devilman96 said:
I took something that he had been working out for some time and with a few changes adapted them to the current design you see on Dan's truck. (with G's permission of course)
So......, don't you think that full credit should go to the one capable of transforming an idea (which wasn’t so new BTW) into tangible reality, something of practical use for many of us...? I’m the one to say: thank you, Mike!
And thanks to all others who also contributed with all kind of practical upgrades for our preferred “old” toys. …..At this moment specially thinking of member builder77 who might be smiling at us, already sitting behind the wheel of his brand new angel-powered Deuce…
The end result is what counts and besides some esthetic considerations (of the center disk) this is THE wheel to mount and take advantage of Uncle Sam’s cheap surplus 14.5 XLs.
These and the XZL successors with their equivalent metric size 365/80R20 as well as Conti’s MPT80 and MPT81 among others, are typical Unimog tires, also widely used for medium sized all-terrain fire trucks and tactical and rescue vehicles mainly in Europe. In my opinion the best tire-type to fit under a deuce by far: tubeless, extremely flexible sidewall, extra strong bead section, suitable for ultra-low air pressure operation without the need of special bead locking devices. Only drawback: new tires cost big $$$....! (check out Conti tire prices here:
http://shortlinks.net/hra121)
Its designation MPT (= Multi Purpose Tire) indicates their special construction and unique shape of the bead area, thus the need for special MPT rims like the ones being discussed. Once again, MPT tires are NOT to be mounted on std. rims! This goes out to the ones that put 12.5s in place of 9.00x20: if you prefer to stick with the relative small sized 12.5s (or cannot find/afford a set of 14.5s) keep in mind that the recommended wheel size is the same: 20x11”, obviously to be run as singles. (see plenty of tech info here:
http://shortlinks.net/lxk357)
Time to return to our green nuts and bolts now!
Gerhard