M816 Wrecker Tire Conversion

[TNR1]

New here. I did do a search and read a bunch and talked to some people about a tire conversion on a 1971 M816 wrecker I have. I know there are a few options but I'm still not clear on exactly what I need and I'm wondering if someone could spell it out easily for me.

The truck currently has the 11-20 bias tires with the split rim wheels. Some hold air and some are flat.
I plan to use the truck around our shop mostly but I do want to make it roadworthy.

I talked with a couple of suppliers of used parts and they gave me a bunch of options but again, not clear directions as to what exactly I need to do this. They mention adapters, or flipping hubs and basically "try this try that" With what its going to cost, id rather not experiment and just order exactly what I need.

I would like to eliminate the split rim wheels and either convert to super singles or at least to regular truck tires.

Again, I did read a bunch of threads in here, but maybe not the right ones. Could someone either point me to an informative thread or advise me of what my best course of action is?

Thanks!

 

[canadacountry]

welcome @TNR1 , can't help you with tires myself but I'm sure many others will soon give you some assistance. and by the way I had to chuckle when I saw what the door said, hicks! good luck with that "battle-hardened" truck, it sure does look like it could still keep going and going.

 

[TNR1]

It runs a lot better than it looks. Main issues are the tires and the brakes don't work. Everything else functions. Not going showtruck with it since i want it to still be a fun toy, but I am going through it mechanically and going to look for some cab parts and a few missing accessories. Then ill do some sandblasting and painting to make it a little prettier.

 

[NDT]

By far the easiest solution for a truck to be used around a yard is to go to a truck wrecking yard and get a set of 11r24.5's off something they are wrecking out.

 

[TNR1]

By far the easiest solution for a truck to be used around a yard is to go to a truck wrecking yard and get a set of 11r24.5's off something they are wrecking out.

Will standard truck rims bolt right up or do I need to find something specialized or adapters?

 

[NDT]

Will standard truck rims bolt right up or do I need to find something specialized or adapters?

Yes they will. 10 hole Budd pattern.

 

[98G]

The easiest way to put super singles on it would be 395s on LMTV rims.

I'd keep it dualled for stability reasons.

 

[canadacountry]

Its maybe me but I'm not too comfortable with the idea of super singles except perhaps only on 2-axle or better 3-axle trailers alone. theres many more that can go wrong with a driver-mounted super single compared to what could happen to conventional duals in my view?

 

[98G]

Its maybe me but I'm not too comfortable with the idea of super singles except perhaps only on 2-axle or better 3-axle trailers alone. theres many more that can go wrong with a driver-mounted super single compared to what could happen to conventional duals in my view?

I like singles. I just don't think they're the best choice for a wrecker. (And I have a wrecker with singles)

 

[topo]

Your Truck looks great. Sandblasting gets sand everywhere I have done it with a pressure washer works better it will take off what is already coming off.

I rebuilt a m211 it had orange paint over the green. I first went through the brakes and wheel bearings then I sandblasted the frame and axles to get rid of the orange it came off rather easily the green was tough, and I realized the green is a good base coat for the new paint. for the rest of the build, I found sand everywhere when mounting tires, I could hear and fill sand in the brake drums not a lot but just not a sound I wanted to hear so I pulled each drum back off and cleaned them out.

 

[Joe Bertram]

New here. I did do a search and read a bunch and talked to some people about a tire conversion on a 1971 M816 wrecker I have. I know there are a few options but I'm still not clear on exactly what I need and I'm wondering if someone could spell it out easily for me.

The truck currently has the 11-20 bias tires with the split rim wheels. Some hold air and some are flat.
I plan to use the truck around our shop mostly but I do want to make it roadworthy.

I talked with a couple of suppliers of used parts and they gave me a bunch of options but again, not clear directions as to what exactly I need to do this. They mention adapters, or flipping hubs and basically "try this try that" With what its going to cost, id rather not experiment and just order exactly what I need.

I would like to eliminate the split rim wheels and either convert to super singles or at least to regular truck tires.

Again, I did read a bunch of threads in here, but maybe not the right ones. Could someone either point me to an informative thread or advise me of what my best course of action is?

Thanks!

M62 wrecker bed sitting on a cargo truck multifuel 5 ton?

 

[msgjd]

New here. 1971 M816 wrecker I have

1: What you have is a bastardized truck, and not one part of it belonging specifically to the M809-series
2: I spy an Austin-Western boom and bed from a M62
3: I spy an M39-series cab & chassis (mack diesel, or continental multifuel under hood (multi turbos are below manifold)
4: Due to the M54 tool box, you could have a M62 bed sitting on a M54 (cargo) truck chassis .. They have same wheelbase measurement. There IS the possibility you have a M62 which the PO replaced the bed w/boom, and also removed right fuel tank to put an M54 tool box there instead

5: You have a good piece of equipment.. But it will be expensive when it comes time for hoses.. You will need to buy adapters to mate standard hyd fittings to the hydraulic pipe on that boom . There are threads about that here on SS

6: Tires : you will not want "super singles" on there.. Road speed / power will suffer badly if it has a multifuel .. Power is poor enough with that heavy of a truck as-is with 1100x20's.. Singles will kill your hoisting stability unless you REALLY want to play with outriggers by yourself.. Commercial tube-type 1100x20 radials will help it ride/roll better and you won't need to change the rims.. If you don't do your own, some shops that handle truck tires or farm tires will do lockrings as long as the rims are not rusted.. Take note of tire Load Range when shopping for new tires, and what you expect to gross with the truck .. It's about 34500# Tare Weight sitting "empty" in your picture .. As for my M62 and all the other deuces and 5-tons, , I run stock 1100x20 NDCC's down the road just fine

7: A serious concern to look for ;; The rear spring packs on wreckers are totally different than all the other trucks .. Unless they changed out the entire set back there, you will otherwise need to be very careful when hoisting.. Wrecker spring packs move only a very little bit. Picture a set of leafs strapped to a section of railroad track, and there you have it. Which brings up another concern, I think my M62 is double-framed in the back. A M54 cargo is not. A couple peeks and you will be able to tell better what you actually have for a chassis

8: WELCOME TO THE DISEASE ! Not even threats of divorce can cure it

 

[TNR1]

Yes they will. 10 hole Budd pattern.

Could I go with 11R22.5 instead of 24.5?
Reason I ask is I own a Rolloff company and we have all 11R225 and I have a ton of them.

 

[canadacountry]

@msgjd I did wonder a bit about that the front and back seem a little different to me but I wasn't too sure how, what you said doesn't surprise me tho as sometimes some things just seem to go together like as if they were meant to (i've seen a few reddit photos of a van body being mashed into a pickup chassis with no special modifications really required just for one easy example!)

 

[msgjd]

Could I go with 11R22.5 instead of 24.5?
Reason I ask is I own a Rolloff company and we have all 11R225 and I have a ton of them.

you will be better with 22.5's if you have a multifuel under the hood.. They are the tubeless equivalent to the original tubed 20's .. 24.5's are equivalent to the old 22's , and of course taller .. You need to conserve power, not lose power due to taller tires if you want to do any road running

 

[msgjd]

@msgjd I did wonder a bit about that the front and back seem a little different to me but I wasn't too sure how, what you said doesn't surprise me tho as sometimes some things just seem to go together like as if they were meant to

M62 /M543 wreckers and M54 cargo share the same wheelbase length and axle positioning, albeit with some differences in the frame.. What was done to his truck is a natural fit , however, the spring pack of a M62/M543 is totally different than the M54 .. I forgot to warn him to look out for that .. Fixing now .

 

[TNR1]

Thank you for the responses. I've learned more about my truck from this thread than hours of research.
From the advice here:

1. Scrapping the super single idea and going with regular truck tires and rims.
2. Going to try a good hot water pressure washing before sand blasting to see if we can just sandblast certain areas if needed.
3. Sure to come back to ask brake questions once I dig into why they're not working
4. Looking at the fittings to see what to stock (adapters) etc. (I can make hoses in-house)

Annnd what I had no idea about, I have a "modified" truck. ha

 

[msgjd]

Annnd what I had no idea about, I have a "modified" truck. ha

another word is "repurposed" .. Hey, I hope you saw my edit about the double-frame and the spring pack.. There is the chance they replaced the bed and you (hopefully) have a wrecker chassis under it .. But what is fooling people (including me) is the cargo truck tool box sitting where a fuel tank should be on a diesel or multifuel wrecker .. It's possible they swapped it out for the toolbox.. If your rear springs look like a normal tall stack entirely of leaves (but upside down) , uh oh, the chassis is a M54 cargo and you will need to be a lot more careful than usual , and perhaps need to use the outriggers where previously they wouldn't be needed .. If your spring pack looks like a small set of leaves upon a long chunk of railroad track, you are golden