My wife and I are packing to move in a month or so. We have a large collection of "family" heirlooms, mostly furniture, art work, glassware and dishware that we needed to offload to other, one generation younger, family members. They came to our place and picked what they wanted, but in most cases didn't have a truck to take the bigger pieces home. Most live 200 miles north, so I volunteered to deliver in my '52 150 flat bed. Bill Brubaker offered the loan of his 5x10 two wheel open trailer. We looked at the receiver on my truck and decided it needed re-engineering. We ended up cutting off the receiver (it was just butt welded to the rear crossmember) and mounting a new one to existing bolt holes along with additional cross bracing. Filled up the back of the truck with a little artwork, a couple boxes of glassware and mostly furniture. The trailer had an 8' couch and a large padded swivel rocker. Checked the tires the day before at 50 psi. I'm not very experienced in trailer operation, so I took it easy for the first 10 miles or so on I-45. Finally got it up to around 60 and felt OK. 10 miles later I noticed that the back of the truck was wagging a bit, accentuated by the trailer. I checked the speedo and I was at 66 MPH. Slowed back to 60 and all was well. 10 miles later it started wagging again. I was back at 65. Slowed back to 60 and all well again. Did my best to maintain 60 in a 65 zone. A few miles later and wagging again, worse than before. I was at 58 MPH. Tapped the brakes and tried to get onto the shoulder. The truck was in the right lane, swerving back and forth from the left lane to the shoulder. As it slowed I was concerned it would jackknife. This is about the time I realized I needed a new pair of shorts. Luckily there was no nearby traffic. Finally got it to the shoulder. The right rear tire on the truck was completely flat. 2 Good Samaritans stopped to help. Changed the tire with no more major difficulty than disconnecting the trailer so there would be enough room to get the under mounted spare off. The rest of the trip was uneventful, with speeds up to 73 MPH downhill. Tires are a set of Specialty Tires of America, LT 7.50x16, bias ply, load range D, 2440 pound max, tube type tires that the previous owner had put on shortly after he bought the truck 6 years ago. They look great and very appropriate for an old truck. The truck had virtually no miles for the first 2 years until I bought it and got it on the road. Since then, maybe 13000 miles and they still have almost 1/2" of tread depth left. Took the tire in for repair if possible. The guy call me back and says the puncture is too large to plug. "Plug?" says I. "Plug" says he. I say "It is a tube type tire." He says "No tube in this one." Question: How weird is it to run tube type tires tubeless??
You are damned lucky all you needed was a pair of shorts... Once the trailer starts wagging the truck, it usually gets ugly. Like the time I loaded 16' decking onto a 13' trailer (hey, I was young and foolish- I'm older now), not realizing the negative-tongue-weight situation I had brewing. When braking on a curve, the trailer wanted to go straight, and was determined to take the back of the short-bed Chevy with it. The trailer wagged the truck like a puppy with a chew toy. When I got home, I needed VISEGRIPS to change my shorts... I trust the cargo was delivered safely? And we too are moving "stuff"... what do you charge by the loaded mile?
Safe and sound. Let's see. Assuming one local load in Wilton and 3738 miles unloaded from home and back, I figure $10,000 + meals and rooms ought to cover it.
Asked for the valve stem? If the kid was young, he might have tore up your tube and said it was "tubeless"? Just glad the roads were clear. Watched out over. Cool beans! Was the photo a before or after?
About 20 miles after. I stopped in Huntsville, delivered the couch to my grand daughter's boyfriend's new apartment and in return he drove to Tyler (another 125 miles) with me and helped unload there. Nice kid.
Yeah Bill. I have heard of some people running tube type tires tubeless. Mostly hot rodders on the HAMB. Can't figure out why though. Andy
I'm surprised that running tube-type tires, tubeless, would not cause them to need aired up every couple days. Not to mention the difference in design in the tire itself. I sure wouldn't want to take them out on a modern, high speed highway. I had a uncle that owned an AD, pickup, when I was a kid. He had the original 15" wheels on it, and tubeless tires mounted. He was having to check the inflation, very often. If I remember correctly, the air was leaking slowly past the rivets that held the center part of the wheel to the rim. He eventually took the wheels to a wheel and rim, shop and had them weld, wide rims to those original center sections. They reversed the offset, and I always thought they looked cool. I'm pretty sure they quit leaking, also. I remember they were black, with the original hubcaps. This was probably, 1965-66. Steve
Mine has late model steel wheels, so maybe the tubeless thing was OK. I seldom have to put air in them and I run them at 50 psi.
Glad you made it through this adventure unscathed. I still haven't gotten over the photo's you posted of the demise of your last truck! I'm wondering, since tubeless is the norm now, if they make all tires tubeless... even the ones they market as "tube tires"? Might be an interesting question for you to pose to "Specialty Tires of America"? Here's a link to their contacts page: Specialty Tires of America I Contact John
John: Just sent the following message and will post their response here. - Bill My 1952 GMC 3/4 ton flatbed truck that came to me 4 years ago with a new set of Specialty Tires of America 7.50x16LT, bias ply, D rated tires mounted on modern wheels. They look great on my old truck and seem to be doing well in the 13,000+ miles I have driven the truck since I bought it. Last weekend I was rotating the tires and noticed something that is bothering me. The tires are marked as tube type tires on the sidewall, but they definitely do NOT have tubes. The wheels have standard tubeless snap-in valve stems. What is the down side of running these tires without tubes? The truck weighs 3840 pounds unloaded, with around 2100 pounds on the front wheels and 1740 on the rear. The sidewall shows 60 PSI max cold pressure and I typically run the tires at 50 PSI.
Two weeks later and no response. I just sent an e-mail to the company's VP of Technical Services. If he answers I'll post his response.
Answer from Specialty Tires of America: Mr. Hanlon The downside is that a tube type tire should never be mounted without a tube. I do not know how the vehicle has passed any state inspections. Please take one of two steps immediately. Either put a tube in the tires, or take them off your vehicle immediately and replace them with tubeless versions. There is a very serious safety issue. A tubeless tire has an inner liner that “holds the air.” It is the only part of a tire that “does not leak air.” A tube type tire does not have an inner liner. Air actually can leak through the sidewalls of the tire causing an inflation problem and ultimately a safety problem. If you respond with your location, I can provide the name of a dealer who can help you out. Sincerely, Dennis Popolis Specialty Tires of America
Exactly the response, expected. If it says, "tube type", then, it needs a tube. No matter what the guys on the "HAMB", or anywhere else say. That response would serve as the company's, "get out of court, free", card, Bill, if anything bad, happens. Steve.
How do I find out what kind of valve stem I need? I have found proper sized tubes for 7.50x16 tires with TR-150, TR-15, TR-177A or TR-13 valve stems. TR-177A looks like so that's not it. TR-15 may be right
I think your right, on that. The top pic. looks like the type of stem for a split-rim. The stem should be oriented to match the offset of the hole in your wheel. We use baby powder when setting the tube in aircraft tires. Steve.
