notjustair
Well-known Member
Bias tires, that is.
I use grandpas 35 Chevy 1 1/2 ton to chore everyday. When I got it from my uncle it had four different size tires on it out of all six - all of them cloth belting. I found that when new it could have had a range of sizes so I went with 6.50-20?s. Firestone reproductions. I?ve been really happy with the tires but noticed right away that the fronts were too big. It limited the turning radius (rubbed the drag link) and tucked up into the fender too far. Of course it made that Armstrong steering a good deal harder, too. Admittedly, the front fenders are less that stellar from 40 years of feeding silage so the fact that they don?t rub when turning is a miracle.
I never drove it when it had tires of the correct or even same size. My uncle doesn?t remember what it used to have but knew right away when he saw the 6.50?s on the front that they were too big. Never mind that he had a 7.00 on one front side!
I?m keeping the back duals. Going down to 6.00 on the front would make it two inches smalller in diameter. Should I go with those? If I recall, in the book anything from a 5.50 to 7.00 was an option. 5.50?s aren?t available in Firestone?s and I would like them to at least match so I guess unless the peanut gallery says 6.00 isn?t a big enough difference I won?t switch to BF Goodrich.
It?s not like it hauls a lot of weight anymore. I use it as a pickup between farms when I need to feed square bales or buckets of ground feed. I drive to town to the elevator when I need pallets of mineral or mixer base but it never gets more than 1000 pounds at most on it I would say.
Thoughts?
I use grandpas 35 Chevy 1 1/2 ton to chore everyday. When I got it from my uncle it had four different size tires on it out of all six - all of them cloth belting. I found that when new it could have had a range of sizes so I went with 6.50-20?s. Firestone reproductions. I?ve been really happy with the tires but noticed right away that the fronts were too big. It limited the turning radius (rubbed the drag link) and tucked up into the fender too far. Of course it made that Armstrong steering a good deal harder, too. Admittedly, the front fenders are less that stellar from 40 years of feeding silage so the fact that they don?t rub when turning is a miracle.
I never drove it when it had tires of the correct or even same size. My uncle doesn?t remember what it used to have but knew right away when he saw the 6.50?s on the front that they were too big. Never mind that he had a 7.00 on one front side!
I?m keeping the back duals. Going down to 6.00 on the front would make it two inches smalller in diameter. Should I go with those? If I recall, in the book anything from a 5.50 to 7.00 was an option. 5.50?s aren?t available in Firestone?s and I would like them to at least match so I guess unless the peanut gallery says 6.00 isn?t a big enough difference I won?t switch to BF Goodrich.
It?s not like it hauls a lot of weight anymore. I use it as a pickup between farms when I need to feed square bales or buckets of ground feed. I drive to town to the elevator when I need pallets of mineral or mixer base but it never gets more than 1000 pounds at most on it I would say.
Thoughts?
