michelin xl tubes and flaps?? help!!

[smthjeep]

just bought a set of xl`s for the truck,used $100 each,good shape. now having trouble with a valid source for tubes and flaps, sites i`ve seen on here lead me nowhere,out of business? anybody have a source that you`ve dealt with in the past year? local shop have no clue! HELP!!

[glenn]

I bought my tubes from gemplers. They are 900x16 tubes. The local les schwab supplied the flaps, they had them in stock. I think the tube part numbers were TR77A. I put 1100x16 XZL tires on my stock rims which I had les schwab powder coat black. You should be able to do a web search for gemplers I think they are based in wisconsin.

[kwai]

try here: http://tireinnertubesforsale.com/

ask for Rusty.

[Binford]

Is that International Tire & Tube's new site, Kwai?

The only trick with the tubes is that the valve stem needs to be long enough, and have the right bend in it. (TR75A stem?)

If Kwai's link doesn't work, try here:

International Tire & Tube
1218 Brittmoore Rd
Houston, TX 77043
(713) 973-8880

Kwai's link will probably work though....knowing Kwai!

[kwai]

It is their site and the link works.

[chimesickle]

I had the same problem. I bought Michelin XL's for $100 each, and couldnt figure out where to get tubes. You just use regular 9X16 radial tubes with the valve stem in the middle. I guess the tubes that go with the original tires do not flex enough? Out of desperation, I used 7.50X16 radial tube on one tire, and its been fine ( for a couple months now). I had a flat, no spare, but Adirondack Tire had these 7.5X16 in stock for $20 a piece.

[smthjeep]

well its been a couple months since i got the 11.00`s on the stock rims. gateway tire in sharonville ohio had some 10.00 tubes(radial),and some 15/16 flaps. looks great,they`ve been holding air, and it turns a few less rpms. p.s me an a buddy did the split rim dance ourselfs, if you do it loop chain thru the rim holes an padlock it turn it upside down,use a locking air chuck, set air regulator to about 50, then get away while inflating!

[chimesickle]

You didn't mention the hardest part, getting the lock rings off. But it does sound like a good idea to chain it up and inflate it. I did all of mine last year, the lock ring was the only real obstacle. I even tried making a machine out of an old floor jack, switching the hydraulics to the top, and making it press down with 3 tons force. The tires were so bonded to the metal that the sidewalls started tearing. There is a truck service shop that had a better machine. They used it to remove the 11X16s from the rims. I think I paid $30 for each one? Bad memory

[Dan Mac]

I just finished mounting and balancing my 1100x16's on stock rims. I used an old Kenedy Tool duck bill chisel type tool my dad had and a large hammer. The 1st 2 were a chalenge but after I had the hang of it the 2nd two went easy. I bought the tubes and flaps over the counter at Industrial Tire here in Portland then had to go back to buy more weights from them as they all took between 20 and 30 ozs to balance. I bought 4 worn out casings for $50 and had them recapped. Total cost for everthing after mounting and balancing was just under $800.

[SHOOTER68]

You didn't mention the hardest part, getting the lock rings off. I did all of mine last year, the lock ring was the only real obstacle. I even tried making a machine out of an old floor jack, switching the hydraulics to the top, and making it press down with 3 tons force. The tires were so bonded to the metal that the sidewalls started tearing. Bad memory

Lots of WD-40 on the inside of the bead lip all the way around helped alot for me. I used a Hi-Lift jack and two crowbars.