I'm look to buy a new set of radial tires for my 1949 Chevy 3100 1/2 ton pick-up. The retailer wants to know the load index for this truck. Any one have a clue?
The load index refers to the load-carrying capacity of a tire, or how much weight a tire can support: http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/infoLoadIndex.dos Gross vehicle weight for a 1949 Chevy 3100 1/2 ton pick-up should be 4200 to 4500 lbs per the GM Heritage Center: http://www.gmheritagecenter.com/doc...its/Chevrolet-Trucks/1949-Chevrolet-Truck.pdf
Radial tires ! As an exsample ; Diamond radial tires on stock 15 " wheels, dimension P 215.75.R 15 Martinius
TRUCK Tires Well no ; ' P ' means : Passenger tires , these are patently UNSAFE for truck use ~these are heavy old rigs so buying only ' LT ' (Light Truck) rated tires is what you want to do . As far as the boob who asked you this load rating question , he's obviously not up to the job of selling vehicle tires , go find andother place before they sell you some old crap they have cluttering up the back room . Be aware many will say " I've been running Passenger Car tires on my old truck for years " ~ that doesn't make it safe nor smart , if you'd seen as many wrecks and dead bodies as i have , you'd never , _EVER_ put passenger tires on any truck . I posted the correct tire size some time back , IRC , it's : LT205/85R16 . Others here will remember the correct size shortly ~ hang tight .
These are the tires I found for my 1953 1/2 ton. I am shocked at the current price - about twice what I paid! I had mine balanced in Chattanooga whilst visiting my mother 7 years ago. The Load ratings are suitable for the current duty cycle I am subjecting this truck to (like not even close). http://www.cokertire.com/650r16-coker-classic-3-1-4-whitewall.html
Oops THANK YOU for the correction ! that's why I said " IIRC " ~ I knew someone would post the correct size . FWIW , in the 30 + years I've known about coker tire , they've never once honored any warranty issues and there's a LOT of bad tires coming from them . Caveat Emptor ! .
I've had 4-ply Firestone's (Coker's) on my RPU since 2004, no problems. For What It's Worth: Diamond Back vs. Coker, lots of testimonials here: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=154294
coker Tires No ~ as soon as they went into business , I began having Customers with tales of woe and zero warranty so I wisely avoided them , decades later folks are still telling me they wish they'd listened when I warned them about this . If you have a show rig that only drives off & on the trailer , they're O.K. if you're rich and foolish . I *do* wa$te $ but never on dangerous saftey items .
There are lots of DB/Coker threads over there. If you read through most of them, Cokers are for those who want bias ply looks and know the handling will be crap. The bias tire hides the bad handling. If you drive it every day, DB is the answer. As far as seperation of the whitewall, if you see the process, it is not possible.https://talk.classicparts.com/showthread.php?t=8015 Thin spots in the side wall is crap. They shave just enough to get the lettering off the tire before vulcanizing the whitewall on. Customer service? I blew a tire running autocross at GG Charlotte (No fault of DB, My tire caught the lower sway bar mount I hadn't gotten around to shortening) I called Bill as soon as I got off the track, had another tire at my door on Teus. for warranty cost/shipping.....$75. MY experience with Coker was not good. I had a set I replaced my Sears Guardsmans with and was afraid to drive over 65 ( I usually haul ass....around 80-85 on interstate) The rear end felt like the u bolts were loose when changing lanes. Couldn't keep it straight on the road and yellowing/ browning set in immediately. I have found many who have had this same problem, Fatman has had several sets do this on customer cars, swap over to DB and the problem is solved. Asked them about warranty, I would have to dismount my tires, send them in, they would date code mine then let me know how much they would allow on a new set. Meanwhile I have no tires and no truck. Didn't sit well with me. I like Coker for their exact reproductions of classic tires and their involvement in the industry, I just won't run their tires on my ride or any I have built. Most people here know what I do on my DBs........http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zEhDLhWaAA
I guess I should add that I have been running my set of Coker Wide Whites for approximately 6 years now with no issues what-so-ever. I had to wait 1 year for them after putting my name on the list, but I was in the middle of re-building my truck at the time anyways. It was worth the wait. I looked at Diamondbacks offerings and was somewhat concerned by the after thought sidewall application. I am sure some folks have gotten great service from them, but I wanted a true radial tire that was safe and useable with original 16" rims. My brother talked me into the wide whites. My truck rides smoothly (as much as a truck can) and tracks correctly. I have approx 7000 miles on these and they are showing no appreciable wear. I did have to use inner tubes, so these are hefty and I am running them at 35 psig.
