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Technical Porta Walls

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by HOTRODPRIMER, Jul 15, 2017.

  1. No, one each blew out on two different New sets (not back in the day, but Recent - the ones you can buy now)
     
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  2. OK, 2 out of the 8 were problems. HRP
     
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  3. There ya go. Just run along on those 6 tires that don't go flat. You don't need a full set.
     
  4. Yeah, I took em off after one went bad, I wasn't going to wait for the rest to do the same. SMH
    The second car had them on it when I bought it in Arizona, decided to drive it home and sure as shot one of those blew off on the freeway too. Won't ever run that junk again.
     
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  5. Blackie
    Joined: Jun 8, 2004
    Posts: 596

    Blackie
    Member

    Travel trailers tend to sway, and that sway is absorbed by the sidewall of the tire, and the constant bending at the bead causes the portawall to essentially work-harden and tear at the bead. This happened on a travel trailer I had with 13" portawalls. Would never use them again. My experience...


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  6. Strange how this ancient Porta Wall is still hanging in there. HRP

    2006-1-18_Port-o-WallWeb-Large.jpg
     
  7. Barn Find
    Joined: Feb 2, 2013
    Posts: 2,312

    Barn Find
    Member
    from Missouri

    I ran them on 14" radials on a daily driver. The only problem I noticed, was that they wore a groove in the sidewall of the tire. I presume this was from the radial sidewalls flexing. I wore out the treads before the sidewall damage got out of hand.
     
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  8. bondolero
    Joined: Dec 10, 2008
    Posts: 562

    bondolero
    Member

     
  9. waldo53
    Joined: Jan 26, 2010
    Posts: 863

    waldo53
    Member
    from ID

    One more afterthought on the port-a-walls that I don't think has been mentioned before. I always ran my tire pressure on the high end of the range which tends to minimize the radial bulge and sidewall flex that happens with radials. Also, I figured that since tire pressure is the only thing holding the "flappers" in place, being on the high side would be a good thing. And, I checked tire pressure regularly, like every 3 or 4 days - again, I ran these for 5 plus years with no issues at all.
     
  10. dana barlow
    Joined: May 30, 2006
    Posts: 5,115

    dana barlow
    Member
    from Miami Fla.
    1. Y-blocks

    I played the game with them as far back as the early 60s. How good they looked was about how well they were mounted and how long they lasted had a lot to do with the speed I drove+newer highways now are smoother {bad bumps at high speeds let air fold them off tire,
    but at over 60mph was death to them anyway. They now have glue on of many types,along with white walls of a number of size an wide of your pick ,that are better then oldy goldys ;http://tredwear.com/
     
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  11. for cleaning I found good old Ajax from under the kitchen sink and a wet rag does the deed very well.
     
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  12. The sidewall construction is a heavier ply than the conventional tires for passenger cars hence the ST rating,the side walls are harder and then to be much stiffer.

    The life of the ST tires are not as long lived as passenger cars. HRP
     
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  13. TVC
    Joined: Jun 21, 2017
    Posts: 68

    TVC
    Member

    If you're going to run with "porta-walls" get a set of the Atlas brand. High quality, heavy side wall, really pretty nice.

    They sell stick-on letters for tires that use a super-glue style adhesive, you might try some of this adhesive on the side walls as added insurance. It's made to stick rubber to rubber and lasts forever.
     
  14. David Gersic
    Joined: Feb 15, 2015
    Posts: 2,730

    David Gersic
    Member
    from DeKalb, IL

    Kinda too modern for this forum, but I was talking with these guys at one of the Power Tour stops. http://tredwear.com/. They were saying they could do redlines, for the muscle car guys, or white walls, or any lettering or logo you could draw. Maybe they can do a custom whitewall for you.


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  15. upspirate
    Joined: Apr 15, 2012
    Posts: 2,299

    upspirate
    Member

    OK, if that is the look you are after!!!LOL:eek:

    I guess that would be "barn find tire patina"!!!:D
     
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  16. I know most everyone on here so far has had bad luck, but every set myself and a few of my buddies have used gave no issues whatsoever, hell theres been a set on my bud's 62 chevy for nearly 5 years and he drives it about 4 days a week.
     
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  17. Centrifugal force makes them flatten right out. :D :D

    I think that in order to keep them from getting floppy you will need to protect them from the sunlight. The reason that I think that is that I bought a '56 Buick once cheap, it was parked behind a barn and had been for several years. It had portawalls and the side that was toward the barn were not floppy the side that was in the sun were floppy.

    I just ran 'em that way. Got it running and drove the living bejesus out of it.
     
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  18. upspirate
    Joined: Apr 15, 2012
    Posts: 2,299

    upspirate
    Member

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  19. HOLLYWOOD GRAHAM
    Joined: Apr 11, 2007
    Posts: 1,437

    HOLLYWOOD GRAHAM
    Member
    from Ojai,Ca

    In the mid fifties when white walls were still popular I talked my father into putting a set on his 46 Chev. eventually the they came apart and we replaced them. Still the same thing happened again, then we decided they suck and removed them. Glad black walls got popular. My Merc. has white walls but they are real and I would not do it any other way. Fake white walls are not fooling anybody, easy to tell so get the real deal.
     
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  20. ladyhrp and 3W JOHN like this.
  21. LostBoy
    Joined: Mar 16, 2016
    Posts: 217

    LostBoy

    I have porta walls on my 13" corvair wheels for about 6000 miles now. They look great still. I don't have any unreasonable expectations as to how long they will last but for now they're great. Most of the trouble I have found is with proper installation. It took me a few tries on each one getting them correct on the bead.


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  22. upspirate
    Joined: Apr 15, 2012
    Posts: 2,299

    upspirate
    Member

    I didn't really look for info, I just saw them mounted, and thought you could see what they looked like on a Shasta
     
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  23. They do look good. HRP
     
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  24. This is the camper.

    [​IMG]

    And the same model with whitewalls. HRP

    [​IMG]
     
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  25. Blackie
    Joined: Jun 8, 2004
    Posts: 596

    Blackie
    Member

    I was running ST trailer tires when this happened. The portawalls were brand new and installed properly. If you look closely at the bottom center of a wheel at the bead you can see there is a pinch point. Best I can tell that constant swaying on that pinch point is what led to the failure.


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  26. enjenjo
    Joined: Mar 2, 2001
    Posts: 2,689

    enjenjo
    Member
    from swanton oh

    Back in the early 60s I worked for a used car dealer. Most used cars got portawalls, I installed lots of them. The trick to getting them to lay flat, and to last was the way they are installed. First, lots of Ruglyde when installing them. The second thing, when the bead is just about ready to seat, pound the face of the portawall with a rubber mallet, kind of toward the bead until they are flat against the tire. Then finish inflating the tires.
     
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  27. upspirate
    Joined: Apr 15, 2012
    Posts: 2,299

    upspirate
    Member

    I have a stool my Dad made that looks very similar to that.....you could have it if you were closer,but not worth shipping!
    I thought most Shasta's had the wings on the upper back sides ?
     
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  28. LostBoy
    Joined: Mar 16, 2016
    Posts: 217

    LostBoy

    Yup! This is exactly the way I learned to do it after a few tries. It's all about that seating.


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  29. LostBoy
    Joined: Mar 16, 2016
    Posts: 217

    LostBoy

    [​IMG]

    They look even better up close.


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  30. The Shasta campers were introduced in 1941 and never had wings until 1958,my '57 was the last year that they were wingless. HRP
     
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