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Keeping the original tires

cranetruck

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The tires for the xm757 8x8 have been a sensitive subject for me since day one, they are old, some are worn, torn and the sizes and tread patterns are not even identical, but they were specifically designed for this series of vehicles and are low profile, low pressure, tubeless, military NDCC tires with their own marking, "16-20".
My 757 came with an interesting assortment, Goodyear (3 ea), BF Goodrich (4 ea) and Uniroyal (1 ea). One was radial, three were recaps and seven bias ply. There are slight differences in the tread in that the Goodyear blocks extend further down the sides. The recaps copy that design while the NOS BF Goodrichs have a narrower thread pattern.
Based on the pictures I have of the Uniroyal radial, it also had the narrower tread pattern (that tire blew out during the tow from OK). I like the Goodyear design best and seems to be the original tire.
I have had very little luck tracing the history of the tires, the companies have merged, info lost and the "design engineers" who I have spoken to at Goodyear and Goodrich have no clue about the history and/or specifications for them. Wallace W Wade (Dallas TX) never heard of them.

Bottom line is that I want to keep them, none of the potential subs look right for the truck and they all compromise something , be it weight, floatation, diameter or most of all looks, the truck simply doesn't look right with any tire other than the originals.

Somewhere out there in surplus land must be a stack of NOS tires for this truck, so meanwhile, I'll be driving on the originals.
Having two stering axles gives me a little safety margin too...
 

Armada

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Good luck Bjorn. I have to believe there is a stash tucked away somewhere too.
And if the tires that were on your crane truck are any indication of tread life expectancy, you'll be running the 8x8's shoes for a long time :-D
 

cranetruck

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I have this lead to NOS tires, does anybody know this place (Utah)?

".........
I believe the place was called Sweeds or something roughly similar out in Tooele. Red Tomlin may know who I'm talking about if they're still there. They were just north of his place. They had parts and pieces for these 8x8's. Maybe worth a call.
Regards,
M376X6"



Thanks,
 

NDT

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I have some 1964 Gates 11.00-20's on my M135 and they are completely usable. I have no issues with using ancient tires. WWII synthetic tires are another matter, they will come apart.

I will keep my eyes open for the 16-20's in my travels. So far I have never seen any that were not on a truck. You might call Gensco tire, they have some 8.25-20s here in Houston which is a very unusual tire to see on the loose.
 

cranetruck

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Thanks for the leads guys, there is a difference between 16.00R20 and the the "16-20" that I need. They are actually 16/70-20, which is a low aspect ratio NDCC.

Ron, I visited Jim Henry's last year and he only had a couple of steel wheels for the 8x8, which I got. He did suggest Joe Naglich, however, and that's where I found the one NOS 16-20 tire. Jim and Joe worked together some years back selling M656s to the Dominican Republic and kept a bunch of stuff that wasn't needed....

The tires I'm looking for are shown in the second image.
 

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m38inmaine

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I would guess he is talking about getting in touch with Tomlin Ordnance Depot in Tooele, UT, he would know if there were any around. 435-830-8160. I was there in 94 for two weeks on a large forest fire, he has tons of stuff.
 

Hammer

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I know you want the original NDT type tire, but have you thought about an industrial/ag tire? They are somewhat similar in size and tread.
15.5/70-20 and 17.5/65-20 are two sizes that are pretty close, and are made for the flotation and weight you are thinking about.
 

Hammer

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17.5/65-20
Tire Size 17.5/65-20
Ply 10
Tread Depth (32nds) 32
Tire Weight 150
Overall Width 17.7
Overall Diameter 43.6
Revs Per Mile 482
 
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