Will 15in wheels fit the rear of a 3rd gen?

I know the disc brakes on the front of a 3rd gen are too big for 15in wheels but will they fit the drum brakes in the rear?

I am contemplating some sand tires for the rear and 15in wheels would really open up my options.

 

2wd truck?

 

4wd, not sure of that matters on the rear though. Plan is same overall diameter but wide sand tires in the rear for flotation, maybe scoops.

 

I think Clearwater was getting around to how you were going to match different tire sizes with two different rim sizes. May be possible with careful selection.

 

Was thinking about mismatched diameters front and rear. Not the wheels particularly, but total diameter.

Need a bit taller in rear to match up to whatever is in front, right?

Tire calculator will help

 

Yes plan would be to match overall diameter as close as possible but I would also only be running them on soft sand so doubt a slight discrepency would be a huge deal.

 

Sounds like it is going to be an off-road trailer queen?

 

Assuming you are using 4wd you don't want gear ratio differences. Which tire dia affects..

 

The rears should. There is a 3rd Gen with 15” all the way round, he posted it on a FB Tacoma group (I can’t remember which one) with his dad’s or FIL 3rd Gen. And both are super clean looking.
On the front a 15” can’t clear the brakes unless using a wheel with little back spacing and maybe spacers.

 

Overall not at all. Its my does everything Tacoma but might have a job in baja where being able to get anywhere on the sand would be helpful enough to justify a seperate set of rear tires and wheels for the sand.

 

When I take my step in the other direction, to 17" rims, I too will set up a set of tires for street use and another for off-road use.

 

Looking at my truck today I realize that there are several inches of clearance between the 16in wheel and the drums so 15in wheels on the back should be no problem. Kind of toying with the idea of wide tires in back anyway for offroad use. Kind of dualy like and would give more floatation and traction..... just need to match overall diameter. Wonder if I could find some skinny 33s with the same diameter to use as spares.....

 

In the sand, a slightly taller front tire on a 4wd would probably be beneficial for steering. It's obviously only a quad, buy my wife's 4wd quad with knobby 26s on the front and 25.5 paddles on the rear work great. The extra pull from the front end makes it steer great. I would highly recommend shifting into 2wd though, as soon as you're off the sand.