14.00 tires rubbing and not sure PSI I should use?

[dusterjh]

Hi All,

Got my deuce about 3 weeks ago, loving every minute of it too!!
Anyhow, it's a bob job and running 14.00 20 tires on deuce wheels, the driver's front rubs on the steering component that is inside that fender well, any ones else have this with the 48" tall tires? Also I'm running about 55 psi in these tires, it says on the side wall max. load (can't remember the weight) but it says @ 100 PSI. The truck does wonder around a lot and was wondering if running a higher pressure may help, any recommendations?
Here a couple pictures of the trip home.

Thanks all,
Joe
Towanda, PA

1973 Deuce (bobbed)
2003 Harley Heritage Softail
2009 Dodge Challenger R/T
It's a difficult thing to decide what to drive to work everyday.

 

[73X]

Try lowering air pressure a few psi at a time, down to 40 or so it will get better. Also the rear most likely will run less than the front due to less weight.

 

[G-Force]

Do you have something in the back of that truck???
It looks like its squatting in the pics.....or maybe an optical illusion......

 

[dburt]

That tall of a tire on the standard rim was never designed to fit, so you have to expect rubbing and clearance issues. You can go to a different rim with a wider off-set to the outside that would help.

 

[dusterjh]

Nope nothing in the back of the truck just the spare. The fellow said he used springs out of a C60 or C70 truck, maybe that could make it sit lower in the back? Thanks for the psi advice, I'll try lowering it down a bit at a time.

 

[gimpyrobb]

I have 395s and mine rub. You need to find some 135 rims or better yet, a wider rim with more back space than stock.

 

[jatonka]

A 10" or preferably an 11" wide rim, built on the same backspace as a standard 7" deuce rim will stop the rubbing on the steering arm/ drag link area. But nothing short of a body lift will stop the rubbing on the exhaust J-pipe when you run 14.00R 20 tires or larger. I was building rims for my original JATonka 4x4 conversions years ago and learned this from trial and error experience.
As far as rear end squat, you will need to create spacer blocks or between 3 and 4 " to get rid of it. Make sure the spacers are wide enough to reach over to the index pins on the axle in order to keep the axle from shifting on the springs under load.

 

[50shooter]

I did a search and this thread came up. Interesting to see as I'm a few weeks away from mounting these on my bobbed truck.

Has anyone put blocks under the springs both front and rear. I know it is frowned upon to have front spring blocks but with the square axle tubes, is it still as much of a concern? I'm not leaning towards doing it unless several someone else's have been the lab rats.

Your truck looks different than most the bob trucks, nice to see some variety.

 

[jatonka]

50 shooter, I was the original JATonka 4x4 conversion, My truck is different than the others cause I spent more time and money on it than they did. I took it to New Jersey to the MTA show years ago and was complimented by the best of the Deuce collectors. And was given the name of "Deuce Butcher". I have 3 of them out there, one is for sale in Minnesota by one of our members, Saquatch Santa. It is the best one I ever built. John Tennis