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Hi all

I'm working at a garage / tire shop now and I was looking through our tire books today. I found a company called Denman Tire that makes specialty tires. They have 7.50-20 and many other big-truck sized tube-type bias tires, in both highway rib and traction zig-zag treads. Just thought I'd pass it on for those who are staying original......

Oh, Well, I guess they'd be ok for show-sitters... Sorry bought that......

Don't feel bad. Its still good news to share as it might stop one of us from getting stuck with these tires!

I've been researching the bias "straightline and zig-zag" tires. Basically, I've come to the conclusion that the ones available are all made in China, made basically for trailers,and have major defects. Just about every brand has buyer complaints about blowouts, cracking, and short life. The US brands have, for the most part, quit making them. Or the companies are bankrupt.

So, if safety and road use are not major concerns, go for it. Otherwise a good radial or perhaps a commercial grade tire from an OTR shop is in my future.

My $.05(inflation)

Kyle

ive put new tires on four big bolts in the past four years. three sets are from china and one set from brazil. any where from 7.50x16 to 10x20's i looked at going with radials until i saw the price and stuck with bias. i dont like that they are foriegn made but i havent had any issues with them either. they ride much nicer than what i replaced them with.

I just put a new set of Dynatrac, Highway Plus 8.25-20's on a '51 brand X COE wrecker that I own. I think they were made in China but I couldn't find it on the sidewall anywhere. Only about 100 miles on them so far, but they are definitely better than the what was on it before.

We have run some Chinese tires on our trailers. I don't really like them just because they were made in China, but for about $100 less per tire, I can't complain. We haven't recapped tires in over 20 years, and I would imagine the carcass is finished when they get down to 2/32". On the original tread they are comparable to Bridgestone, etc.

Does Goodyear still make 7.50-20's?
or Firestone???

looking for a west coast supplier.....

No, I don't believe they do........

Yea its Firestone. Coker sells a set for military ndt and antique trucks. Hope this helps out.

I have this brand of tire on my 34/35 chevy trucks and I also, Sell Vintage tires and I have sold this brand.

To date there is no issues.

also, All tires are required to meet the DOT Department of transportation requirements for safety. Even the Vintage tires.

Now, If someone has an issue they send a cert. letter to the one he purchased the tires from then to the Maker of the tire.

Everyone will be on the same page. then you file and have a copy of the letter to the BBB. There will be a hearing.

or take it to court and front the cost to fight.

You should document the day they were installed and also, a letter/statement by the business that dismounted the tire. and what is even better is to have a police dept. come out and take a report with a file number.

when you go to the BBB meeting. Take the tires with you. along with a picture of the trailer/truck etc. and let them know they can view the car. etc.

They will have nothing to stand on. and You will win. and they have to pay you for the time it took and the cost to get to the meetings. and the time off from work. as most of these meetings are in the late mornings or after 1pm.

This works as I did this with a new truck. and for customers of mine who needed a prof. Witness.

I hope this helps all of you out there in truck land

Just to confuse the discussion, the Universal Tire on-line catalog says the Denman's are made in the good old USA. The USA is mentioned on the pages for the individual tires by size. Here the link to the group page:

http://www.universaltire.com/cart.php?target=category&category_id=343&pageID=1

there is only One factory that I know of in the USA and that is Goodyear. the others closed down. Mexico and there is some over seas.

The only requirement for made in the usa is that a part or materials must be from the usa. that includes items shiped in the usa and back out then back to the usa.

Made in the USA is a very loose term. Very sad but true.

Any Brands other than Good year are not trully made here. Until, I hear some prof of another plant. I will stick to the story.

Coker tire has their tires made at three diffrent locations including Canada,Mexico and in the Uk Just to list a few.


Still... They must pass the US DOT Requirements. No matter where they are made

i come here to ask about tires and behold! there is a topic about it.

are there any places to get tires decently cheap? i need to re-shoe my truck if im to make the trip to WA from SoCal.

i dont mind running recaps because my truck has them on it now and they have been on there for around 20 years and are just now starting to come apart. and the truck wont ever be going over 50mph.

any links would be great.

Give these guys a call. I have dealt with them before. http://www.nebraskatire.com/truck/overstocks.htm

keep in mind. DOT Law only allows recaps on your rear tires.

Steer tires can NOT Be recaps.

I thought I would put this out there for those who may not know this

Just for the record, recapped tires being illegal on the steering axle of trucks is a myth that has been around for the whole 45 years I have owned trucks. Recapped tires are prohibited on buses, not trucks. Please read the following closely.

I'd like to find two of the 7.50R tires to replace the 8.25's I currently have on the front of the firetruck. Couple of years ago, I couldn't find anyone making a 7.50 in a radial tire... Anyone know if that size are still made?

I doubt there is a radial. This is the only decent deal I know of on 7.50's. http://www.nebraskatire.com/truck/overstocks.htm I have done business with them before. Radial tires put a lot more stress on a wheel and probably aren't recommended for your wheels. Bias nylon tires last a lot longer on a vehicle that isn't driven much.

I haven't found a 7.50 in a radial. I drive my truck about every third day and put about 40 miles on it every week just to keep it running great. I don't know if that qualifies as driven much but it doesn't sit a week without getting out and on the road. I've had the radials all around(all six rims) for a couple of years without a problem.

I got new Nanco tires from Firestone for my COE about 5 years ago. So far very pleased with em, wanted good yaer/ but the Nanco's were half the price and the guy at Firestone said they were a good tire.

Nanco makes a run of Yokohama knock off tires that are very popular with the VW off road scene. everyone is very pleased with them. im running a pair on the back of my baja.

[IMG]http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n265/runslikeapenguin/VW/Picture003-1.jpg[/IMG]

No offence. but, I must clear this up. Crenwelge...

In the stat of Ma and all the Northeast states as far as I know. and I am a class A lic truck driver and was a state inspector for the state of Ma.

All the course work for getting a class a or b states that no retreads are alowed on the stear tires for safety. No matter what. anything over 26,000 pound requires this. This is how the State Ran Dot does things.

I guess I was not clear on that. Sorry. as for federal. I have been told that the requirements are the same.

To me. It don't matter as it is a safety issue. If you have a retread come appart on a stear tire you will at high speed a very good chance of having a major accident. depending on if the tire blows out like most do.

anyone can argue this. I am shure.

But, lets put it this way. Lets say that it was true that you can run them on any location on the truck.

Now, It is your issue to make shure you are legal in every state you travel to. Because, If you get stopped. and They notice you run them on the front axle. and they do not allow that in their state. They will not allow that truck to continue on the road till a service comes out or you find a way to get new steer tires.

If you go to a tire shop anywhere in the Eastern part of the Us. I Never will see a shop put a re-tread on a front axle. That is also, a liability for that shop.

all re-treaded steer tires are re-treaded with a tire pattern for use on a rear tire.

I hope I explained this clear. I am not trying to offend anyone nor miss lead. The last thing we would want is someone hurt in a accident.

Thanks for reading

I just got some 7.50 radial from Yocahama.. I know I miss spelled it.

They were over 300.00 each. Not cheep.

Psac,
I am not recommending recaps on the steering axle. I am just quoting the regulations. I have been doing the annual inspections on our own trucks for as long as it has been required which is about 20 years. I have to pass a written test periodically and this is one of the trick questions they use to see if the inspector is reading the regulations. Our fleet runs on the east coast occasionally. I see nothing different in the MA DOT regulations than in Federal motor carrier regulations. http://www.mass.gov/rmv/inspect/commercial_regs.pdf

North Carolina allows retreaded steer tires on all medium and heavy duty Class 8 trucks. NOT allowed on buses! Trash, refuse, and concrete mixer trucks often used retreads on the steer axle. These trucks have more problems with sidewall punctures and tears from running in bad areas than from blowouts and tread separation. Proper air pressure and frequent inspections can eliminate most problems with ALL tires.
I don't run steer retreads on the tractor-trailer dumps or quad-axle dumps that I own now. However I did run them on the concrete mixer trucks that my family owned 12 years ago. The mixer trucks generally run no faster than 55 MPH and no further than 15 miles from plant to jobsite. We had no more problems with them than we did with the new steer tires. We only allowed one Bandag recap on the casing after making sure there was absolutely no damage to the casing.
Federal Motor Carrier Regs allow them to be run on the interstate also.

The quickest way to verify this is to do a google search using 'retread steer tire legal' and check the results!

Hope this helps, JAMES

Yep, we at our shop sell lots of retread steer tires...... Even have steer style ribbing........

In WI, recaps ok on steer tires for everything except busses.