Old School Tire Thoughts - Power King

[BritKLR]

In the 70's my dad had a fleet of square body Chevy's for hauling tools for his company. He'd put tough old bias plys on them due to weight, strength, durability and cost (crappy ride).
I have a 1970 FJ55 Landcruiser plow truck for clearing our property. It sits all summer and runs a couple of times during the winter. Modern cheap radials simply do not last long in the mountain elements, they'll dry rot, crack and leak in a matter of couple of years and long before the tread is worn out and I'm just tired of dealing with crappy tires.
So, looking at these. Has anyone used these old school Power King Bias Plys for this type of use and environment? If so, how long did they last?

Cheers.

 

[givemethewillys]

Those are real popular with the old Willys Jeep crowd. My CJ-5 sported a set that were at least 20 years old when I bought it, they still had tread and they still held air. Note that being bias ply, they will have flat spots for the first couple of miles of use.

They are the closest thing you can get these days to the "factory" tires that were on the vehicle way back in the day. My understanding is that they are a pretty good tire.

 

[BritKLR]

Those are real popular with the old Willys Jeep crowd. My CJ-5 sported a set that were at least 20 years old when I bought it, they still had tread and they still held air. Note that being bias ply, they will have flat spots for the first couple of miles of use.

They are the closest thing you can get these days to the "factory" tires that were on the vehicle way back in the day. My understanding is that they are a pretty good tire.

Excellent. Thanks!

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Keeping them out of the sun helps.

I snagged a set of 2009 Firestone MT radials around 2011 for $450. I drove them everywhere including almost all the way thru Ohio last year. With my new camper and another big trip coming I finally replaced them last summer for peace of mind. They were not weather checked as bad as the 2016 Coopers that were on my daily driver. I actually sold them for $300... used 15's are hard to find, they were still in pretty good shape and a guy was in a bad way wanting cheap mud tires for his hunting truck.

My Ranger doesn't see a ton of miles and spends most of its time in the garage. My F-150 is outside 24/7...

 

[BritKLR]

Keeping them out of the sun helps.

I snagged a set of 2009 Firestone MT radials around 2011 for $450. I drove them everywhere including almost all the way thru Ohio last year. With my new camper and another big trip coming I finally replaced them last summer for peace of mind. They were not weather checked as bad as the 2016 Coopers that were on my daily driver. I actually sold them for $300... used 15's are hard to find, they were still in pretty good shape and a guy was in a bad way wanting cheap mud tires for his hunting truck.

My Ranger doesn't see a ton of miles and spends most of its time in the garage. My F-150 is outside 24/7...

Thanks for the suggestions. I generally keep all our vehicles inside, covered or with canvas covers over the wheels. Just something about limited use and the cold, dry air up here.
As for used tires it seems everyone wants new tire prices for used tires......unless they came off a honda, toyota or Subaru, there's a ton of used snow tires off small cars in the mountains but they aren't what I'm looking for.

 

[Martinjmpr]

Well, THERE'S a "Blast from the Past!"

From my bookshelf (right behind me as I work):



From this article:



From this book:



That I think I bought when I was a freshman in high school!

 

[BritKLR]

Well, THERE'S a "Blast from the Past!"

From my bookshelf (right behind me as I work):

View attachment 631881

From this article:

View attachment 631882

From this book:

View attachment 631883

That I think I bought when I was a freshman in high school!

I'd love to have the old luggy ones for the cruiser!

 

[BritKLR]

Well, can't put off the snow any longer went ahead and ordered a set. Cheers.

 

[BritKLR]

The POWER KINGS came in and went to doing the sketchy jacking and wheel removal to get everything over to the garage to swap out the old rubber for the new POWER KINGS (seems like the right way to say their name...). Love the old school tread pattern and gotta love old steel bumpers that you can actually use as a jacking point.....sketchy as it is!


Its looking like we're going to get hit with some snow latter this week and I'm wondering why the hell I didn't do this in July?

 

[Rovertrader]

Nice Pig- wish I had never sold mine!!
Great thread, ran Armstrong Tru-Tracs on the Jeep’s back in the 70’s, lots of fun!!
Enjoy....

 

[1000arms]

... Its looking like we're going to get hit with some snow latter this week and I'm wondering why the hell I didn't do this in July?

View attachment 632691

Good point, but, I think you were focused on getting your new shop completed.

Say, isn't this photo evidence of a violation of some #^#%@ rule in your county? ...

 

[1000arms]

You've got your new tires, but, for anyone else looking for a tire for a similar reason:

Original Swamper

| Interco Tire

www.intercotire.com

https://www.intercotire.com/sites/default/files/brands/the_orignal_swamper_group_1200x1200.png

and

Super Swamper TSL - BIAS

| Interco Tire

www.intercotire.com

https://www.intercotire.com/sites/default/files/brands/Super_Swamper_TSL_1200x1200_Group.png

 

[BritKLR]

You've got your new tires, but, for anyone else looking for a tire for a similar reason:

Original Swamper

| Interco Tire

www.intercotire.com

https://www.intercotire.com/sites/default/files/brands/the_orignal_swamper_group_1200x1200.png

and

Super Swamper TSL - BIAS

| Interco Tire

www.intercotire.com

https://www.intercotire.com/sites/default/files/brands/Super_Swamper_TSL_1200x1200_Group.png

For an old plow truck $88.00 per tire versus $171.00 works better. But, thanks for the info.

 

[1000arms]

You've got your new tires, but, for anyone else looking for a tire for a similar reason:

Original Swamper

| Interco Tire

www.intercotire.com

https://www.intercotire.com/sites/default/files/brands/the_orignal_swamper_group_1200x1200.png

and

Super Swamper TSL - BIAS

| Interco Tire

www.intercotire.com

https://www.intercotire.com/sites/default/files/brands/Super_Swamper_TSL_1200x1200_Group.png

For an old plow truck $88.00 per tire versus $171.00 works better. But, thanks for the info.

I didn't check prices, I just checked to see if Interco Tire was still making bias tires. I do agree with your math.

 

[BritKLR]

Well, new old school tires are on. I must say, they really fit the style of the truck much better then the radials. As for grip, I managed to plow around the shop in 2wd, so pretty impressive! The real test will be when the 2 footer show storm shows up!