16.5 dually's

  I have recently purchased a 1973 dodge tioga sportsman 19ft.  Being my first rv and first foray into the rv world, I will definetly have numerous questions, so plz bear with me.  My first question is regarding the tires/rims, I have dually's that are 16.5, and in searching for new tires im noticing the lack of 16.5 inch tires, so my question's are this; are they readily available or hard to find, and if its the latter, what are my alternatives, is it switching rim sizes (if feasable) or..................anything elsle? Thanks in advance for all input.

I do not understand your question.... maybe someone else will.
Re-read your post..... are you being clear?

Most newer Class C I believe use a 16" LT (Light Truck) Tire.  I don't think 16.5" tires are that popular today although I could be wrong.  However I would guess if you check with a large tire dealer they should be able to help you.

I don't know of anywhere to get 16.5" tires, but  a 16" should work.  You might have to get new wheels, though. I'd inquire at a major tire dealer, or an online distributor like tirerack.com to see if tyhey can recommend anything.

NEVER NEVER install 16 inch tire on 16.5 inch rims!!!

you are not going to be able to find 16.5 inch tires at walmart. a true tire store like tire rack or the like will have them.

I have a 1974 Dodge Rockwood class C rv. I had no trouble getting the tires here in canada. my local back yard mechanic was able to order them direct from his supplier and we had them in the shop the next day. the tires I bought are all mud and snow the supplier did not have "steering" tires in stock my front rims are also 16.5. there might be a bit more road noise but with no air while driving I really can not tell with all the windows open anyway. My idea is that it is an old truck and should never feel "just like sitting on your couch at home"

It is possible to change the rims to 16 I have not looked into as I see no need to spend the extra money.

The 16.5" wheel/tire must have been a 70's thing. A contractor I used to work for in the mid-80's had a 1979 1 ton chevy pickup with 16.5" wheels/tires and by 1985 or so there were limited dealers who could get them for some reason. I know that the truck is still alive and well with the same rims so they must still be out there.

The old 16.5 was the first generation of a solid rim, replacing the old widow making split rims.  Good ridance split rims and tubes.  The tire/rim engineers retained the shallow bead when producing these 'new' tires/rims.  It is NOT a modern safety bead tire and when they get low or go flat, they will have a tendency to come off the rim.  (Ask me, I know. )  You'll easily see the differnce with 16.5 beads next to a modern safety bead type.  16.5's are not dangerous or unsafe, there is simply a better safety alternative in the newer 16 and 17 inch safety bead tires/rims.  This should be a consideration with a top heavy vehicle like an RV.  BTW, if you're current tires are dry rotted, they are simply d-o-n-e.

The 16.5inch tires are still out there, but getting rarer by the day.  And if you do find them, they may have some years on them from just sitting on the shelf(think dry rot and shorter calendar life).  Domestic manufacturers will stop producing them due to light volume and source them off shore to save the headache of setting up lines for short runs.  So quality will likely take a dive.  Eventually, if not already, the cost of aquiring E rated 16.5 tires will exceed the cost of converting to 16 or 17 rims.  I still run the 16.5's on one of my old trucks, but as soon as they are all worn out, I'll switch to 16's or 17's depending on price and availability at that time.  Sure it would be expensive to convert to the newer size tire AND rim, but think about having to come up with an unpopular tire size during travel in lightly populated areas?    If you do stick with the 16.5's keep your old tires for spares or at least pick out the best two or three if storage is an issue.  Likewise, if you do convert to 16 or 17, you could mitigate cost by buying a used tire for a spare.  Do stick with the E rating or at least D.  C ratings (6ply) just won't cut it for a Class C motorhome.

When we travel more than a day from home, I carry TWO spares.  I've yet to use two, but have used one about every other year.  And when I've had flats they've generally been in desolate areas.  I've got good quality tires, they just take a beating on gravel and industrial roads when not pulling the TT.  If you don't have a second spare rim, just carry a spare tire and upon changing a flat, make a beeline to a tire shop and have #2 spare mounted and the old one patched...It's also lighter to just carry the second spare tire sans rim.

Used rims can be had for ~$50 a pop.  Just be sure they are not bent and run true.  Take your spare or your worst tire/rim and dismount the tire.  Take the rim to the salvage yard and ask for an exact match on bolt circle, pilot diameter and offset but in the 16 or 17 inch version.  The sizes are stamped on the inside of the rim.  If you're buying 7 or 8 rims, ask for a package deal and offer to trade in your old ones.  You can mount the bare rim on the front and rotate it by hand to check runout.  If in doubt, you can always buy new, but those will be $100 to $150 a pop.  For a used vehicle that may not see many miles, that's pretty expensive.  I'd rather buy used rims and put the balance of $$ in quality tires and the gas tank and DRIVE!

Do a little homework and price the size on your truck in the 16.5, 16 and 17.  As an example of a size, 235/85x16E is extremely common and the newer 17inch version is 235/80x17E.  If it were me and I was forced to convert, I would go to the 17's (assuming $ competitive) as the 16's will go the way of the 16.5's at some point in the future.(it'll be a while)  All the Dually's made now(and for the last several years) use the 17inch rim.  This was done to accomodate slightly larger brakes on the new trucks.

Good luck, be safe.

RV Roamer said:

You might have to get new wheels, though. I'd inquire at a major tire dealer, or an online distributor like tirerack.com to see if tyhey can recommend anything.

Click to expand...

Gary,

I am not sure you can find 16.5" wheels any where. Almost 20 years ago, we ruined two wheels on a Dodge chassis, thanks to a tire company not tighting the lug nuts properly. They came loose and we actually lost the outside rear dual wheel and tire. Of course it ruined both wheels. It took me almost six weeks to find used 16.5" wheels in a junk yard in Iowa. BTW, I took the tire company to small claims court to pay for damages and they didn't even show up. The judge awarded us a little over $600. for all the repairs.

Almost twenty years later and I think the odds of finding wheels are less likely. I have no idea whether 16.5" tires are available but ocassionally see an old Winny on a Dodge chassis on the road.

Richard

Richard,
If he changes wheels, he would change to 16" or 17". He already has 16.5" wheels but is having difficulty finding tires to match.

RV Roamer said:

Richard,
If he changes wheels, he would change to 16" or 17". He already has 16.5" wheels but is having difficulty finding tires to match.

Click to expand...

Yes, I understand that. However, when we were searching for "new" wheels, I am thinking that one or two places considered switching to a different size wheel and found that the bolt pattern would not match my hub. If I recall right we gave up on that and I continued to search for 16.5" wheels in junk yards.

There must be a source of 16.5" tires since the Dodge chassis is not entirely extinct. Perhaps, the motor homes are running on "old" tires. It seems to me that changing the rear end to get the proper bolt patterns to go to a 16" or 17" wheels would not be cost effective. I don't know whether it is possible to just change the axle keeping the rear end.

I didn't have a problem getting 16.5" tires bak then, but they were only available in bias ply tires. They were terrible about getting flat spots on them after sitting for a week or so. I remember being told to never put radials on that type of rim, even if the tire was the right size.

Richard

There must be a source of 16.5" tires since the Dodge chassis is not entirely extinct. Perhaps, the motor homes are running on "old" tires. It seems to me that changing the rear end to get the proper bolt patterns to go to a 16" or 17" wheels would not be cost effective. I don't know whether it is possible to just change the axle keeping the rear end.

Click to expand...

There should be no need to change the entire rear end.  The std bolt pattern for eight lug rims has been 8 on 6.5 inch for a long time.  Both regular rims and the deep offset dually rims.  It's easy enough to measure with a tape to confirm.  I seriously doubt Dodge did anything funky with bolt circles as the rear ends likely came from Dana corp as an off the shelf item.  Likely the same rear end used in the old Dodge W300's.  Ford and some others are going metric now, some are just switching to metric specification with no real difference on bolt circle, others have minor differences, which is why I suggested he take a rim to the salvage yard with him.  The older Dodge should be 8 on 6.5 as were commonly found on Dana 70 or 80 rear ends at that time.  It's also important to make sure the pilot or center hole on the rim is the same and the stud hole matches up.  He may have tappered lug holes which use the acorn style nuts or the more common for dual wheels, the straight hole that uses captive washer type nuts.  With the latter type it is important to make sure the center hole diameters match as the rim pilots on the hub and this is what keeps the wheel concentric with the center of the hub/bearings.

Joebear, what is the tire designation/size on the sidewall on your existing tires?  Probably something like 7.50-16.5E or 7.50R16.5E?  And what is the bolt circle diameter?  Measure stud to stud directly across from each other.

All Joebear needs to do is call a few salvage yards, tell them what he is doing and they'll set him up with used 16 inch or 17 inch rims with the same bolt pattern and offset for which there are plenty of E rated tire choices around.  Then he goes tire shoppin', mounts them up on his new rig and finito!  ;D  Simple as pie.

Last time I did a conversion from 16.5" to 16" was on our fire depts mini-pumper and it was less expensive to buy 16" wheels and tires than it was to replace the 16.5" tires.  Shop around for a package and you will find some good deals.  Don't leave anyone out with your shopping some places will suprise you with prices.

1275gtsport said:

NEVER NEVER install 16 inch tire on 16.5 inch rims!!!

Click to expand...

no matter what you decide to do just remember this ^

16.5 rims have gone the way of disco and the dinosaurs... just swap out the entire/wheel combo. finding 16.5 tires is hard enough on the internet let alone by the side of the road in Anywhere, USA. even if you found replacements they are sure to be, as gonemissin said, years past the manufacture date and ready to disintegrate with some sunshine and a few revolutions...

Yikes, glad I stumbled upon this! My bad about resurrecting the old threads, but I'm a new-b  ???  Are salvage yards the way to go, or has anyone else with an ancient RV found decent prices on the net for the 16.5 ==> 17 conversion?  Thanks!

16.5's are available, I found some for a friend of mine at Fairmount Tire Co in L.A., CA. Prices for the steel belted was $135.00 per tire installed. He found some in Perris, CA for $165 per tire. His MH is a1976 class C on a Ford cutaway. Do not
install 16's on a 16.5 rim or vice versa.
http://www.bing.com/local/details.aspx?lid=YN75x850776&qt=yp&what=fairmount+tire+%26+rubber&where=Los+Angeles%2c+California&s_cid=ansPhBkYp02&mkt=en-us&q=fairmount+tire+%26+rubber
J

I will def look for 17" or 16" wheels first.  I got 4 new truck tires put on for about $400, I couldn't imagine paying that much...especially when the rig only cost $500    Still, glad to see those who do not want to convert can find them.  Still...yikes, that's some serious money for these old RVs

HOOL, 500 was the entry fee . Now the fun begins.
J

>>I got 4 new truck tires put on for about $400, I couldn't imagine paying that much<<


If it makes you feel better.... try $500-$600 per tire on the larger Class A's with 22.5 wheels.

If I could afford the Class A I could probably afford the tires! ha ha 

Yeah J, I hadn't planned on buying one of these for another few years when I could actually afford a decent one without weird smells, mice, missing parts, and water damage...but we'll see if we can't squeeze a few trips out of this.

I'm still hoping I can find a deal on wheels & tires  :-X

HOOLIGANCLAN said:

If I could afford the Class A I could probably afford the tires! ha ha 

Yeah J, I hadn't planned on buying one of these for another few years when I could actually afford a decent one without weird smells, mice, missing parts, and water damage...but we'll see if we can't squeeze a few trips out of this.

I'm still hoping I can find a deal on wheels & tires  :-X

Click to expand...

I bought a fixer upper for 1100 back in 1992. Roof repair....cheap,Carpet...cheap, upholstery...cheap,
transmission ...cheap(did it myself), carb...cheap,
tires....$500 in 1992 dollars.
I bought them two at a time.
But it was paid for and I got plenty of use out of it.
We took it to Las Vegas at least once a month,
and to various other places.
Big Sur, San Diego, Oregon, Utah, that thing
would not quit.  I sold it to a buddy, he took it
to Mexico on vaca a few times. He sold it and
purchased a larger one. Now a family with three
kids is using it for weekend getaways. '75 Dodge class C,
(El Dorado). It was a beast and is still kickin'.
So fix it up and have fun.
J