I don't think the rims were the only cause of the flat tires. My last flat on my last trip was because the inner tube was too big, folded up in the tire and a leak wore in the creases. So, my last effort was to get a small enough tube so that wouldn't happen again. I had my local tire dealer get me a tube and this is what he got:
I was excited to see that it was not too big but I wondered about the "service limited to agricultural" warning. Oh well, have to trust someone so I let him put it in. I now think that it really wasn't made for highway tires and was weak contributing to the cause of the leaks. So, the night I got home I started searching for true 6.00-16 inner tubes with the TR15 stem. (Part of my problem with rust inside the rim has been being sold tubes by Coker with stems too small that let water into the rim. The worst rust was around the stem hole.) The correct size tube with the correct size stem is hard to find. I finally found them at Lucas Classic Tires and ordered three as well as 4 of the liner strips. Got them in Friday and spent hours with the wire wheel, grinder, stripping wheel, sander and rust remover to get the rims smooth to bare metal. Then applied two coats of automotive etching primer followed by 4 coats of gloss epoxy appliance paint. Then took the three rims back to the
better tire store (the ones that just rebuilt my engine), installed the liner strips, powdered up the inside of the tires and rims and put the tires back on. The tire pro there said the rims were as smooth as new. We'll see how it goes. Previous paint was just black, not appliance epoxy. Hopefully this will work better. In the mean time, I'll keep my pump charged up.
