I've been thinking about getting some new tires for my 1979 Dodge Power Wagon lately. The BFG All Terrain T/A's that are on the truck are over 10 years old, one of them has a slow leak, and they are getting a bit worn. They are in the stock tire size of 235/75R15, but I want to switch it up because they look small on the truck.
I have two options:
-Go with a beefier 31x10.5R15 size
-Old-school pizza cutters
For years, this decision was easy: just go bigger and wider. The latest trend right now, thanks to David Freiburger's IG account Stockers With Lockers, are old-school trucks with old-school tire sizes, specifically tall, skinny "pizza cutter" tires. So yeah, now everyone wants that old farm truck vibe. And I'm having a crisis. I could go either way here. Pics of said truck:
I really could go either way with this thing. I'd like to keep cost down while looking "right". It's a stock height 70's 4x4, and that's not changing to accommodate tires. If I go pizza cutters, what size would that even translate to, and where can I get them? Only place I've seen them is Coker Tire, they are $250+ each, and they are bias-plies that require tubes. Does anyone make a radial that fits the vibe and doesn't cost an arm and a leg?
31's are available everywhere, so that won't be an issue. Just a matter of finding ones that look like they were on the market in the early 80's for that "Day 2" vibe.
What say ye, GRM Hive Mind?
Modern 31s. White-lettered sidewalls are fairly common among them. Seems like the smaller tires are all downsides but just happen to be fashionable.
I have a 74 Dodge W100 Power Wagon it has 31 x 10.5 15s since I has gone playing on some local trails. Tire choice should first be based on usage IMO.
I say keep it as is.........it looks fantastic. Simply replace what you have.
The 235/75R15 looks great on that truck. That's a 29" I think? I breifly thought about about moving up to a 31x10.50 from the 235/75 on my Jeep, but realized I like that tall skinny thing, and I don't use it in a way that wider helps me. I'm way into the tall skinny tire look and feel and snow performance, but tires quickly get wide when you go tall.
Wish somebody made a skinny 33" for my new jeep...
The truck looks right with what you have. 31x10.50's would be fine too, but I'd put them on an 8" wheel (white steel wagon wheels for maximum retro points). I'd stay with 15's. See if you can find them in Load Range C instead of P-metric
My GMT400 w/ Z71 came stock with 265/75/16's on 16x6.5's but the current wheels are 16x6. Both sizes are too skinny for 265's. I like the tall-n-skinny look, so it currently has 235/85/16's, which are the same height as 265/75's. I like the look and they fit better on the wheels, BUT the truck handles worse on the skinnier tires. My next set will be 265's, standard load or XL (because 265's on a half-ton and I don't tow) on 8" wheels. Any, all of that was to tell you that skinny tires handle worse, which you probably knew, but I feel better now.
The tires you describe would be correct on a truck from the early 1960s or older, but on a 1979 truck I'd stick with modern sizes.
In reply to Uncle David (Forum Supporter) :
That truck is actually local to me; we featured it on BangShift before I picked up my truck. Wagon Wheels are awesome, but the factory ones are hard to find these days, and I like the steelies/dog dishes look the truck has. I thought I read somewhere that my current wheels are 15x8's, but I could be wrong. If they are, 31's will fit easily.
Other than Wagon Wheels, I can get behind a set of American Racing Vector turbines.
The factory Mopar turbines would be great, except they are 5x5.5 and my bolt pattern is 5x4.5. The good news about that is most Jeeps were 5x4.5 back in the day, so there are TONS of wheel choices out there in case I did want to switch things up.
I'd go 31x10.50s. Even if your stock wheels are 7s they will be ok. Here's 31x10.50s on a 7" rim on my Scout.
The plot thickens.
I posted about this on a Dodge group, and someone IDed my wheels as 15x6.5. Some of the "Tin Grille" Ramchargers came with 15x8 steelies, but these aren't them. That's may be a bit narrow to run a 31x10.5, so that basically limits me to running the stock tire size unless I get different wheels. I really like the dog dish and steelies look, so I'm not sure what I can do.
In reply to Oapfu :
Those would definitely fit. They are slightly wider and taller but would still work on the 6.5" wide wheel. Only issue with those is that there's not as much tire choice as other sizes.
In reply to Racingsnake :
Nice dog.
Class 11 VW guys squeeze 31x10.50s onto 15x5.5" VW wheels. Not sure how that goes for on road performance, but they like it for keeping the tire seated at lower pressures.
That original tire size is the same as my little '90 Ranger! I went to 30x9.5-15 BFG AT on my XJ, cause I like the tall skinny look too, but didn't want much lift.
Are you sure about your bolt pattern? Dodge/Ford/Jeep of that era all had the same 5x5.5 afaik.
In reply to llysgennad :
Ha, I get that a lot about the bolt pattern. All of the 1975-79 trucks with the NP203 full-time 4WD transfer case (like mine) had 5x4.5 wheels. The other trucks with the divorced case and the NP241 came with 5x5.5.
Tony Sestito said:
In reply to llysgennad :
Ha, I get that a lot about the bolt pattern. All of the 1975-79 trucks with the NP203 full-time 4WD transfer case (like mine) had 5x4.5 wheels. The other trucks with the divorced case and the NP241 came with 5x5.5.
Huh. TIL Dodges are weirder than I thought
Can you fit 33x10.5s on there? That's what I ran on my F150 with the same stock tire size. You can get BFG ATs in that size. I think maybe Toyo and Interco (of super swamper fame) make tires in that size too. That's pretty much it for pizza cutters in 15" wheels. Otherwise you're looking at 235/85-16s and 255/85-16s.
In reply to thatsnowinnebago :
On this truck, if you want to run 33's, it needs a lift. They will rub in the front.
Do not, under any circumstances, take automotive advice from David Freiberger.
Ok, so here's another question: go with Blackwalls or Raised White Letters/Raised Open Letters?
While I love RWL tires on old stuff from this era, since this truck has the steelies/dog dishes, I could totally get away with blackwalls for that no-frills look. There are tons of affordable blackwalls out there, including some dirt cheap Goodyear Wranglers I've found that look promising.
When it comes to RWLs, I think of BFG's T/A tires. The newest gen of BFG All-Terrains have some goofy looking sidewalls that would look out if place on this thing, but they now make a less-aggressive Trail-Terrain T/A that takes the place of the old Long Trail T/A. They look like a good middle ground, and are about $50 cheaper for each tire.
In reply to Tony Sestito :
White letters out! Old trucks deserve it.
After thinking about this for a while, and thanks to all the input here, I've decided that I won't be pursuing that tall/skinny look. Leave that to the car show crowd, this truck still has work to do! Modern tire sizes make more sense for the truck right now.
