|
TIRE
REPLACEMENTS IDEAS
FOR A SERRO SCOTTY OR A VINTAGE CAMPER ___________________________
The original Scotty tires, General 640/15, are no longer available. You
can still get that size in Firestone or B.F. Goodrich(also, I have
found out that places that carry farm implement and specialized tires
usually can get you this size), however many owners are choosing to go
to a modern tire/size. Modern replacement size is F78-15ST (special
trailer). Metric size is 205/75D15. Whatever you choose, go with a bias
(either 4 or 6) trailer specific tire and not a car radial. This helps
prevent trailer sway. This can also apply to alot of vintage campers.
Later Scottys (1979 LITE models, at least) used A78x13" tires. * The diameter for a 6.50 x 15 tire is +/- 28.5", the cross section(width across the widest part) is +/- 7", with the tread being about 4.45" wide. So, those are the parameters of 'suggested' tire. This is a Tire Size Calculator page from Grizz.... LINK _______________________________________________________________________________________________
*
This is
some good tire information from Oldforester
"I came across some information about tires. It concerns the age
of a tire. Even if a tire is not run on the ground, it still
ages. Tires in excess of 6 years are not recommended. A
tire's week and year of manufacture can be found in the series of
numbers on the tire. The last four digits in the series are the ones
about when manufactured. For example, the number 4107 means that
the tire was made the 41st week of 2007. Tires made before the
year 2000 have three digits, so they are definitely too old to
use. It is also good to check these numbers when buying new
tires. Cases have been reported that tires have been sold as
"new" because they had not been on a vehicle, but in checking the date
of manufacture were found to be older than evident by appearance."_______________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Tire
Suggestions and
Resources
Trailer
vs. Passenger Tire, an
opinion...
From
KEN :
They do make radial tires for trailers. Any tire you decide on make
sure it is rated and designed for trailers. Since trailer tires do not
drive or steer they have to have different properties than an
automobile tire. They just follow. You don't want the trailer to wag
the
dog so the sidewalks are made stiffer to prevent sway. Sway in an
emergency situation will surely make it worse and contribute to
disaster. 205/75/15 seems to be the popular tire for these Scottys. I
have 4-ply but 6 ply would be better in my opinion. Changing the tires
is a chore no matter what the tire you have on it. I own a 59 and the
wheel cutout is not all that 'roomy'. I have to get the rear of the
trailer two and a half feet off the ground and I still have to struggle
to get them out. That's because of the torsion axle that sits under it.
Forces on one wheel is distributed to the other giving it a very nice
ride and these things tow like a dream. You don't even know its back
there. Just remember to buy a tire rated for trailer use.
This
is a good article on trailer TIRES
with
prices.
This
is a good technical article on TIRES
and is
worth reading.
_______________________________________________________
Web page created by Larry Bush: Sept.17.2007 --- Edited: 5.28.2009 Serro Scotty ~ Vintage Campers © All Rights Reserved _________________________________________________ |