A drive around!

[JDNSW]

Since Tuesday, I have had my sister-in-law and her husband staying for the first time in years. So yesterday, before they left this morning, I took them on a tour of the property. We took the County, rather than the 2a, because her back is bad (they are both close to 80) and we went in some places I haven't been for a while. One track along a fenceline had a tree down across it, so we had to seek a bypass - as I said with remarkable foresight as we crawled over jagged rocks and fallen timber, "this sort of thing is hard on tyres".

Shortly after returning to the house, I looked out at the County, and observed a stream of water running onto the ground. "Blow it! I've knocked another hole in the water tank!" Not a disaster - it's not the first one. (has a 30gallon water tank under the driver). But then my b-i-l remarked "Yes, and you've got a flat tyre too!" I had not noticed that the front tyre on the side away from me was flat - the ground slopes away there. I had a look - and there was no trouble seeing why it had gone down - the piece of wood was still sticking out the side. This morning, after seeing them out through the forest, I took the wheel off and took it down to the village - they reckon its fixable, should be ready Monday.

John

[weeds]

could have been worse i suppose, i'm guessing these are the tracks you drove me around in the IIa

[JDNSW]

could have been worse i suppose, i'm guessing these are the tracks you drove me around in the IIa

Pretty much. I am going to have to get out with the tractor and blade.

John

[justinc]

Damn:(.

What tyres are you using John? I serviced a 130DC today that had a set of M55 Toyo fitted prior to a round oz trip almost 24months ago. Did about 20K and so far they look about 30% worn. Throughout the trip he had no punctures, and the vehicle was pretty heavy:o. I'm thinking of a set of these for touring, apparently I can get them in 255/85/16 so should be a good thing. A LOT quieter than the BFG mudders...


JC

[V8Ian]

Damn:(.

What tyres are you using John? I serviced a 130DC today that had a set of M55 Toyo fitted prior to a round oz trip almost 24months ago. Did about 20K and so far they look about 30% worn. Throughout the trip he had no punctures, and the vehicle was pretty heavy:o. I'm thinking of a set of these for touring, apparently I can get them in 255/85/16 so should be a good thing. A LOT quieter than the BFG mudders...


JC
I had Toyos on a Cruiser in the 80s, they were a brilliant tyre. The only reason I stopped using Toyo, was a claim refusal on truck tyres, that were being granted to larger fleets.

[JDNSW]

Damn:(.

What tyres are you using John? I serviced a 130DC today that had a set of M55 Toyo fitted prior to a round oz trip almost 24months ago. Did about 20K and so far they look about 30% worn. Throughout the trip he had no punctures, and the vehicle was pretty heavy:o. I'm thinking of a set of these for touring, apparently I can get them in 255/85/16 so should be a good thing. A LOT quieter than the BFG mudders...


JC

The County has Bridgestone 604Vs, and the 2a has Steeltreks, both 7.50x16.
I have had the same type of tyres on the County now for almost twenty years, and for the sort of driving I mostly do in it they are sufficiently satisfactory that I have not felt the need to change. Before the Steeltreks on the 2a I had bar tread crossplies. The Steeltreks are a significant improvement, and, again, quite good for the use the vehicle gets. With both tyres, most problems have been either staking or more commonly, faulty tubes.

John

[Rangier Rover]

Lucky you made it back by the sound of it!

I don't think it matters how strong a tyres construction is in a radial they are prone to this:( We have a lot of trouble here for the same reason. The old 14 and 16 ply rated rag seem to be more resistant but are like walking on jelly fish out on the road:eek:
One thing I do find here, the wider the tyre the more prone to a side wall failure. The old 750X16 cheese cutters win hands down for durability and value for money.

Tony

[justinc]

The County has Bridgestone 604Vs, and the 2a has Steeltreks, both 7.50x16.
I have had the same type of tyres on the County now for almost twenty years, and for the sort of driving I mostly do in it they are sufficiently satisfactory that I have not felt the need to change. Before the Steeltreks on the 2a I had bar tread crossplies. The Steeltreks are a significant improvement, and, again, quite good for the use the vehicle gets. With both tyres, most problems have been either staking or more commonly, faulty tubes.

John

604V's are a great tyre, steeltreks also. But yes, most tyres can become the victim of rocks and stakes:(, even 12 to 14 ply ones.

JC

[HBWC]

Lucky you made it back by the sound of it!

I don't think it matters how strong a tyres construction is in a radial they are prone to this:( We have a lot of trouble here for the same reason. The old 14 and 16 ply rated rag seem to be more resistant but are like walking on jelly fish out on the road:eek:
One thing I do find here, the wider the tyre the more prone to a side wall failure. The old 750X16 cheese cutters win hands down for durability and value for money.

Tony
triangle make a 7.50 16 32 ply radial

[Bigbjorn]

triangle make a 7.50 16 32 ply radial

It took a long time for outback car and truck buyers to accept radial ply tyres. Sidwall damage was the stumbling block. Remember, the first passenger car radials were two ply walls and bulged out significantly, and were quite prone to sidewall damage. Most dealer orders from remote areas in my GM-H days ticked the option box for 6 ply tyres in lieu of the standard 4 ply bias tyres.

The Leyland Crusader was the first highway prime mover offered for sale in Australia with tubeless radial ply tyres as standard equipment. Michelin 11.00 x 22.5 on Michelin lightweight rims. We rarely managed to deliver one with this equipment. Almost all customers wanted the tubeless tyres and rims changed to 10.00 x 20's on split ring rims. Usual comment was along the lines of "they'll be no good" without ever having seen or used such tyres before. You would nowadays be pushed to find a late model heavy truck using other than tubeless tyres.

[JDNSW]

Radial tyres took a long time to catch on in Australia, not just in the bush. First marketed in 1946 by Michelin, I cannot remember ever hearing of them even until the mid fifties. They were fitted to all postwar Citroens, but these were pretty thin on the ground in Australia.

My first extensive experience of them except on Citroens was when I was working in the Simpson in the mid sixties, when several of our vehicles were fitted with Michelin Sahara. These were so much better in the sand than the crossplies we were using, that when the Unisteel became available in 7.50x16 we fitted them to several of our four wheel drives. The Michelin tyres were far too expensive for general use - which may indicate why they did not become common until the basic patents expired!

John

[Rangier Rover]

I shouldn't have read this thread.... Just been around a fence line here (In very long grass) in my 120 and cut a 35" MTZ tyre:mad:, even worse ran over a star picket and it got wedged between the chassis and floor on the drivers side. Damn lucky it didn't come through and take my leg out:eek: Had to bash the floor back down after I got the sod of a thing out.

[JDNSW]

I shouldn't have read this thread.... Just been around a fence line here (In very long grass) in my 120 and cut a 35" MTZ tyre:mad:, even worse ran over a star picket and it got wedged between the chassis and floor on the drivers side. Damn lucky it didn't come through and take my leg out:eek: Had to bash the floor back down after I got the sod of a thing out.

Long grass after rain is a pain isn't it? Better if it hadn't rained?

John

[Bigbjorn]

Radial tyres took a long time to catch on in Australia, not just in the bush. First marketed in 1946 by Michelin, I cannot remember ever hearing of them even until the mid fifties. They were fitted to all postwar Citroens, but these were pretty thin on the ground in Australia.

My first extensive experience of them except on Citroens was when I was working in the Simpson in the mid sixties, when several of our vehicles were fitted with Michelin Sahara. These were so much better in the sand than the crossplies we were using, that when the Unisteel became available in 7.50x16 we fitted them to several of our four wheel drives. The Michelin tyres were far too expensive for general use - which may indicate why they did not become common until the basic patents expired!

John

Michelin X got a fair bit of use on taxis through the 60's as they lasted much, much longer than other tyres. Taxi owners are bloody mean creatures so there must have been an economic benefit to over-ride the high price of Michelins. We did supply a odd Land Rover of so on Michelin Sahara in my Leyland days. Always to vehicles being fitted out for beach work by a prosperous customer. As JD says, Saharas were very expensive. The most popular beach tyre then was the Goodyear Custom Hi-miler.

[UncleHo]

G'day Folks :)

I used to drive taxis in and around Brisbane in the 60's and 2 that I drove for owners were fitted with Michelin X's 1 was an EK Holden the other an XM Falcon, in the dry great, but in the wet and Brisbane having trams at the time, it was spookey :eek: you never knew if the next corner or curve would chuck a 180 in to keep you on your toes :twisted:

cheers

[drifter]

G'day Folks :)

I used to drive taxis in and around Brisbane in the 60's and 2 that I drove for owners were fitted with Michelin X's 1 was an EK Holden the other an XM Falcon, in the dry great, but in the wet and Brisbane having trams at the time, it was spookey :eek: you never knew if the next corner or curve would chuck a 180 in to keep you on your toes :twisted:

cheers

Did the passengers get charged extra for the 'thrill'? :D


Good thread, guys. I'm learning heaps.

[Bigbjorn]

G'day Folks :)

I used to drive taxis in and around Brisbane in the 60's and 2 that I drove for owners were fitted with Michelin X's 1 was an EK Holden the other an XM Falcon, in the dry great, but in the wet and Brisbane having trams at the time, it was spookey :eek: you never knew if the next corner or curve would chuck a 180 in to keep you on your toes :twisted:

cheers

South Sydney Tyre Service in Crown St. Surry Hills used to do a line of "taxi retreads". A retreader in Wollongong did these for SSTS. He had moulds that produced an extra deep tread and used a very hard compound. They lasted a very long time which delighted the average tight fisted taxi owner. Fine in the dry but in the wet it was like driving on greased glass.

Ho, you would well remember what it was like riding motor cycles on tram lines. Particularly those like Nortons that had a skinny front tyre. Get the tyre in the track and around the corner you went whether you intended to or not. A bit of water on an oily tram track was also good for a bit of gravel rash or worse.