Rapids - Where to get inner tube for river rapids tubing?

Where to get inner tube for river rapids tubing?

I know you can get the 30 dollar tubes for boating from the store but im looking where to buy the classic black car inner tubes for riding down rivers. I cant find any of these though, does anyone know where i can pick a couple of these up. -Thanks It seems they come from 18 wheelers, (car tires went tubeless in the late 1940's so i dont expect to find any of those :p) So does anyone know where i can get tubes for an 18 wheeler?

Public Comments

try googling river rapids tubing cus i dont know where your near to. or you can try sport chalet, sport mart, big 5 sporting good, and even costco.
Ebay usually has some just search for "truck inner tube". Here's one seller: http://stores.ebay.com/Steves-Snow-and-River-Inner-Tubes
The only tubes big enough for you to float in are used on semi trailers. Honestly, they're getting hard to find. Even trailers use tubeless tires these days. Check with a truck stop or diesel (big rig) mechanic. Maybe even a heavy equipment rental place... the caterpillar telehandlers and the graders use some pretty big tires and are probably pretty susceptible to getting flats. I bet they've got tubes at those places. FYI: Last time I went tubing on the Kern River with a bunch of buddies, I got myself a 2-man raft (dumb name since it's really just big enough for 1 man to be comfortable). It worked-ouot pretty good.... everyone else was in tubes which meant I got to carry the beer. :) And when we passed the hydro-electric plant and the water temperature dropped to 40 degrees, I didn't freeze my balls off.
http://www.gemplers.com/rear-tractor has industrial tubes up to 38" in diameter. If you're looking for something bigger, try mining equipment supplies.