Changing Tire Size

[The_Handier_Man1]

From: wendell  (Original Message)
Sent: 1/6/2005 2:47 PM

I'm going to have to buy some new tires.  I  have a '74 23 ft. Indian with the 8 x 17.5" tires.  I'm considering changing wheels and tire sizes as these tires are so hard to find.  I'd hate to break down somewhere and have to rely on a spare for a long distance because the local dealer wherever I am can't get a new tire for a couple of weeks.   I'm sure others have done this and I'd be interested in your experiences.   



From: calbrave
Sent: 1/6/2005 5:13 PM

I had planned to do that too, and got talked out of it. Besides changing either the power or the speed, the size of the tire will affect traction and handling. The guy selling me the tires said it may be worth it to change for a performance reason, but just to change because of availabiltiy wasn't a good idea, especially given the cost of new wheels.



From: denison
Sent: 1/6/2005 6:13 PM

Would it be possible for you to carry one or two extra tires, not mounted, roped up below the frame and behind your rear axle? Before I got my extra rim, I carried one spare, as well as a tire of the same size. Both of them were held up against the frame. The original exhaust pipe would have interferred, except it was rusted and gone. I made up my own tailpipe, going out the side just behind the curbside rear wheels - and leaving room for the spares.
If you store an unmounted spare tubeless tire, you must cover it well enough to keep the sunlight OUT of the interior of it - or it is likely to leak air.
Alternately, could you have an extra tire or two stored at home, and packed ready for shipping to wherever you need it? 



From: HeavyHaulTrucker
Sent: 1/6/2005 7:48 PM

I want to clear up a common mis-conception in this group, that the 17.5" tires are uncommon and hard to find.  It all depends on where you look -- and I notice that most people who do not have exposure to the trucking industry look for these size tires at such places as Big O Tire, NTB, etc. which deal in automotive and light truck tires for the most part.

Check out Toyo tire dealers, Bridgestone truck tire dealers, Yokohama tire dealers, and those small local tire dealers where the big trucks get their tires.  The 17.5" size is commonly used on "step deck" type trailers and moving vans, and most of these dealers carry many of them in stock.  If any of you live in the Sioux City, Iowa area, check with Larry Barkley at Fremont Tire -- they have some very attractive deals on the 17.5" tires.

John



From: Enigma960080
Sent: 1/6/2005 8:41 PM

When I  put new  tires on  the 80 Chieftain,  I kept all the  take-offs  for that very reason.   Everyone I called  had to  order  1-2 weeks... I  bought an extra wheel (two actually- I didn't have a spare when I bought it)  and ran two spare tires  slung off the  rear tire carrier. I  bolted one tire to the  carrier  and the second to the first  using 10" long 5/8  bolts from Lowes.   
If  anyone  in the West  needs an  extra  tire  or two   I have  several   most are around 5/32 tread  left  one is near new.
All  are radial except 2 NEW  bias tires.
If you are not in the west and are still interested, figure  your choice of shipping from zip 95210



From: cooneytunes
Sent: 1/6/2005 9:57 PM

John's right, the tires are available at many local places. The only problem I found,  17.5 x 8 tire is the same size that were shipping with New Military Hum Vee's, and gov't gets the priority, so when ordered, the may be back ordered......you may have a 2 week wait, I know a guy who waited 6 weeks. But the tires are available and pretty common. If you want to go to a different size, you may be opening a can of worms, the suspension,  steering, body clearances, etc...were all engineered for 17.5 x 8.....my motto is don't fix what ain't broken....  I'm not a tire expert, but before I went to a bigger tire I'd talk to more than one that was....because....tires are one of the most important things on any coach. Just my thoughts........
Timmy



From: HeavyHaulTrucker
Sent: 1/7/2005 12:41 AM

Yes Rick, what you heard is absolutely correct.  A larger tire has fewer revolutions per mile, which affects your spedometer and odometer readings -- your speedo will show a much lower speed, and your odometer will accumulate miles at a slower rate.   Smaller tires have the reverse result -- speedometer shows higher speed, and odometer accumulates miles faster than normal.

I almost learned this lesson the hard way one time... I was hauling an extremely over-size load one time, and had to have an escort car follow me.  Well, these cars charge by the mile, based on their odometer.  When we got to the delivery, our odometers differed by about a hundred miles over a 700 mile trip.  The escort car was an old Ford Escort, which came with 14" tires from the factory -- upon checking, I found that the escort company had replaced the standard tires with 13" tires!  These smaller tires had more revolutions per mile, thus making the speedometer read faster than normal -- and making the odometer rack up miles faster than it should have!

Lets just say that the escort company was not happy with me when I paid them based on MY odometer readings, then "blackballed" them with the rest of the Heavy-Haul companies.  I took photos of the car, and the tires, and mailed copies to every other company owner I knew.  The escort company went bankrupt within 90 days -- no one would use them!

John



From: Liv42dayOK
Sent: 1/7/2005 8:29 AM

The misconseption that 17.5" tires are hard to come by was well disproven a while back with great response.  Do a Message Search using the keyword, "tire" and you will find 2 Discusssions with numerous specific sources, links, and prices for these tires. - Sob



From: wendell
Sent: 1/7/2005 11:30 AM

I know they are available.  I can get the tires here after a couple of weeks wait time as no one here stocks them, but I'm more concerned about needing them on the road somewhere.  Thanks for all the suggestions, especially about carrying an extra tire fastened under the rig.  I may see if I can do that, though I'm not sure there's room as my black tank is mounted behind the rear axle.  I may be able to find a way to do it though.



From: HeavyHaulTrucker
Sent: 1/7/2005 7:23 PM

Wendell, when you are on the road, look for large truck stops that have a shop -- Travelcenters Of America, Petro Travel Centers, and AmBest Truck Stops.  These large truck stops usually stock the 17.5 sizes (as I said earlier, they are used on step decks & moving vans); the prices are a bit higher than your local tire shop, but not too much.

You can also -- before your trip -- go to the web sites of some of the larger truck tire manufacturers and download their list of retailers.  Most of them maintain a dealer list, and that will give you a good resource for tires should you find yourself out in BFE with two blown tires.

John