53 inch tall tire on m35

[Recovry4x4]

There really is no better or worse overall, just different approaches. What is discussed for the most part are opinions and personal preference tainted with a few tidbits of facts. Get what pleases you at a price you feel comfortable with and enjoy a new hobby.

 

[samsimpson]

I am running 16.00 R20s on custom double beadlock rims with no lift.

 

[BadMastard]

Hey Juspar!

Ok, I own a m109a3 and a m35a3. Your tire question is pretty simple to answer.

You are going to be changing the rims if you want to put bigger tires on. The A3 wheels are wider than just about anything (11 inches) so the majority of the tires aren't going to like that without a beadlock. The beadlock in the a3 wheels seems to be too wide for the beads on anything other than the 14.5x20's, so you're going to end up with either a new wheel or fabricating a bead lock. Or you're buying hemtt wheels and re-centering them. I'm still sitting on FMTV wheels since finding centers for that still ain't happening! One interesting note here, my tires are rated at 8000 lbs, but the A3 wheels I have say they are rated for 4000 lbs. Again, hemtt

Now, if you build beadlocks you can easily fit 46" tires on the stock rims and poof! you can now go 57mph.

BTW, my m35a3 will do 54, downhill. 52 in every other case, and loves hills. you CAN turn it up, but I'm not going to. One of the local CAT guys gets 300+ hp out of them, but the life expectancy drops to half or less. back to tires.

The 53's probably won't fit on your rear axles, even though it's **** close. Here's a good site to compare tire sizes, rim widths and stuff.

Army Military Tires

If you look at that, you can see what each tire relates to in inch size, and you MIGHT get 49's on (14.00 x 20). Someone can blitzkrieg me on that to let me know how wrong I am.

Lastly, check out my m309 trailer build. You might find you can make a camper out of a trailer pretty easy. All I needed was some metal, Nuts and bolts, 4 inch grinder and a winch.

Did I miss anything? let me know.

Jerry

 

[gimpyrobb]

Here ya go Jerry:

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/deuce-...g/29109-how-fit-14-00r20s-still-have-6wd.html

 

[Derrickl112]

I'm still sitting on FMTV wheels since finding centers for that still ain't happening!

from the link gimp posted, here's a link showing recentered combat rims.


http://www.steelsoldiers.com/deuce-...ng/27703-5ton-combat-rims-recentered-m35.html

 

[gimpyrobb]

Nice D, I forgot about that one.

 

[BadMastard]

Those are some sexy tires! Too bad I have 395/80/20's sitting here. I tell you, if I ever get heat vision like superman, I'm making some new rims!

The upside is I just finished removing an axle from the 109, and drove it around the yard a bit. Got to finish the frame cuts, but holy cow that deuce handles nice. Now it's time to put those 395's on rims!

 

[drgreg]

To answer the OP's question in the best way I can, the centers, on a M35A2, of the rear axles are 48 inches apart.
So 46 inch tires would be the maximum without major mods. If you choose to chop, bob or bastardize an M35 you can find a lot of options. I own some trucks with oversized tires, you will see some performance difference.

 

[gimpyrobb]

J, they 395s will fit on those lmtv rims just fine.

 

[BadMastard]

Chris, you're killing me here!

 

[ApopkaFL]

Listen folks the 1600 R20 fit fine on A3 rim. Hold on ill go take some close up photos repost

 

[ApopkaFL]

I have been selling and mounting these tires for a very long time. You can argue the point that they are not right or what ever, but they are fine, They are not coming off the rim... Mount one for your self and see, then you can say. Listen to everyone else tell you this and tell you that, Thats plain and simple. You dont know until you do it yourself.

 

[1 Patriot-of-many]

so the new guy asks a question and you take it upon yourself to instruct him to go search, i KNOW that drives away new members. who appointed you to the posting police?

Thank you. It certainly is. Most sites want traffic. Guess this one doesn't.

 

[islandguydon]

and you think 53's take alot of work...

DERRICK, THE TRUCK ROCKS. Thanks for the picture.

 

[BadMastard]

ApopkaFL,

Hmmm. Looks good, and I like it. I was trying to say you can't get TWO of them on the a3, but the other point on the a3 rims I had was they show a 4000 lb rating, which is differing from the heavier rating of the tire. And of course I haven't had any luck using bead lockers, which I really really like.

So, speaking of which, what do you do to mount your tires on the A3 rims? Did you find bead lockers of the right size? Do you run them without? Did you tube them? I would love it if the 395's were bead locked, but I tried them without and it was hard to seat the beads. Any help?

And thank you for the awesome pics!

 

[MrM4]

I thought Id post alittle info for the OP and just my personal experance with building a lifted Bobber.

I have almost finshed my M35A2 Bobber ( M109 ) with 53s so heres a few things that I learned.

I used the 105 trailer springs for this build. The truck has a custom 9 inch lift kit, which REALLY sucked to install but is need to clear 53s.

You will end up removing about 40 rivets to get the rear axle out before adding the new springs.

The front of the truck is about 7,000 lbs so you would need a couple good jacks and blocking.

Chopping the frame is pretty easy, not much to say there.

If you lift the truck both front and rear drive shafts will need to be streched.

You will need a custom steering arm and possibly a new drag arm.

All the brake lines on my 109 reached just fine, no need to get longer lines.

Latteral Bracing is a must for the lift kit.

Most likly the box will need a spacer to clear the tires, if you mount it to the frame your tires wont fit.

Re Centered HMMTT Rims seemed like the best option for price and because you can go tubeless.

I recommend getting new seals when you flip the hubs, save future headache and do it now. Dont forget about the CORK while your in there.


There are alot of hours involved in doing a lifted deuce, Id never do another. Doing a non lifted Bobber is about 1/2 the work of building a lift kit and installing it if you do all the work yourself.

 

[samsimpson]

You don't need 9" of lift to fit 53s, I have none on mine.

 

[MrM4]

The lift is not require if you have custom rims that set the tire further out, and 9 inches is more then you need when using Hemtt rims, I just choose to go that route with mine. I think 6 inches would clear but it would br close. If you use Hemtt rims and no lift your most likly going to have rub issues .

 

[Texas Diesel]

.....just thought I'd throw these up here. Bought the M35A2C from a young man in Louisiana and he had put 53" XZL's (16R20) on the front and 49" XZL's (14R20) on the rear. The shop in LA. that did the work is called Kingpin Automotive in Gonzales. I will be replacing the front tires in a few weeks to match the back. so I won't have any issues when placing it in 6-wheel drive. The linkage used appears to be tractor linkage and is adjustable. I put some more pics up if the undercarrige if I find anyone is interested.

 

[Blind Driver]

They do not have the 46s. No 53s won't fit. Put a 109 box on an M818 is the only way to get that.

The won't fit the tandem axles.

Anything is possible if you throw enough time and money at it.

After you get done relocating the drive axles, it won't steer very well. I doubt if it's worth the trouble.

Want a 5 ton, buy a 5 ton. Too bad the fuel mileage brings the suckage.