So are you running tubes in those tires? I checked and the only replacement wheels I can get that are 20s require tubes. I just wonder if that is an issue or not? Yes it did have a dump bed, it used to be a grain truck. Pretty much everything is still there except the bed.

Matthew

 

Yes I am running tubes in my tires. The wheels are actually from an early fifties Dodge truck. They measure 20".

 

I do not know if either of you guys are interested, but I'll post my experience with a trailer that also had 20" tires.

In the big trucks of the "old" days the rim sizes of the split rims were round numbers like 17" & 20". The split rims required tubes and skilled labor for tire-changes. I have mounted a whole set of 16" split rims on my F-350 myself, but I will freely admit that it is not a lot of fun and I have now acquired a full set of drop-center, tubeless type rims.

In the big truck sizes, the 19.5" & 22.5" are examples of rim sizes for tubeless tires that were designed to directly (more or less) replace the sizes mentioned above. (If these statements are not the whole story, feel free to add info - what I know is from my experience trying to decide what to do with my trailer that had 20-inch split rim wheels.)

If you have 20" split-rims, there is an economical path to going tubeless. It turns out that the drop-center dimension of the 22.5" rims is almost exactly the same as the inside diameter of the 20" split-rim. This may have been done intentionally to make it easier for the wheel manufacturers, or not, but it means that you can take the centers out of 20" wheels and weld then into 22.5" rims.

YES, it is a fair amount of work to drill out the rivets and then it takes a serious hydraulic press to push the centers out of the rims, but that is how they are made. I have taken the centers out of four of these old rims. I could have picked up some old 22.5" wheels, but I had done enough of that, so I bought (about 5 years ago) a pair of brand new 22.5" rims from Western Wheel (in CA) for $75 each. I was going to true the centers up in a large lathe fo fit the rims, but they were so close and were at the offset I wanted, so I just welded them in place. (Getting them true was a matter of placing the rims on a level floor, checked with a good level, and then leveling the centers both ways with the same level. Tack weld & double check level, the weld a continuous bead all around. This ends up with a lot more weld than factory-welded rims. One rim runs perfect by eye, and the other is only barely running out of true - truer than the tires are.)

Some may wonder, why not just buy a whole new wheel, but I never found a source for a reasonably-priced wheel with the old Budd 5-bolt pattern. This approach gives you a modern rim width and you can get inexpensive new and used tires all over the place. (Inexpensive is a relative term when you get to tires this big.)

 

That is definatly good to know. I discovered an old motorhome in westlake which is about 15 min. from my home that has a motor home with 19.5 in the bolt pattern I need. as soon as I catch someone home I will see what there plane is for the motor home.

 

Those 19.5" tubeless tires will be the equivalent of 17" tube-type, so you would probably have a little lower vehicle. (This could be a good thing.) I have not looked at the tire dimension tables, but I would think that the largest diameter 19.5's should be close to the 20's you already have. Another thing to remember is that the 19.5's are not nearly as common as 22.5's. Keep us posted on your progress.

 

Thanks for the info. I have my brother in law searching for new wheels for me, and he mentioned that he saw 19.5s and 22.5s but just had to narrow it down to the bolt pattern we need.

 

Love the logo on the doors..yours? if not cool anyway..don't envy the bodywork on that front fender, but I had my fake nails ripped off to do bodywork on my son,so we suffer for our love of old american metal..good pix..send more.

 

Thank you. The logo is from the Texas Trophy Hunters club. I just added my own lettering to pay my respects to two influential people in my life. Yeah the body work is something I'm not looking forward to doing. What is your "sons" name.