Has anyone on here ever bought 800 X 16.5 tires and where did you get them? Is there a newer size that is the same thing. I have not been able to find them anywhere on the net. Thanks
800X16.5 was a bias belted tire. I do not believe that they are being maade anymore. There is an 8R16.5 that is now being produced, however I believe that they are on a limited run basis.
Stop by a tire store and have them match the old bias size to the newer radial size.
"Doc"
Combat Vietnam VeteranSupport our troops for serving our great country.
CLass "A"='90, SunBus, Oshkosh, 460, C6, 5.12 gears, 8R19.5.
New TV='02, K3500, CC, DRW, 8.1L, Allison, 4.1 gears.
Pace 8518TA2 Trailer. Looking for a side entry T/C with no slides.
We had a Dodge van (One Ton, B300) that had 8.00x16.5 bias tires. Ended up with 8.75R16.5D (M&S). Result was better ride and no associated problems. There have been other threads on this topic and the conclusion has been the same. There's an 8.00 radial available but the 8.75 is more common among the becoming-scarce 16.5s.
I needed a set in 2000 for our Class C that had 8.75R16.5D from the factory. Even then, many shops said "we can order them for you". I decided I wanted a tire with a "national presence" but didn't have to be "ordered" in case of a tire failure on a trip. What my phone search led me to was...Pep Boys!
Other things I've learned:
SAM's Club will sell and will order the tires. But they wouldn't mount them on a Coach saying "they have no way to lift it". Must mean they want to work inside only, haven't heard of a JACK, and really don't need to sell me another six tires.
Many of the brands DO have 16.5s in their line, but no longer at the top of the line. Here's what I got at Pep Boys
There are bigger, better, etc etc tires but for me, Years Service = 5 and Tire Problems = 0.
If your coach includes a spare, suggest replacing it too. A friend with a C coach had a spare, blew a tire, changed the tire, blew the spare 50 miles later. He said it was hard to see ahead driving his VW Bug toad with two RV tires in his front trunk! I don't want to have 100 miles to go and only a 50-mile spare! My search came down to Pep Boys and Tire Kingdom. They matched each other's best prices on six tires. I asked both to throw in a seventh tire, mounted and balanced, as the spare. Both agreed.
You can also hunt up a set of 16" wheels from a later model. I've got a couple of B Dodge chassis still running 16.5 with radials, but if I used them much I'd have converted to 16". Check around your local junk yards for dually P/U wheels.
About those 8R16.5 tires; I bought an older motorhome this winter with 8R16.5 tires that have cracked sidewalls on the rear tires. I'm thinking I'll have to replace them. Someone metioned they've been able to go up to 8.75X16.5. I found some Firestone SteelTex 9.5X16.5 radials. Do you think it would be pushing it to go that wide on the rear tires?
Cooper sells the 8x16.5 tires and they are radials, I have them on my rv and been good tires so far, had them on for 2 years now and around 12-15000 miles on them, however I did have to look hard for these tires because they are not being made by many tire company's any more, might have to go to 16in rims someday.
Used to have a 72 Dodge Maxi Van B300 camper conversion. 8.00x16.5 bias belted tires became scarce, but remember reading or being told that there was something dangerous about using steel belted radials on the original wheels. I used the original type bias belted load range E tires 10 ply rated 8-ply tires. Also, as I remember, 8.75 tires would rub in the front wheel wells on the B-300 van when turning sharply.
Bordercollie wrote: Used to have a 72 Dodge Maxi Van B300 camper conversion. 8.00x16.5 bias belted tires became scarce, but remember reading or being told that there was something dangerous about using steel belted radials on the original wheels. I used the original type bias belted load range E tires 10 ply rated 8-ply tires. Also, as I remember, 8.75 tires would rub in the front wheel wells on the B-300 van when turning sharply.
What you heard was dangerous about putting radial tires on those wheels was probably a warning about using 16-inch tires. The radials for 16 inch wheels will fit on a 16.5 rim, but they won't always stay on.
The ---R16.5 tires are designed specifically as replacement tires for the old 16.5 rim.
Offline
 (2).jpg){kind=avatar}
