I have bodell wheels and brakes on my '57 PA 22/20. I have 6.50X6 tires on it right now, but they might need to be replaced sometime within a year or two. I have been trying to find info on them, but the interwebz has not turned up too much. Does anyone around here know if I can put 8.00X6 or 8.50X6 tires on this thing with the bodell wheels and brakes? Thanks for any info!

Stephen

I just heard of a guy who put 850x6 on his plane and it worked just fine.

A good buddy of mine has a PA-22 with 850s all around. works great. He did recently put cleveland brakes on, but not due to the tires, more because he wanted the better brakes.

I have a set of Bodell brakes that are pretty fresh. In fact, they look like new in their black imron paint. New brake disks, etc. They came off of a 172A I converted to tailwheel years ago. I wanted to put 8.50's on it with the Bodell's and my local FSDO said no way. Had to go to double puck Clevelands. Anyway, these are for sale if I find someone wanting them and can figure out what they are worth. I also have the George Adams wheels needed to use the Bodell's which would go with the brakes. I do know that there is a company that bought all the tooling and which is servicing the STC and STC'd parts.

I had Bodell brakes on my C170B with 8:00's mounted on them. It worked fine. I loved those brakes. They were practically maintenance free the entire time I owned the 170. Good thing, probably, since it is hell to find parts for them.

Wayne

c180pilot wrote: I had Bodell brakes on my C170B with 8:00's mounted on them. It worked fine. I loved those brakes. They were practically maintenance free the entire time I owned the 170. Good thing, probably, since it is hell to find parts for them.

I know a guy who had bodells on his 170B & ran 26" goodyears, seemed to work just fine. The bigger issue might be approval for the 800's or 850's on the PA-22/20. What does the t/w conversion STC say? A friend of mine has one & I think he told me 600's & 700's are approved, and there's an STC (from Svenn's Aviation) for 850's, but nothing for 800's.
The bodells are nice because you don't have much hanging out in the breeze to slow you down or rub on the tire, unlike Clevelands. I would say that you probably can't nose it over with them but nothing is impossible if a guy is determined enough.
I found plenty of info when I googled bodell brakes, including a parts source, but I don't know how much of it is current.

You can run up to 800's on Bodells

850's and larger require Cleveland's. You also need an STC to run the 850's, available from Svenn's Aviation (SA02672CH).

850's with Bodells will work fine, they just aren't approved.

shortwingpiper.org is typically a good resource for shortwing specific questions.

I just got off the phone with Skybound MFG., Doraville, GA 770-446-6797, the current STC holder and manufacture of the Bodell Brake system. The brakes are still available and a complete kit sells for around $1600. You can also move a set from one plane to another for only a $25 FEE to re-register the STC from one tail number to another, Great Price. As to tire size the factory doesn’t care because the STC dose not call out any tire size. So there position is anything you want to put on is OK with them. They have 26-Goodyears and 30-inch bush wheels on there wheels. BUT because there is no specifics in the STC that also leaves it open to interpretation by the local FSDO and they might not think the way the factory dose.

Rick

I think I might go with 8.00 X 6. Im doing some off airport stuff, but nothing near what would be necessitate having 26" on it. Thanks! This is still a ways off as my tires now seem to be doing a good job. Just a thought for the future when I need to get it done.