The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk new tires and rims for 58 1/2 ton

Does anybody have a good source of information for what size wheels will work on a 1/2 ton??
Thanks,
brian

It depends on a number of factors. The original wheels are 15x5 1/2" and generally will accept a 235-70x15 tire without rubbing the drag link. If you have stock steering with these tires it is fine to drive but a bear to park. You can get a wider wheel but probably should not have more than 3 1/2" backspace. If you are planning to install some type of power steering (Toyota, Saganaw, etc) you can use a wider wheel and larger tire.
Fred

7.00R15LT work and look great on my 58, on slightly newer rims [that I think are 6"] - as Fred sez, wider tires can be a problem with rubbing the drag link, been there

Bill

Thanks Bill and Fred,
From my service manual I found that they had 6.70-15-6, mine seems to have heavy load springs (a second set above the normal leaf springs). I am not sure but the manual shows that 8 leaf spring trucks had 7-17.5-6. Sorry to be a little clueless but I was unsure how this translates to modern tire sizes.

Thanks,
Brian

17.5's would be very unusual on the 1/2T, special order - the 2nd spring pak you have is called overload springs, and just as likely to be aftermarket, not part of the 8 leaves in the manual, which are the standard leaf pak [mine has overloads too]

the standard 1/2T's had either 15's, which gives the base GVW of 4000/4200#, or 16's for the higher 4600 - check the door plate to see what GVW your truck was sold with and you'll know what tires it had, only would have had 17.5's if it says 5000#

the 700R15's are very close to the 6.70x15's, tho being 10 ply [truck] tires are a bit harder ride than most folks want ... the 235/70x15 Fred mentions are approximations, but lower profile and wider, like all passenger metric sizes, which have the softer ride folks are used to nowadays ... P-metric sizes larger [first 2 numbers] will wind up wearing the pitman arm on left turns

Bill

Bill,
Thanks for the continued education, it is greatly appreciated!
Brian

6.70-15 works out to a 215/75/15 in a modern size. A wheel to consider if you want a wider tire would be the old Blazer Ralley, 15 x 8. That size and application is available in aftermarket wheels, too, just make sure to specify a Blazer 4x4 application and then order the centercaps separately (the caps that come with them will have holes in the fronts for the 4x4 hubs). You'll also want to specify an 8" width, 7" will be a Japanese truck fitment with the wrong backspace, and will rub.
I'm running the Blazer Ralley (there's a pic of them on my signature link) with a 30x9.50x15 tire, lots of clearance with no rubbing. It's not bad to steer, but I'm a bit of gorilla, so it doesn't bother me.