Posted by W300Joe on Saturday, September 20, 2003 at 9:15AM :
In Reply to: Tires, 8.90 R16, 9.00 R16, XZL, XCL, .... posted by fruitpunch on Friday, September 19, 2003 at 11:06PM :
Me too! I have a nice set of 6 6.5 x 16 rims for my W-300 and I'm getting a little nervous about tire availability. Power King had a nice directional tread (similar to Firestone's old SATs) but my tire guy says they're no longer available. He has no connection for the STAs or Co-Op Gripspurs but says he's pretty sure he can still get me 4 Power King non-directional snows @ $130- each. His dad was my personal "old tire guy" and though Dad's no longer working, his son is now the tire guy who anually inspects my decrepit '64 W-300 dually firetruck, knocks down my dried out tires and rusted old lock ring wheels @ $6- each with never a complaint! I'm going to resurrect one of my other W-300s (or switch over the firetruck) with a single rear tire axle and my 9' stepside and want to run 900's (or something else that fits those rims properly!) on it. It'll be my daily driver (as much as gas prices allow!) and most of my driving will be empty or lightly loaded around town or highway but occaisionally pulling a 10,000 GVW trailer or hauling my heavy old 11' slide-in camper, or a moderate load of building supplies or Dodge parts (2000-4000lbs). I have 2 nice conventional tread tires to run as fronts during the dry months or for long trips, but I live on an old farm in Maine and need a fairly aggressive tread for about 6-9 months each year. Rear axle & springs give me a 7,500 lb. capacity at the rear axle - 3030lb capacity tires will be working hard at near max loads - Lord, wouldn't I love to be able to buy new 10ply Firestone SATs or Goodyear Custom Xtra Grips. I just can't justify Michelins (and I'll always be mad at France anyway!), I've looked at ads for Super Swampers, Pro Comp, Nitto, General, Goodyear, Goodrich, MT, etc. till my head's spinning! I want an 8 or 10 ply with a wt. cap. rating of 3000-3500, a new actual dia. of 35-37", a tread pattern which will perform reasonably well in rain & snow & mud, don't necessarily have to be radials, and I don't really want to spend $50+ per tire to have them shipped cross country or from Canada. I'll need HD 6 1/2" flaps also - where?
I know this subject has been beat to death, but I've run 900's since 1971 (on my crewcab W-200), on my C-1300 International 4x4, on my B-2 PW, and on 3 of my '61-68 W-300's. It applies to all you M-37 and Civilian PW owners too, not just the small group of us with 6.5x16 6-bolt or 8-bolt! It used to be easy, but I'm reading so much conflicting lately - Help! Hoping to keep this under $1,000!
Thanks, W300Joe
Follow Ups: