with my luck a strap would break and my rig would be wedged in the trailer...

[JBfab]

Hit up some full sized cars and grab doughnut tires.

[351w500]

doughnut tires that will fit the big 5 lug pattern ? One more vote for wheels only here .

[JBfab]

Originally Posted by 351w500

doughnut tires that will fit the big 5 lug pattern ? One more vote for wheels only here .

Didnt some of the older lincons and merks have the big bolt pattern. Hell if they dont drill them for it. Its only to load and unload.

[gadawgz71]

Ratchet straps is all you have to do. 45 mins of your time and your done. I've had to do it to get one into a garage once but it did have a solid axle which was helpful. I'm sure it can still be done.

[fsbgav]

If you're aiming to hit up a junkyard to get a set of cheap wheels & tyres I did a bit of google searching a while ago and found a list of cars that have the same lug pattern as the Bronco. It's a bit European centric list but may help if you go the route of looking for a reaaly small set of wheels to fit.

It's not my list, so I cannot guarantee it's error free.

Lada
Niva (2121, Hussar, etc) – fitted with 16” x 5” wide, (ET55/57mm, ie a High offset)
Wheels: disk stamped, rim size 127J-406 (SJ-16). Tyres: radial-ply 175/80R16 with 315 mm static radius or cross-ply 6.95-16 (175-406) with 322 mm static radius.
Cossack (aka Turist, Toro, etc) OEM rims - 15” by 5.5 or 6, (H offset), different brands (ROH, BWA, etc) vary slightly in different markets.

Suzuki
LJ 80, SJ 410, SJ413, Jimny, Samurai, Escudo, Sierra, Caribbean, X-90, Vitaras & some Grand Vitaras – mostly 15 x 6 (L/M offset, -10...15mm)
Sidekick (USDM) ’96 - ’97, 16 x 7 (M offset)
Vitaras & some Grand Vitaras (USDM) ’98 -, 16 x 7 (L offset)

Maruti / Maruti Udyog
Gypsy mostly 15 x 6 (L/M offset, -10...15mm) (Indian licence built Suzuki SJ)
Kia
Sportage '93/’94 on, 15 x 7 (L/M offset, 0...-3mm) (later Sportages have 6 studs)
Rocsta
Sorentos '94 on, probably 16 x 7s, (L, 0-3mm)

Daihatsu
Taft/Scat: F10, F20, F25, F50, F55, F60, F65
F70/Fourtrack/Rugger/Rocky/Wildcat/Feroza – probably 15’s (offset 0...-3mm)
Dodge 2
Ram 1500 4WD
Ramcharger ’79-’83, 15 x 6.5 (all L offset)
Ram Charger ’88 – ‘93
Ram ½ ton truck (2wd and 4 x4) ’94 on, 16 x 7
Ram van ’85-’96, 15 x 7
½ ton truck 4x4 ’79 – ’83, 15 x 6
½ and ¾ ton truck ’84 – ’93, 15 x 7

Holden
Drover (Australian rebadged Sukuki SJ) (L/M offset, -10...15mm)

HopeStar
ON360 (progenitor of the Suzuki LJ)

Jeep
All CJ Jeeps ‘46 – ‘85 have 5x139.7 15” with either 4.5/5/6” rims (L offset)
Also Jeep full size trucks and wagons up to 1972; & C-101 Jeepster Comanando '67 to '74 (don’t mistake them for the 5x114 fitted to Cherokee/Wrangler and modern 5 stud Jeeps)

Jeeps (licence built):
Mahindra (Jeep, India), Mitsubishi (Jeep’53 – ’98, Japan), Willys Colombia (Jeep –’99), Willys Overland do Brasil/Ford (Jeep ’54 – ’83, Brazil), Kaiser Argentina (IKA) (Jeep ’56 – ’78, Argentina), Türk Willys Overland (Jeep – ‘80s) Hotchkiss (Jeep ’54 – ‘70s, France), Nekaf (Jeep ’56 – ’62, Netherlands), EBRO (Jeep ’53 - ’85, Spain), Hadonghwan ('54-??, South Korea), Pars Khodro (Iran). All unconfirmed - certainly 5 stud, and very very unlikely to be anything else.

Ford M151 “Mutt” Jeeps ’59 – ’78 (unconfirmed - certainly 5 stud and likey to be based on the Jeep PCD; also they have a pretty H looking offset). Early MUTTs had cast mags (oval slots).

International Harvester
All Scouts have 5x139.7

Ford
All USDM Fords '28-'48 (?)
Mercury - all '39-'51
Post-WWII “Jailbar” pick-ups
F series trucks ’54 – ’95, 15 x 6 (L offset) (don’t mistake them for the 5x135s the ’96- F 150s had)
Lincoln - all '52-'60
Bronco ’66 – '96, 15 x 6 and 7, (L offset) (don’t mistake them for the 5x114 the Bronco II (’82 – ‘90) had)
½ ton E-100, 150 van, ’70 – ’96, 15 x 6, (L offset)
Econoline E150, ’88 – ‘94
ie you could fit the legendary Ford 9 inch diff - and keep stock rims!

Chevrolet / GMC
Tracker, Vitara (USDM) ’98 on, 15 x 6, 12mm X 1.25 (L/M offset, -10...15mm) (US rebadged Suzuki)
Niva 2 (re-badged Lada)

Pontiac
Sunrunner (Canadian rebaded Suzuki) (L/M offset, -10...15mm)

Chrysler
8 cyl. & wagon '46-'55
Imperial '54-'66

Geo
Tracker 2WD 1989-1998

Toyota
Blizzard (re-badged Daihatsu)
Landcrusier V8s are listed as 5x1.39.7s in Russia, but I suspect an error (ie actually 5x150 as the ‘Cruiser is listed in other markets, but who knows maybe their V8 'Cruisers have Daihatsu bits for some bizzare reason).

Delta Motor Corp (Phillippines)
Mini Cruiser (Daihatsu F20 based miniture version of the Toyota FJ40), (unconfirmed - certainly 5 stud, and unlikely to be anything else)

Morris
Commercial LC3 – LC5 (‘50s) (unconfirmed, looks right but need numbers?)

Mazda
Proceed (Japanese rebadged Suzuki) (don't confuse with non-Suzuki based Proceeds)
AZ-Offroad (Japanese rebadged Jimny) (L/M offset, -10...15mm)

Mahindra
Scorpio (unconfirmed - 5 stud, and they make Jeeps so maybe...)

Tata
Safari (unconfirmed - 5 stud, but they made Mercs so maybe not)

UAZ
various (ET 20, 106.0 mm, 6x15, 6x16)

LuAZ
various amphibian & utility models (unconfirmed, but they look right and were once owned by AvtoVaz), Offset High

GAZ
GAZ-69

Rolls Royce/Bentley
Silver Cloud/Phantom – the ultimate 18” ‘bling’ rims for a Niva if you can ever find a set.

Bertone Freeclimber
Daihatsu based Italian 4x4 (powered by BMW!)

Volvo
C202 & Valp L3314 models (not the C30 models which have an 8 bolt pattern) had 6.50-16" or 5.50-16" rims

Santana
Vitara and 300/350 (Spanish rebadged Suzukis) (L/M offset, -10...15mm)

Willys
Pick-ups



Offset Guide:
H = high or positive offset, typically +45, 40, 35mm (typically front wheel-drive)
M = typically + 20mm offset
L = low, typically 0 or negative offset

Hope the list helps....

[Steve83]

That list is blatantly wrong about all F-series having 15s, and about them changing in '96; F150s didn't change until '97. And they weren't all 15x6 - those were rarely used after ~'86; they were also 15x8 for 31s and 15x7 for metric until ~'91; and 15x7.5 for metric from ~92-96.

[GetBent4x4]

Prob says 96 for the f-series because the 97 body style came out early like April of 96 it was hitting dealerships.

[Steve83]

That's a stretch. What about the '95 F450 or the '82 F250? It's an ERROR.

[fsbgav]

Like I said, it's not my list so I can't guarantee accuracy.

I just posted to try and help the OP.

[f150inline]

steel wheels and spray the lips with bedliner to make them grip