Where to buy 14.5 inch tires???

[vintageracer]

Where do I buy 14.5 inch tires for my 58 World Traveller???

[moosetags]

Try Coker Tire in Chattanooga. They specialize in tires for antique vehicles.

Brian

[Action]

A 14.5" rim is not a standard passenger/light truck tire size except for the manufactured home industry that moves manufactured homes to a lot site. IE it is a commercial rim size. Back in '58 that would have been a split rim and may be a split rim now! Coker will not have a tire for that rim either because of nature of it's commercial use.

You will need to replace the rim and tire to get the trailer back on the road. Start with lug pattern. The trailer may look better with 14" rims and you could go to a 15" rim for more choice in tires. Because that trailer back then was so light as compared to what was available in the 1960's and 1970's the load capacity will not be an issue. Modern tires have so much more going for them than they did 50+ years ago.

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[prairieschooner]

Vintage,
I have a 1958 Traveler and it as well has 14.5" wheels, they are not split rims and I wanted to stay with them to keep the offset etc. correct. I bought Carlisle Tires from America's Tire (also known as Discount Tire);
http://www.americastire.com/dtcs/hom...FQYIaQod44gOzQ

They were available in a day and I am pleased with the look that they have. I also made sure that I used the correct ply!! be cautious about that since it could create issues if you increase and it makes the ride rougher.

I also found some baby moons at Vintage Trailer Supply. Mine are the inside lip type and since I will be towing with a 1952 Pontiac Sedan Delivery at times I wanted to be able to use the Pontiac Hub Caps as well;
http://www.vintagetrailersupply.com/...-p/vts-690.htm

[markdoane]

I had 14.5" tires on my '59 Tradewind. Not sure if they are still legal for highway use in some states.

[vintageracer]

Thanks for the responses!

I have found quite a few choices in 14.5 tires as they are a mobile home size tire. The trailer currently has the "original" tires, wheels and caps on the trailer. Since my first goal is to move the damn thing from it's what could have been final resting place I am going to buy the 14.5 tires, blast the rims, install the new tires and redo the bearings to move the trailer.

The trailer currently has 7.5-14.5 tires on the original rims. Choices for tires are 7-14.5 or 8-14.5 in today's world. Any reason I cannot use the ever so slightly larger 8-14.5 tires to replace the 7.5-14.5 tires as the 8-14.5 tire is the most widely available of the 2 tire sizes?

[markdoane]

I would check how easy it is to remove the existing 7.50 tire from the wheel well. If it's a tight fit you might want to go with the 7.00 tire.

[prairieschooner]

I am thinking mine were and are 7-14.5 (sorry but we are on the road right now)/

[CapriRacer]

Originally Posted by vintageracer

........ The trailer currently has 7.5-14.5 tires on the original rims. ........

Are you sure about that? I've got lots of experience with tire sizing and having a ".5" doesn't make sense for that sizing system.

Also, call a tire dealer, explain what you want. They should be able to order tires of that size. If not, try another dealer.

And lastly, the dealer will want to know the Load Range or Ply Rating. Look at the existing tire for words to that effect.

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by CapriRacer

Are you sure about that? I've got lots of experience with tire sizing and having a ".5" doesn't make sense for that sizing system.

Also, call a tire dealer, explain what you want. They should be able to order tires of that size. If not, try another dealer.

And lastly, the dealer will want to know the Load Range or Ply Rating. Look at the existing tire for words to that effect.

I'll second the confusion. I don't think I've ever seen a 7.50/14.5 tire. They all were 7.00/14.5 or 7.50/14.

[CapriRacer]

Originally Posted by overlander63

I'll second the confusion. I don't think I've ever seen a 7.50/14.5 tire. They all were 7.00/14.5 or 7.50/14.

Allow me to clarify further.

A 14.5 comes designated only in a format with a single digit as the first number (tire width), with either a dash (for bias) or an R (for radial), followed by the rim diameter, followed by letters designating the service (LT = Light Truck, MH = Mobile Home), thusly:

7R14.5LT, 9-14.5MH

This is a common sizing standard for many tires of the 15 degree variety (half sizes)

There are no 14.5's with decimals in the tire width, although this is used by other sizing systems. If you see a 14.5" with a decimal, it is incorrectly designated.

[Action]

It is a single purpose tire. Heavyloads, short distance and slow speeds.

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