- 10,350
- 75
- 48
- Location
- Meadows of Dan, Virginia
The tires for the xm757 8x8 have been a sensitive subject for me since day one, they are old, some are worn, torn and the sizes and tread patterns are not even identical, but they were specifically designed for this series of vehicles and are low profile, low pressure, tubeless, military NDCC tires with their own marking, "16-20".
My 757 came with an interesting assortment, Goodyear (3 ea), BF Goodrich (4 ea) and Uniroyal (1 ea). One was radial, three were recaps and seven bias ply. There are slight differences in the tread in that the Goodyear blocks extend further down the sides. The recaps copy that design while the NOS BF Goodrichs have a narrower thread pattern.
Based on the pictures I have of the Uniroyal radial, it also had the narrower tread pattern (that tire blew out during the tow from OK). I like the Goodyear design best and seems to be the original tire.
I have had very little luck tracing the history of the tires, the companies have merged, info lost and the "design engineers" who I have spoken to at Goodyear and Goodrich have no clue about the history and/or specifications for them. Wallace W Wade (Dallas TX) never heard of them.
Bottom line is that I want to keep them, none of the potential subs look right for the truck and they all compromise something , be it weight, floatation, diameter or most of all looks, the truck simply doesn't look right with any tire other than the originals.
Somewhere out there in surplus land must be a stack of NOS tires for this truck, so meanwhile, I'll be driving on the originals.
Having two stering axles gives me a little safety margin too...
My 757 came with an interesting assortment, Goodyear (3 ea), BF Goodrich (4 ea) and Uniroyal (1 ea). One was radial, three were recaps and seven bias ply. There are slight differences in the tread in that the Goodyear blocks extend further down the sides. The recaps copy that design while the NOS BF Goodrichs have a narrower thread pattern.
Based on the pictures I have of the Uniroyal radial, it also had the narrower tread pattern (that tire blew out during the tow from OK). I like the Goodyear design best and seems to be the original tire.
I have had very little luck tracing the history of the tires, the companies have merged, info lost and the "design engineers" who I have spoken to at Goodyear and Goodrich have no clue about the history and/or specifications for them. Wallace W Wade (Dallas TX) never heard of them.
Bottom line is that I want to keep them, none of the potential subs look right for the truck and they all compromise something , be it weight, floatation, diameter or most of all looks, the truck simply doesn't look right with any tire other than the originals.
Somewhere out there in surplus land must be a stack of NOS tires for this truck, so meanwhile, I'll be driving on the originals.
Having two stering axles gives me a little safety margin too...
