TOPIC: WW tires

Dr Go, as mentioned in the car/truck/boat topic, i asked around about the WW inserts, nothing positive. Apparently they fit between the tire bead and rim. Most comments were they separate from the tire and give a wavy appearance, to flying off and ending with a flat tire. Think it's worth it to bite the bullet and get the real deal. Anyone else have experience with them?
Cheers
Bill

Geesh. If you want to know about those things you have to ask an old person.
Back in the day....50's they were called porta-walls and yes they had to be installed with the tire deflated and the bead broken. If they were installed correctly and evenly they were just fine for about a year and then the rubber would get rotten and chunks would fly off at speeds exceeding 200mph. Seriously they were pretty cool, a lot cheaper than white wall tires. They had a tendency to "ripple" though meaning that they did not always stay tight against the tire. OK we're talking 65+ years ago and I imagine newer tech and composites change the ball game.
m.roadkillcustoms.com/install-portawalls-firestone-style-white-wall-tire-inserts/

Thanks BB and Sabre. I guess if I had a show boat that I carried on a flatbed or inside an enclosed, they would work ok. However, I want to tow the wheels off this trailer, so it is safety first over looks for me and for the safety of other motorists and especially for the cycle riders. I hate seeing road debris and always am thinking of safety for bikers and all drivers for that matter. We all want to get home safely at the end of the day. I guess I will ponder how bad I want the real whitewalls. A good question is... would 1965 trailers have whitewalls, or was that coming towards an end with the late 50s and early 60s?

In 1965, whitewalls were still cool but they were thin whitewalls, about an inch I think. Really cool guys had redlines. Guys with mags turned the whitewalls inside. Me? I had a 1963 Chevy Impala Super Sport convertible...with whitewalls. I dug chicks and chicks dug me digging them, ya dig?

We all had cool cars back then.
My '67 XL convert. Black on black, buckets just like this one sans red interior. Had to trade it in on a wood grain country squire.
Dr. Go still has his cool car Chrysler.

Those are nice cars!!! Was the Chevy a 409? Was the ford a 390... no matter the engines, those are 2 sweet rides. I forgot about red line sidewalls as another option. What is the opinion: would red lines go with chrome baby moon hub caps, or wide or skinny whitewalls look better? My boat does not have the cool fins of the 50s that seems to go so well with fat whitewalls. I just may have to do some real life comparisons. Other opinions welcome. I have a turquoise and white Powercat and want to put on the original red rims with new tires and baby moons, but am hung up on the sidewalls.

Dr. Go: The baby moon hubcaps will be problematic when dunked into the lake. They might not even snap onto your wheels or clear the bearing buddies. If they do fit and you insist on using them, drill about a half dozen 1/8" holes around the edge to shed water. Also, chrome rings look great with baby moons. As for the tires, I'd go with the thin whitewalls.

Red wheels, baby moons, chrome rings:

Alternatives.

www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/cheap-wide-whitewalls-revisited-using-white-tire-paint.469930/

www.reference.com/home-garden/types-paint-can-use-rubber-surfaces-9cd72fbd36458396

Wow Nautilus... the chrome rings with moons look great even with just black tires! Since I had not put new tires on the original rims yet, I hadn’t even thought about fitting over bearing grease caps or buddy bearing. Also had not thought about the water entry since I had never run moons. Good stuff I need to check out. What are people’s thoughts about painting the rims turquoise to match boat deck??? Since that trailer needs painting anyway, I may consider painting it white like my Dad’s 1966 Powercat trailer which might make the turquoise more palatable than trying that color against the yellow trailer. That yellow isn’t correct for that trailer anyway and it is half and half 2 different yellows that don’t match now. 63 Sabre - I could see me making one big mess with the paint and then even if it would work, I could see me cutting the tire sidewalls. Interesting, but not for me.

Doc: From what I can see in the photo, your wheels aren't going to work with baby moon hubcaps and maybe not wheel rings either. You will need "old style" wheels for the baby moons to be able to snap on.

www.etrailer.com/Tires-and-Wheels/Dexstar/AM20504.html?feed=npn&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIxKOo-MzP5AIVAYzICh0yJg-ZEAQYAiABEgJl-fD_BwE

Also, your bolt pattern may limit your choices, especially if you have 4-lug wheels. Old trailers usually have smaller bolt patterns than cars. I almost bought a set of 4 tires/wheels for my trailer because the measurements "looked" right. They weren't so I bought one of these gauges ($6.29, Ebay item number 272581908542) so I could be sure I bought the right ones. Once you're sure what you have, you can shop with confidence...on Craigslist!

(I guess Ken doesn't allow web addresses for Ebay listings to be posted? I tried three times and it wouldn't work so I just gave you the item number.)

Jan, if you want to put in a link address such as eBay the trick is to add a dash or space in the address and then we can just copy and paste and remove the extra character.
example: I put two spaces between www. and the word ebay. Remove those and then the link will work.
https://www. ebay.com/itm/2-52mm-Blue-Red-Digital-LED-Display-Volt-Gauge-8-18V-Meter-Gauge-Boat-Car/303137916109?epid=1564184714&hash=item46946d84cd:g:-IMAAOSwaAtcxXXi:sc:USPSFirstClass!54313!US!-1
I was searching for a volt meter for my current project.....get it???

Thanks Nautilus. I was remiss to mention those new tires and galvanized spokes would just become my spare tires. I have the original rims with clips and 2 extra from the same era without clips. They are the 4 bolt. I have 2 baby moons now and 2 more the wrong size... I was off by 1/4” because I lost my list when at the swap meet and thought I could rely on my memory... nope - my memory was wrong. I was on that Mike’s hubcap site and think I saw the beauty rings for 12”. Again - sorry I forgot to mention I had the old rims. I will check out your measurement tool. Thanks. I saw where the lake - n - sea project had fenders and wheels painted to match the boat deck like I am considering.

might try calling these guys...don't know if they offer the size your looking for

callitw.com/index.php?route=common/home

Thanks for the link. I will share with my car buddies. However, they don’t offer the smaller size I need.

Just a friendly FYI of how pleased I have been with Coker Whitewall tires. The tires have functioned smoothly at highway speeds and have cleaned up well with Westley's Bleche Wite. Thoroughly rinse off any residuals after using. The Tee Nee baby moons complete the look. After each use on the lake, the baby moons are removed, dried and coated with WD 40 on the inside and outside. After many seasons of use, there are no signs of rust. Hope this helps.

SeaFlash - I appreciate the excellent feedback and great advice. The pictures say it all ... beautiful complete boat motor trailer combos. I just have to determine the best stripes for my 1965 TrailCar trailer. It doesn’t have fancy fenders ... just the short arc steel fenders with no lights and no brand stickers. I have some thinking to do, but I do think I will stay away from the add on white walls. I hope to tow my trailer a lot of miles and don’t want to risk roadside problems. When the time comes, I will pick some quality tires of some sort. I will use the new tires and rims shown on it now for future spares.