Dual 2.00x20 tires on M51 - nice historic MV drawings

[Robo McDuff]

Yes I did search and yes, the question surely has been asked million times. With all the oversize single threads and the deuce and 9xx series dominating, I could not find a good thread on it. So here goes.

This is Tatra land here and I get can new surplus army tires 12.00x20 for about $ 120, about half of what I would have to pay for similar quality 11.00x20. So worth considering when buying 11 pieces. Question is, can you use these as duals on an 1973 M51A2 using the original rims, do you need spacers to get enough room between tires and is it advisable at all.

I do NOT want to look extra cool, change from duals to super single, get a few miles more out of the old girl or anything like that, just an economic consideration without endangering the integrity or safety of the vehicle and its crew.

When looking for that answer, I came across another MV forum with some nice historic drawings of our beloved MVs in action.

 

[M813A1]

Yes !! Y can use the 1200x20 on the front and rear axles of the M51A2, The 1200x20 it is around a 44" tire, unlike the 1400x20 tire are a 48" tire. The 1200x20 will give you a little more road speed and you should not loose pulling power. I myself would like to put 1200x20 tires on my truck I had 1400x20 tires on for awhile and yes the road speed was nice but I lost a lot of pulling power with the 1400x20's. I ended up putting my 1100x20 tires back on my truck !!

 

[Robo McDuff]

Thanks, I did not realize the 1200x20 are not only wider but also have a larger diameter, thought they were the same. From another thread I now found that the difference is about an inch in diameter between 11 and 12. Can you mount them directly or do you need some kind of spacers between the rims to get enough room between the dual tires?

Edit: to be clear, spacers between the inside wheel and the outside wheel to get them further apart

video: rim separating a bit too quick