Solid rubber tires & felloes

[fishndale]

Model TT, probably 1924, stake-bed, C-cab
Rear wheels are solid rubber, rim is steel. The wood felloes have some dry rot. Can they be replaced when the tire is solid rubber? Spokes too?

[Humblej]

Yes wheels can be rebuilt and new solid tires installed, but, its gonna be expensive, and solid tires are going to be a rough ride. Might save you a considerable sum and have better ride quality replacing with TT demountable rims and wheels.

[SurfCityGene]

Dale, You're in Luck! Dave Seiler has a shop in Brea and makes some very beautiful wheels and is Super reasonable. I saw his TT the other day that he had converted. You won't want to be driving that one much if you keep those Hard rubber tires..

Contact Dave at Dave's Wood Wheel Service and Wood Shop Located at 412 Flower St Brea, Ca.92521

714-501-7080
WHEELGUY@YAHOO.COM

[RGould1910]

I don't know. I tried solid rubber front tires on a 1916 touring car some years ago and I didn't notice much, if any difference, in the ride at the speeds I drive. Today we drive on paved roads. Would I try it again?. Probably not, but they weren't bad.

[Dan Haynes]

My experience parallels Richard's, I had solid tires (not "hard rubber") on my TT C Cab and they were fine. They did not make any appreciable difference in ride quality - which wasn't bad at all. The important issue is, solid tires go with the standard TT worm drive ratio of 7+:1. Running them faster will cause them to build internal gas and come apart. Cars got away with solid tires because they're lighter, narrower and they had cooling holes in them. Some solid tires have names along the lines of "Cushion Ride" with holes, but the holes' important purpose is cooling.

[fishndale]

Just wanted to keep it somewhat original, everything else on the truck looks original - pulled from a barn. I don't plan on driving it much. I live on hill, so even after its restored I'll need to buy a trailer and tow it to the flatlands for testing. Engine runs (new gaskets), radiator has leaks, but have driven it 20 feet so far. Still looking for a 'hi' radiator. Ecklers sent me the wrong one (think it was for a Model A).
I'll think about new wheels after I get some 'run' time.
thx

[Chris Haynes]

Solid rubber tires are illegal in most states today. They are hard on the roads.

[fishndale]

Interesting about the legality. I don't plan on driving on public roads, so may be a moot point, but I wanted to know, I found this in the CA reg's:

27450. When any vehicle is equipped with any solid tire, the solid tire shall have a minimum thickness of resilient rubber as follows: (a) If the width of the tire is three inches but less than six inches, one inch thick. (b) If the width of the tire is six inches but not more than nine inches, 11/4 inches thick. (c) If the width of the tire is more than nine inches, 11/2 inches thick.

Sort of implies they are legal but the term 'resilient rubber' is questionable.
Probably a good idea to have a 2nd set of wheels in any case. If a spoke breaks, it would be a problem. When the truck is ready to drive, I'll do some shopping.
Any thoughts on wire spokes?

[OilyBill]

A local member of our HCCA chapter had an International High-Wheeler, which had solid tires on it. I rode with him one day, and I was surprised at how nice the ride was, on the dirt road from his home to the main road, which then was blacktop. On the dirt road, it was just as smooth as a car with pneumatic tires. I waited to see how bad the ride would be when we got to the blacktop county road, and was again surprised at how good it was. It was detectable that it was slightly harsher, but not by much. It was virtually the same. He said it was actually easier to steer, because there did not seem to be any "BOG" like he usually felt with pneumatic tires.
If it was 1910, and I knew then what I know now, I would have avoided all the tire trouble, and stayed with solid rubber tires, since there was virtually no difference between pneumatics and solids, except for time you would spend doing repairs on the pneumatic tires. Solids might not wear as long, but when they were in use, drivers did not cover as much territory as we do today. But as speeds and distances increased, solid tires started to disappear.
The first heavy trucks with all pneumatic tires were from REO, and they emphasized the reduced vibration, the reduced trauma to animals, and the reduced damage to crops and items such as eggs. In addition, instead of grinding along at 15 mph on the solid tires, REO SpeedWagons could drive 35 mph, with a much smoother ride for your eggs, chickens, livestock, and fruits and vegetables. That was the end of solid truck tires.

[sheppfour]

I still have the original set of solid rubber tires in my 1919 TT, THEY RIDE RUFF BUT THINK OF THE SPTING ON A 1 TON TRUCK. I'm not good at sending pictures but i did put pictures of it couple years ago. Go to the photo section on this web site o thru the trucks you'll see it sitting in my driveway VWN BACKGROUNG Runabout body with wood bed convertible . Thank you for looking

[John Codman]

Solid rubber tires are illegal in most states today. They are hard on the roads.

They are also hard on your arse.

[sheppfour]

I just don't have the heart to change them. I love the look. The way I LOOK AT IT IF I WANTED A SMOOTH RIDE I SHOULDN'T HAVE BOUGHT A 1 TON TRUCK. I do have a Model A I need to start on. like to talk thanks for commenting.

[Susanne]

Solid rubber tires are illegal in most states today. They are hard on the roads.

But not in California, where they are still legal...

CA Veh Code § 27450 - §27453. (2022) goes over the regulations on wear and construction of solid rubber tires in California... but in no way prohibits them.

Metal tires and tractor treaded (eg "caterpillar") types are restricted... but solid rubber tires are just fine. Uncomfortable as hell, but not illegal.

[Chris Haynes]

Solid rubber tires are illegal in most states today. They are hard on the roads.

But not in California, where they are still legal...

CA Veh Code § 27450 - §27453. (2022) goes over the regulations on wear and construction of solid rubber tires in California... but in no way prohibits them.

Metal tires and tractor treaded (eg "caterpillar") types are restricted... but solid rubber tires are just fine. Uncomfortable as hell, but not illegal.

Back in the day commercial vehicles in CA had two different types of license plates. PC and SC. PC = Pneumatic Commercial. SC = Solid Rubber Commercial. The SC plates were much more expensive than PC because of the damage they dd to the roads. I have 1930 PC plates for my AA.