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1947 half ton (3100) with stock 16 inch wheels and tires. I have been told the original wheel will work with a 215 x 85R16 tire. Can anybody confirm this? If I wanted to go to a more modern style wheel and tire can anyone make a recommendation? I would only be interested in a wheel that would work with the bolt pattern of the stock front/rear hubs. Thanks, Ray

I have two 3100s with those tires on stock rims. I did not use inner tubes. I sandblasted, epoxy primed, smeared a bit of 2 part epoxy around the rivets inside of the rims, and painted them. They are a little over 2 inches bigger in diameter which results in minor changes in my shift points, and lowers RPM at highway speed.
I like them.

I have Cooper Tire SRM II LT215/85R16 black truck radials on my Suburban (they are pretty old, 10+ years).

The 1954 16" rims are 4.5" x 16".

Your 1947/48 rims might be either 4.0" or 4.5".

The mounted tire diameter, as Carl posted, is around 31". The "advertised" diameter is around 28".

Thanks Master Gabster. Sounds like all I need to do is buy the tires. I will probably stick with tubes but I need to find some new ones. The tubes on it now have a very long stem that sticks out more than I like.

Thanks Boltergeist!

bucktruck,

I forget to mention in my post above:

The set of Cooper radial tires on my Suburban have "radial" inner tubes. They also needed a valve stem protector where the valve comes out of the wheel - added by the tire supplier/mounter. No problems ever - 12k highway/Interstate and country-road miles on these 14+ years old tires.

The other set of Goodyear truck radials are on the same type of 1954 wheels, but these wheels were in excellent condition - no stem protectors needed and tubeless. I have not driven on these 4-5 year old tires, but they are holding air.

The trucks/tires mentioned above have been on trucks stored/housed in garages (not parked outside, except on trips).

Guy at a local tire store as me to consider this size (225 x 75R16). He said they would not be quite as high and a little wider than 215 x 85R16. Do you think they would work on the stock 4 to 4.5 inch rims? Thanks, Ray

Here is a good calculator to determine tire size.
Harold

The tire manufacturer will list rim width range recommendation for a specific tire. E.g. If you were interested in a Kumho Crugen tire, the recommended rim width for a LT225/75R16 is 6" - 7"

https://www.kumhotireusa.com/tire-category-sub-detail/light-truck-uhp/all-season/7/crugen%20ht51

A 215/85R16 Radial will work well on a 4.5" wheel/rim.

Think three times before putting a 225 x 75R16 on a standard equipment 1948 4.0" inch rim

52 Carl.....How much wider would you say the 215/85R16 tires are vs stock narrow tires? With no tubes would you suggest using valve stem protectors? Thanks, Ray

They are skinny looking.
No need for stem protectors needed. The tubeless valve stems fit the holes in the stock rims perfectly.

I should have mentioned above that one of my set of wheels needed valve protectors because of the rust/pitting near the holes (on the inner side of the wheels). I have had no problems after many years of use.