Hello everyone. I was thinking of replacing the military tires on my m416 due to deep cracks (age). My tire guy told me that valve stem appears loose on the rim. Any of you that upgraded to civilian tires have this issue? Btw I have the original 16" m416 rim and putting on pretty new 235/85/16 bfg mud. Thanks.
Civilian tires on m416 trailer: issues with valve stem?
- Thread starter mard
- Start date
The valve stem is loose from the rim because the military tires use inner tubes. If you're going to run tires tubeless you'll need to pick up a couple valve stems from an auto parts store and put those in the wheels. I've run tubeless tires on these wheels before with no problems.
The typical rubber valve stems should work, just make sure you've got the right size stem for the opening in the wheel. Something like this (I'm not sure if these are the right size though):
https://www.amazon.com/Slime-2080--...F8&qid=1465950004&sr=8-10&keywords=valve+stem
The "valve stems" on the wheels now are not actually connected to the rim, they are molded into the tire tube and just go through the valve stem opening in the wheel. If you deflate the tire you should just be able to push it through into the wheel. The valve stems above are pulled into the valve stem hole and lock in, the same as used on most cars today.
You're right, the tire shop should have valve stems on hand that will work fine.
https://www.amazon.com/Slime-2080--...F8&qid=1465950004&sr=8-10&keywords=valve+stem
The "valve stems" on the wheels now are not actually connected to the rim, they are molded into the tire tube and just go through the valve stem opening in the wheel. If you deflate the tire you should just be able to push it through into the wheel. The valve stems above are pulled into the valve stem hole and lock in, the same as used on most cars today.
You're right, the tire shop should have valve stems on hand that will work fine.
Calaski8123
New member
Did you have any problems running tubeless tires? I'm trying to decide between:
using the original wheels with tubed radials (limited options, not sure how they would handle off road)
Regular tubeless radials (will they work on the original wheels?)
or buy 5x5.5 Jeep wheels (don't want the tires to stick out)
Curious what you went with and how it worked out? I'm building a camping trailer that I want to be able to do moderate off roading with.
Jim
using the original wheels with tubed radials (limited options, not sure how they would handle off road)
Regular tubeless radials (will they work on the original wheels?)
or buy 5x5.5 Jeep wheels (don't want the tires to stick out)
Curious what you went with and how it worked out? I'm building a camping trailer that I want to be able to do moderate off roading with.
Jim
I have been running radials (215-85R-16) in a tubeless configuration on my stock M416 wheels since 2018. In that time, I have pulled the trailer >10K miles with zero issues.
In 2018 when I replaced the tires, the tire shop convinced me to go tubeless. Prior to that, I was running radial tubes. When switching over to tubeless, no special steps were taken to "seal" the rivets in the wheel. The valve stems used are brass "TR501" style (phote below).
The setup is airtight...no air loss at all.
In 2018 when I replaced the tires, the tire shop convinced me to go tubeless. Prior to that, I was running radial tubes. When switching over to tubeless, no special steps were taken to "seal" the rivets in the wheel. The valve stems used are brass "TR501" style (phote below).
The setup is airtight...no air loss at all.
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mep1811
Gentleman Adventurer
When I had a M416 , I switched to Jeep wheels. With jeep wheels I could run a non light truck tire and run a load range "C" tire. 8-10 ply tire vs 6 ply. That means when airing down the tire actually gets that budge when airing down and the dreaded trailer bounce is eliminated. With the LT tires, better suited for a 3/4-One ton pickup, do not air down very well due to the heavy construction. I hope this makes sense.
Calaski8123
New member
Yes this makes sense. The tire guy told me I want trailer tires. He said the regular tires will not wear well and will not be good on a trailer. I'm using the original wheels, I got them powder coated. He wants me to get 14 ply heavy tires that he says will work well off road too because they're so heavy.
I need to decide soon, my trip is in 3 weeks and I wanted to test this out before hand.
Jim
I need to decide soon, my trip is in 3 weeks and I wanted to test this out before hand.
Jim
Calaski8123
New member
So you guys are saying the 8 ply is better? Will they work ok on highway?
billiebob
Well-known member
14 ply, 8 ply...... all over kill.
How heavy is your trailer??
Altho trailer tires are specific to trailer use and at some point a car tire is a bad choice, on an Expo trailer weighing under 2000# any 4x4 SUV tire built for a 4000# vehicle will work fine on a single axle trailer. Trailer tires are built specifically to handle the excessive twist as a tandem or tridem trailer turns a tight corner. On a single axle trailer there is zero need for a trailer tire.
Scale yer trailer, pick tires that will handle the load and air them up as the spec says. If you are running Load Range C tires the sidewall will give pretty realistic air pressure numbers. But if you pick Load Range D or E tires, the air pressure shown will be based on MAXIMUM loading which an Expo trailer is likely far under.
Read the load/pressure maximum and scale yer trailer. I run all my tires, trailer and Jeep at 26psi all year. Tire tread wear is always even, I never need to air down. They are Load Range D, 7.50R16s or in English they are 185/100R16.
I run the same tires on my Jeep and trailer. No issues, I get well over 75K kms on both the Jeep and the traiier tires.
PS.....
On weight.... ANYONE selling tires should know. Handling and ride and MPG are better with less unsprung weight. A heavy tire will ride rougher, the rough ride will be more damaging to everything on your trailer and altho it might be more theoretical and hard to measure.... a heavier wheel and tire will burn more gasoline per mile. Yer tire guy is an idiot.
How heavy is your trailer??
Altho trailer tires are specific to trailer use and at some point a car tire is a bad choice, on an Expo trailer weighing under 2000# any 4x4 SUV tire built for a 4000# vehicle will work fine on a single axle trailer. Trailer tires are built specifically to handle the excessive twist as a tandem or tridem trailer turns a tight corner. On a single axle trailer there is zero need for a trailer tire.
Scale yer trailer, pick tires that will handle the load and air them up as the spec says. If you are running Load Range C tires the sidewall will give pretty realistic air pressure numbers. But if you pick Load Range D or E tires, the air pressure shown will be based on MAXIMUM loading which an Expo trailer is likely far under.
Read the load/pressure maximum and scale yer trailer. I run all my tires, trailer and Jeep at 26psi all year. Tire tread wear is always even, I never need to air down. They are Load Range D, 7.50R16s or in English they are 185/100R16.
I run the same tires on my Jeep and trailer. No issues, I get well over 75K kms on both the Jeep and the traiier tires.
PS.....
On weight.... ANYONE selling tires should know. Handling and ride and MPG are better with less unsprung weight. A heavy tire will ride rougher, the rough ride will be more damaging to everything on your trailer and altho it might be more theoretical and hard to measure.... a heavier wheel and tire will burn more gasoline per mile. Yer tire guy is an idiot.
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eatSleepWoof
Do it for the 'gram
Your tire guy is an utterly clueless fool.
Put on regular, all-terrain tires. You trailer is very light and doesn't need anything special, and sure as hell not 14-ply tires. Anything from p-metric to load range C would be just fine.
The 215-85R16 is the closest modern size to the 7.00 x 16 in terms of diameter and width. They fit comfortably on the standard M416 wheels.
You do not need to worry about trailer tires on a single axle trailer. Trailer-specific tires come into play with tandem axle trailers where the stiffer sidewall is designed to handle the tire scrubbing that happens when turning with multiple axles.
8-ply is certainly not needed, but that is what the 215-85R16 is offered in. I have run these tires for 15+ years on my M416. I inflate them to 30-ish PSI and have no issues. The tires "age out" (over 10-years old) before they show any appreciable wear. I've always packed a spare and never had a flat.
You do not need to worry about trailer tires on a single axle trailer. Trailer-specific tires come into play with tandem axle trailers where the stiffer sidewall is designed to handle the tire scrubbing that happens when turning with multiple axles.
8-ply is certainly not needed, but that is what the 215-85R16 is offered in. I have run these tires for 15+ years on my M416. I inflate them to 30-ish PSI and have no issues. The tires "age out" (over 10-years old) before they show any appreciable wear. I've always packed a spare and never had a flat.