if i could find a heavier tire, i would probably go ahead and buy it. but the tires and rims are both rated for like 3045#, you can't seem to find a tire heavier than load range E on 16s. so the only option i can find on 16s is to go with a wider tire, which is only rated a few hundred pounds heavier and generally won't grab as well when wet.

maybe i need to find a set of 19.5 wheels and some heavier tires to go with them, maybe a load range F or G or whatever.
but really, my rear axle only carries right around 5000# on average, which puts me a full 1000# below my tire ratings for that axle, or 500 per tire.

i don't get it, aren't tires rated to carry their rated weight at their rated pressure at their rated speed, for their rated life - i stay below their weight and speed ratings, but get nowhere near their rated life.

 

Good luck finding some 19.5s with 8x6.5 pattern, even if you do I don't think it's worth it. IMO some 17" wheels would be a good investment. It's a more popular size with heavier duty tires available. On 16s I think you'd have a hard time finding a tire rated any higher then 3200 but 17's with a little more width I think you could find one in the 3600-4000 range that you can fit. Just need more rubber, I think the wear life, safety, and long term tire availability is worth some cheap steel wheels.

I know I keep bringing them up but I also think dynabeads or something like it would do you a lot of good.

 

Aren't the dynabeads pretty expensive? I also don't know how well they would help his wear issue. They might help the shaking but if it's a steering component or something, using dynabeads would be like a temp fix.

 

A dynamic balancing medium like dynabeads guarantee that the tire is always in balance. This does A LOT to make sure they wear perfectly evenly and heat perfectly evenly. Getting both more life and more reliability. Yes the beads themselves are kinda expensive it would probably take $80 to set him up but I've had them in my tires over 4 years and they're still in perfect shape(checked about a year ago when I had to patch a flat) and thus reusable and the tires are wearing fantastic. You've seen my tires, those have about 4.5 years of daily driver, hauling, wheeling, etc. on them, do they look that worn out? I wish I had kept track of mileage but between having them on 3 different trucks all with odometers that aren't even close combined with my lazy disorganized nature that's hard to do.

People also use a lot of other things, BBs, airsoft pellets, ball bearings. The beads are just the best but there are other options. But if $80 now adds to the life of every set of $800(minimum) tires after buying them, do they really cost or save in the long run.

FWIW I think they help steering components, shocks, bearings, etc. to, they work like mass dampers making there jobs easier. I had a slight death wobble in one of my trucks that went away after adding the beads.

 

boo yaaaah

 

well boys, another day in paradise, another broken truck part.

this time its my primary alternator. i pulled up to a stoplight somewhere today and found the alternator light flashing really fast, ok sure whatever. i had places to go, so i kept going. so i ran a quick test and found low voltage, checked the wires and they're all still in place, so i think its safe to assume the alternator itself quit.
its just weird that the light flashes like that, probably 4 or 5 flashes per second. and as i speed up, it fades away, never lights at highway speeds but still doesn't charge.

but i guess i'm buying an alternator tomorrow cause this light is driving me nuts.

so just for fun, what do y'all think i would do if i wanted to drive all night with a bad alternator

 

Swap the wires from your secondary alt and your primary alt so you still have power to run your lights, gauges, etc. Its not like these diesels take a lot of electricity to keep going.

 

jameson, i would have thought about that if i hadn't prepared for this problem long ago. i just flipped a switch on the dashboard, and that connected the two battery systems and charging systems to each other through a 100 amp relay. flip a switch and drive on.

 

Genius!

 

thanks, i try to be

but that red light is bothering me enough that i'll have to fix it tomorrow anyway

 

I'm no expert but that flashing light could simply mean that the diodes went out. That's a pretty cheap fix compared to replacing the alt.

 

I brought the hammer down and got me a bug. It's a 1971 super beetle, it's in pretty rough shape but a workin progress.If I get it running and driving safely then I can save a lot of gas in the bronco and I'll be able to work on it.

 

cool dylan, we have to see some pics of it

 

Afternoon WASHINGTON!!!!!

-The Great

 

Afternoon to you too Clint.

I got pictures of the future TGM Jr.









I got more but it's tedious uploading the links from my phone.