all over the road with 14.5s

[ncduece]

i had used but in good shape 14.5 michelins put on my truck yesterday the rears are single with the rims set to the out side. now the truck is a handful to keep in a straight line i had 9inch ndc on and did not have this problem i have air assist steering do i need to change the toe in or out or some other alignment i put the tire on to gain some speed now i think i may have made a mistake

 

[TenTires]

Sorry, but I had to do it...

 

[Chevytruck]

Sorry, but I had to do it...

 

[cranetruck]

What is you toe-in? Should be 1/8 to 1/4 inch max.

 

[Jones]

Might want to give the whole front end from the steering wheel down a complete check; toe-in, caster, camber along with play in kingpins and ball joints just to be sure everything's right there. Does your steering feel loose or does it feel like it's 'hunting'?

If you went from bias ply to radial; you're gonna feel like it's all over the place 'til you get used to the new handling characteristics and the 'feel' of radial tires... with 14.5s you've got a whole bunch of sidewall and it's all designed to flex.

Radials seem to take a set and we always marked them as to location when remounting. With radials you "rotate" them by just swapping front to back; not from one side to the other.

Tire pressure is important too. Too much and you're running on the center of the tread; too little and you've got a wall-sized patch of tread on the ground.

Seems like all kinds of little details go into the good steering equation and any one of them being out will amplify, not just add to, the problem.

Don't throw in the towel just yet; lotsa guys have the bigger tires and no complaints.

 

[ncduece]

my steering does not feel loose is feel more like hunting around you turn the wheel just a bit and it seems to dart in that direction. does the fact that the front and rears are not in line compound this? if i flip the hubs will they run in line?

 

[Jones]

Bjorn's right.
In case you don't already know this one, a quick way to check toe-in is this little trick;

Park on a flat area, making sure the front tires are pointing straight ahead.
Truck shut off, in neutral with the parking brake set (don't wanna read about you in some later post) jack up the front end one side at a time and; while spinning the tire, mark a line down the center of the tread with a piece of chalk.
After you mark both sides, next, WITH THE TIRES SITTING ON THE GROUND, pick a spot as close to the centerline of the wheel as you can get on both the forward and rearward-facing treads and measure the two chalk marks to see how close they are.
The front line should be 1/8" to 1/4" closer together than the back marks.
It's important to measure the marks at the same distance from the ground;
if you can't get as high on one side because of frame/springs/steering components getting in the way, then use that point's distance off of the ground for both your front and rearward measurements.

 

[snakeater]

what tire pressure are you running? I noticed a big difference in mine in just changing the pressure. I am running 16r20's with 50 psi. Origionally had it running with 30 and it wandered and fought all the way. 50 psi feels better and steers easier. i have manual only steering. I would think that air assist/power steering would compound any problem. Snakeater

 

[DanMartin]

What wheels are you running the 14.50s on for your deuce?

 

[Jones]

Flipped hubs in the rear shouldn't matter all that much.
If it feels like it wants to 'dart' in different directions as you steer then I'd suspect the toe-in adjustment being off.
If the adjustment is off, then as you steer and the vehicle's weight shifts slightly with road surface variables, one tire momentarily gains better traction over the other and leads the front end in the direction it's pointing at that moment.

 

[timntrucks]

i am wondering if his bearings are set tight enough. and the rims wondering if he put them on regular rims. i seen a set on reg rims and they were all our of shape. like a big donut.

 

[ncduece]

i put the tires on the original rims. it was fine with the 9.00 by 20s on it i drove it 2 hours to pick up something at fort bragg then i had the tires put on in fayetville i was towing a dolly with me on the way back and i had to fight the wheel . i took it out for a drive this morning with out the dolly and i still had the same problem. im going to check tire pressure and toe in this evening

 

[ncduece]

i put the tires on the original rims. it was fine with the 9.00 by 20s on it i drove it 2 hours to pick up something at fort bragg then i had the tires put on in fayetville i was towing a dolly with me on the way back and i had to fight the wheel . i took it out for a drive this morning with out the dolly and i still had the same problem. im going to check tire pressure and toe in this evening

 

[Bob H]

Rims are too narrow for those tires, they belong on 11 in wide M35 A3 wheels.
Toe in, loose joints, tire pressure, flippin hubs, doesn't matter it will still be squirrely with those tires on the stock rims, and yes flip the rear hubs or buy OD Iron wheels

 

[gringeltaube]

All that's mentioned might help more or less and its clear, those fat meats should NOT be mounted on stock wheels!!(NO compatibility, NO stability, NO safety!)
In my case when I first went from stock size to brand new 14.5s on 20x11" wheels I had similar symptoms and checked and tried everything.... finally a slightly increased caster angle made the trick!
Apparently I wasn't the only one to discover this....!
See this thread: http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?t=16875&highlight=caster+angle , post#5.

The front axle can be tilted backwards (+caster) about 2-3º without compromising driveline angle to much.
Also check the condition of the springs, they might need to be re-arched if the distance between bumpstop and frame is less than 2"!?

G.

 

[rockman]

NC, with my 12.5 XLs running at 50 pounds made them squirrely. I lowered it to 45 and then to about 42 and it made a big difference. If everything was good before the new tires, try adjusting air first.

Bill