Yeah,I know it's been discussed in the past but ladyhrp want's whitewalls on our vintage 1957 Shasta camper and the camper already has brand new ST tires designed for campers. Anyone have a positive results with using porta-walls on something that doesn't see daily use? HRP
have seen problems even at installation, and even driving at low speeds - know if there is a "hidden" whitewall under black that WW can be exposed?
It's been a long time (50+ years), but the ONE time I tried using porta walls, I had nothing but trouble and wound up taking them off and tossing them. They were such a disappointment, I still remember them and that's saying something, since I don't remember what the hell happened yesterday !
i used them for a while .they make a flapping sound at low speed.the smaller the better.as in 2" instead of 3".
I have been researching tires,the ST tire designed for campers are of a different construction and have a stiffer side wall that radial tires so I would doubt there is a white wall that could be exposed after grinding. HRP
Paint them on. I've used the white elastic trailer roof coating so many times (Seal-Best white elastomeric roof coating is the brand I got, there's apparently another brand called Snow-Seal) and I've had tires go flat that it never chipped or cracked. Best way is to sand the sidewalls smooth with an 80 grit on a DA to get all the modern lettering off, super clean the sidewalls multiple times with lacquer thinner (if your rag is getting brown, they're not clean enough) then brush the white on, preferably in the sun on a hot day (taking them off and putting them on a table works best). You'll need 4 coats, and after the first two it'll look like absolute shit but keep the faith. Best if your tires have a nice line in them to brush up to, if you go over the line you can sand the edge back a little bit once they're dry but it's tougher. Make sure it's dry to the touch between coats. Portawalls are dogshit. I've done a lot of tires with the snow seal for budget purposes and I'm sure on a camper it'll turn out nice too.
I used to use these back in the day to white letter my tires. If you have a raised or sunk in stripe area , it will come out fine. https://www.amazon.com/Camel-17-235-White-Lettering-Stick/dp/B000CIQLI0 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004N84CQ...t=&hvlocphy=9012387&hvtargid=pla-320661384463 https://www.alltiresupply.com/produ...MrHz-zbi9UCFYwvgQodCXoCcw&variant=16349009989
I'd mask them out, rim and all, and when you see the road marker lads up the road, ask if you can throw them down under his jets. That paint is the shit.
I had no choice on my Mysterion clone. Got some great new/old Inglewood Pos-A-Traction 10" x 15" slicks on Ebay which are a perfect match to what Big Dally Roth used on the original car except mine had different narrow whitewalls on each tire. No modern 'reproduction' slick looks correct Remember, back in the day racing slicks were recapped Cadillac tires. Port-A-Walls were the perfect fix for this mostly static show car.
If you go port o walls, don't drive in deep snow. I speak from experience. Sent from my SM-G920T using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I appreciate everyone's reply,be it pro or con. Hopefully the quality of rubber used in manufacturing the ports-walls in this day & time has improve. HRP The ST tires have a much stiffer sidewall than the tires we use today. HRP Phil,have you ever heard the term?,"If mommy ain't happy- no one is". The boss lady want's something that is not readable available,I realize they are not the most ideal way to go but it's not like the camper will see daily use. HRP
All the way to Los Angeles and back (4,000 + miles) with them on F70/15s & H50/15s back in the 70s and the only issue was them "sticking out" a bit at highway speeds. They always came back to the sidewall after slowing. Of course I never tried gluing them down, they were just pinched in the rim.. Should work on the trailer until a better option comes along!? Dave
Ran them on my 55 Nash Metropolitan and never had a problem. Not with the fake white walls anyhow. I remember my dad painting white walls on his tires back in the late 40's or early 50's probably on the 41 Buick or the 51 Ford that replaced it. Even then if there was car stuff going on I was right there. With the stiffer side walls and no faster than you tow the trailer you might get away with the porta-walls without many problems or at worse case give your buds a good laugh.
I used to have a great set I got from Western Auto growing up and had the same problem. My 6 cylinder chevy wouldn't run fast enough to make them flare out much. Maybe a dab or two of RIGHT STUFF but that will stick them down permanently.
Purchased the portawalls in '87. Drove, abused and put away wet often. Parked for many years and driven periodically with no issues. Never glued 'em down, but found you had to use Wesley's Bleach White OFTEN to keep 'em bright...
Using a cleaner like Wesley's Bleach White is a normal practice with whitewalls & I am well versed at that,I am happy to here you had good results,thank you. HRP
I remember back around 1960 my did put a set on one of his cars. Ripped them off after a day or two....can't remember why. Were there problems getting them mounted concentric or balancing maybe?
Here's a pic of my truck, proudly wearing 2" port-a-walls. I ran these for 5 years over radial tires, many miles at 70mph on the freeway. No problems whatsoever. No one who looked at my truck at shows or cruise nights ever knew they were "flappers" unless I told them - and then most of them thought that was pretty cool and remembered they used them back in the day. The key is to get them on right. Find yourself a gray-beard tire guy that has mounted them before (I called around until I found one). Make sure when they get mounted that the bead on the port-a-wall sits right down on the rim, and is even all the way around. You might have to break it down and do it over a time or 2. You should have good results with those tires - the less sidewall flex the better. I read somewhere in my research that they should not be glued to the sidewall - so I didn't. I wouldn't think twice about running them on your trailer. Whadya got to lose? Give it a try. Even if they fail (and I don't think they will) momma will be happy you tried!! Edit: the narrower you can use - the better the results
I've had two sets of New Porta Walls blow off on the freeway, resulting in immediate flat tire. NEVER again.
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