I'm new to these old truck, myself, but I will say that my '39 had a totally destroyed tire when I got it. I went down to the local shop and had a cheap, used tire (radial, no tube) thrown on just so I can move the truck around. It will go 100% flat overnight. Pretty annoying, really. Now if I had wire brushed and painted the rim it might be a different story, but I'm sure that when I eventually get new tires for it I'm going to have tubes thrown in just for the heck of it. I guess I can try doing without after prepping the rims better just to see what happens, as the tubes can always be added later, but it seems more straightforward to just do it up front. I don't doubt that the tube and the tire can create friction and deterioration, but Coker Tire has recommended I run tubes in tubeless radial tires before and I don't see them doing that if it was a really serious concern (but what do I know?). The tire shop recommended it, too, for when I get tires in the future.
Dan
Last edited by Blimp53; 09/27/2013 8:57 AM.
