I have the old style 16in split wheels on my tow truck and its time to put some new treads on her. Now I can find tubes everywhere but I cant seem to find the flaps. My question is do you really need them? Can I just put the tube straight on the rim thers nothing sharp on the wheel That I can see pooping a hole in them. Thanks

 

I would not run the tires without flaps. The flaps protect the tubes from erosion, heat, and keep the valve stem in place if the air pressure gets low. It's no fun to top off a low tire only to find the valve stem has disappeared into the rim.

Try this place...

http://www.otr-offroadtire.com/tireflaps-main.html