Chaparral Tires

[Rolling_X_6]

Hello--

I am looking at fixing up my brother's old Chaparral 6X6; it will be a joint project, my brother and me.

I did not get it moved into my garage where I can get a good look at it yet, but I already know it needs other tires. But, the tires that are on it now are those tires with the very small metal rim. It is mostly all rubber. I think they are called "One Piece Throw-Away Design Flotation Tires." I think so, anyhow.

I have been doing some research on converting to rims that will take regular tires. Mostly, I have been researching through this forum . . . as well as elsewhere on the internet. I want to be able to put regular 8 inch, "ATV-Style" tires on this machine. From what I understand--correct me where I am wrong, please. But, from what I understand, these tires that are currently on this machine use a "three hole pattern" style of lug-nut mounting system.

Am I correct about that??? Do these "One Piece Throw-Away Design Flotation Tires" like I am describing is on this Chaparral use this "three hole pattern" style of lug-nut system???

Now, if that is the case, my understanding is that there are two ways of converting this to be able to use regular, 8 inch ATV tires: 1. I can make or buy 3-to-5 hole hub adapter plates. OR 2. I can buy rims--which are hard to find--that have the "three hole pattern," BUT are made to take standard, 8 inch ATV tires instead of those "One Piece Throw-Away Design Flotation Tires."

Am I on the right track with what I have gotten from my research on this subject, or did I get off track somewhere???

Thanks in advance for any and all help in this area.

[racerone3]

not sure if the Chap had 1" axles, but if so i've been using these on some machines with good results. ATV Live Axle Hub | Brakes, Clutches, + Hubs | Northern Tool + Equipment 4 lug atv wheels are hard to find in a 4" pattern, but golf cart wheels work. the golf cart wheels are an inch narrower so they will make the tire slightly taller... just something to keep in mind if tire clearance might be an issue. (i just put 21" tires on my attex instead of 22's. as it turned out i could have gotten away with the 22, but didn't want to chance it) atv wheels with the old 3 bolt pattern are going to be very hard to find, and the rims tend to bend easier due to not having much hub to support them. i would go the 4 or 5 lug route.

[Rolling_X_6]

racerone3--

Thanks for the feedback.

Once I get this beast in my garage where I can look at it, everything will make much more sense; I'm sure.

But for now, thanks for passing along the fruits of your experience.

--Rolling_X_6

[LarryW]

This is going to be a cool project. Looking forward to it.

Mike has posted some articles about making adapters in the article secton. If you look up in the top there is also a brochure section and How-to's section with some cool info.
Here is the links for the adapters in case you go that route...

3 to 4 lug template

3 to 5 lug template

[Rolling_X_6]

Here is the links for the adapters in case you go that route...

3 to 4 lug template

3 to 5 lug template

Thanks a lot.

I downloaded those PDF files for future reference. Thanks for that!!!

Right now, I am looking into buying a set of 6, 8 inch wheels that I came across which are already made to work with the 3-hole system . . . no 3-to-5 hole adapter plates would be needed if I can get them. But otherwise, I will need to go the route of the making adapter plates and buying regular 5-hole/8-inch ATV wheels.

So, we'll see how that works out. I hope I can get these rare 3-hole/8-inch 6X6 wheels.

Thanks, LarryW.