15.5's wow what a difference W/10" rim build

[sermis]

Started mounting the 15.5/80 20’s. I got the front two on. Wow what a difference. I had to build rims. I was able to get one tire mounted on the stock rim. It took a lot of hammering and work. Pinched tube so I had to dismount it and start all over.
I took a stock rim and cut three inches of the outside of the rim. Cut out the center and then welded the three inches to the outside of another rim to make a 10” rim. They mounted with out any problems. I don’t know about balance issues yet as I did not have anyway to balance them and have not finished the rear four yet.

 

[rizzo]

RE: 15.5

cool, report back when you get the others done

 

[Towman2277]

RE: 15.5

Looking great man!!

 

[Barrman]

RE: 15.5

Steve, They sure do fill up the wheel well better. Looks good.

 

[Djfreema]

RE: 15.5

Looking good. What did you use to cut the rims? A few step by step pics of the rim widening process would be great, I would like to eventually do the same thing.

 

[M1075]

RE: 15.5

Sermis-

I think you are going to really like the 15.5s. With those lockout hubs, you should get great performance onroad and offroad. Just be careful if you have a major load. The tires may rub the bed supports.

 

[sermis]

RE: 15.5

I mounted the rim to the front hub dished out. Look at the pic’s and you will see a green box / stool what ever you want to call it. Then I mounted the cutting torch to the green thing so it would be steady and not move. Started the cut and turned the wheel slowly. Home made jig lathe. The cut turned out good. A little light grinding to get the slag and rough spots off. The 3” piece is welded to the outside of a complete rim so I am thinking it will not have any issues.

 

[motorolanut]

RE: 15.5

cool, where did you get the tires????

 

[sermis]

RE: 15.5

I got the tires from "derby". He might have a source for more. We did some traiding to get the deal worked out.

 

[wreckerman893]

I think I get the concept of how you widened the rims but a step by step picture show would help a lot. How many stock rims would it take to make six modified rims?
I have a cutting torch, mig and stick welders so I think I could do it if I need to single out tires when I get a deuce.
Anyone know the price of new tires this size?

 

[sermis]

It will take 12 rims. 6 to be cut and 6 original. If your truck has duels all you will need is 2 more rims. I have one more rim to build so I will take pic's as I go. Could not find the charger to the camera over the weekend, wife cleaned the house.
If all goes well I will build the last rim tonight or tomarow.

 

[motorolanut]

Can you use 15.5 on super single rims for a M813 5 ton??

 

[sermis]

Idea on front rims. With the larger tires there might be some turning issues to the right. I was thinking about using a riveted rim and reversing the dish on the rim. This will create more backspacing than original. Then cut the inside of the rim and add 3” to the inside instead of the out side to take up some of the back spacing gained by reversing the dish. This would make a 10” rim. I think it still would gain some backspacing to help clear the draglink. Any idea if this would push the outside of the tires outside of the fenders. I don’t have any riveted rims to measure so I don’t know how much more backspacing this would create.

 

[M1075]

Anyone know the price of new tires this size?

I have seen new tires for about $200 each. Used ones can be had all day long for $75-$100. I think orginal cost is $1200-$1400.

 

[doghead]

That makes your truck look awesome! I would also like to see a step by step on the rim build.

 

[derby]

Sermis,the truck looks great! is that the inflatable spare from your wife's car leaning against your truck ..ha ..ha

 

[Loose Deuce]

You can get some of that stuff you put inside the tube to balance them. Some kind of beads you put in the tubes. I haven't tried it myself, just herd about it.

 

[OPCOM]

Grossepapa used to put some water in the tubes on the 3 ton farm truck. Of course he ran the most awful tires till they were mismatched, patched, and worn out.

About the rims, how about removing the center, widening the rim, then putting the center back in an appropriate position for correct offset and turning ability? (or is that what he said?)

If the rears were to be singled and it is desired to avoid flipping the hubs (hub flips invite the possibility of bearing headaches), the front and rear rims would need different offsets. The spare could most reasonably be a front rim. where to mount it !?!

But still, please be explicit in the images and descriptions, this is so interesting I am riveted!!

 

[sermis]

Ok here is the process I used to build the 10” rims for the deuce. I mounted a rim on the truck so I could turn the rim to make the cut. The torch was mounted on a platform to keep it steady to make the cut. Homemade lathe because I do not have one. Notice the ball peen hammer cutting torch actuation tool.

Here is the rim with 3" cut from the outside.

Here is the rim ready to be welded. Used a wire bruch to get 1/4" of paint off the rim.

Rim with the extra 3" placed and ready to weld. Tacked the two pieces together in four places.

Rim welded together. Burned several rods to get all the way around.

Here is the rim after welding the two pieces together.

Next I cut the outside center from the rim. Ok I weld better than I cut but nothing a grinder will not fix.

Here is the rim ready to be welded on the inside where the 3" piece was added to the rim.

Here is the inside of the rim after being welded on the inside.

Rim now needs the weld ground down on the inside so it does not cut the tube and slag chipped from the inside weld. With the flap inside to protect the tube I don't see any reason the old lock ring grove or valve stem cut in the rim will cause a problem. Prim and paint, mount the tire and install on the truck.
I wish I had a bubble or spin balancer and I would have balanced the rims before mounting the tires.
I will see how it works and go from there.

 

[OPCOM]

Wow! that is beautiful, and I understand..

perhaps a word about tire speeds and tire models..

Being kind of a fun loving driver, and knowing that a 46.6" tire should give the user 68MPH vs the 55MPH of the 9.00x20 (or let the engine purr at 2100RPM for 55MPH), I have been looking up tires for a while. I picked these on the good advice of the members, all tires presumably the largest for putting on a deuce, and all almost the same height within 0.5% of each other according to 'published' data. The business of modifying wheels seems a cheap way to go..

Please note the last figure in the data. It's the manufacturer's speed rating in MPH.

on this site:
http://www.militarytires.com/

XL Michelin 15.5/80R20 part # 04852, 46.6" tall, 15.5" wide, 10.00W or 10.00 rim, 50 MPH

XML Michelin 395/85R20 part# 99131, 46.7" tall, 15.4" wide, 10.0W or 10.00 rim, 55 MPH

XZL Michelin 395/85R20 part# 54331, 46.8" tall, 15.3" wide, 10.00W or 10.00 rim, 55 MPH

and on Michelin site:
http://www.michelintruck.com/michelintruck/productguide/newprod/TireSpecs.jsp?tread=XZL

Michelin XZL 395/85R20 part# 37727, 46.8" tall, 15.3" wide, 10.00W or 10.00 rim, 70 MPH

but - I could not find any of the other tires on the Michelin site. Their search engine stinks, but I should have been able to find the tires. ?!?

Another worthy question- what's the difference between a 10.00W and 10.00 rim ?

There seems to be a discrepancy not to mention several model numbers, so it might be worthwhile to contact the manufacturer before hitting the fast lane in the deuce. I never seen a big tire like that come apart/come off, but it probably aint pretty.. OTOH maybe it looks real cool, from a suitable distance.