Civilian tires on original M416 rims... need help.

[2ndchance]

I've spent some time googling this and the answers are a bit inconsistent or just down-right wrong. Can someone help me solidify a solution?


I have 3 tires/rims for my M416A1 trailer. Two are Cooper Cross Countrys and one is a Firestone. All three are dry rotted and have large cracks in the sidewalls and the treads. They still hold air, so I can safely assume that the tubes are in good condition.

My trailer will eventually converted to an expedition trailer so I want to use a civilian tire. Specifically, the Falken Rocky Mountian ATS, as this is what's on my 2009 Jeep.

I got back from Discount Tire yesterday, abit deflated (excuse the pun). My attempt was to reuse the M416 rims and install civilian tires. I "thought" I had two options.

1. Use a civilian LT225/75-R16 (first choice), LT 215/85-R16, or 235/70-R16 on the factory M416 rim without a tube.
2. Use the same civilian tires and reuse the original tube that I have and reinstall onto the factory M416 rims.

The guy at Discount Tire said, "No". His reasons were:

A. The rivets on the rim can leak when not using a tube.
B. Using a tube on a civilian tubeless tire causes a lot of friction and heat, causing the tube to fail.

So, how are you guys using civilian tires on original M416 Rims?


I was told that the rims on old dodge and ford trucks have the proper 5x5.5 bolt pattern and has the proper center hole to clear the hubs. Any truth to that? If so, What years or model Dodges/Fords??

My brain hurts trying to figure this one out... any help out there?

[raymond]

You should always use a new tube in a new tire. You should never use a tube designed for a bias ply tire in a radial tire because radials create more heat when the sidewalls flex. Bias ply tubes will not withstand the heat. Lots of people here run tubeless tires on the stock rims, but the rivets could leak air. I run tubeless tires with no tubes, but the guy I bought mine from sealed up the inside of the rims.

Raymond

[Mr. Recovery]

Here are a few photos of the wheels on my 151, they are wheels for a full size 1/2 ton Ford 4X4 of the late 70s, to do the job right you should change the wheel studs in the spindles.







This one isn't mine but, I have thought about doing it up this way.

[ohiomgman]

Hah! Thats Dave Hack's old M151/customized, that he used to zip around in while recruiting for the US Army, in Akron, Ohio.

[ltsimp]

Hi there! I have been using tubless tires with out tubes on my M151A1 wheels for quite sometime. I have never had any leakage from the rivets, but can see where that would be a concern. You could seal up the inside of the rim at the rivets with some sort of sealer. Now I don't plan on driving cross country with this set up, but for driving around town and out to the woods I have not had a problem. Good luck.

[rickf]

All you have to do is to make sure the rimes are not rusted on the inside and give them a paint job with epoxy paint to seal everything up good. You can still buy NOS rims for around 25.00 each so even if yours are bad they are not expensive to replace. The 215-85/16 is the correct size to match the original or go to the 235-85/16.

Rick