Is it OK to just carry spare tyres and not wheel and tyre if you have splitrims?

puiumeu

New member
Hi,

This is going to be the first of many posts after having been a lurker for some time. Perhaps I am overthinking some of my planning but I am sure the community here will not be shy to correct me...

We are just planning our Overland Truck which we are trying to keep under 7.5t. I would like to carry 2 spares but to keep the weight down I was planning on just carrying two 365/80 R20 tyres without the wheels?

Is this a sensible route and if so how would you suggest I mount the tyres to the rear of the cabin shell without the wheel to bolt onto a carrier? Ideally the solution should also provide some hoist to assist lifting.

Also for this solution to work I will need a good tyre inflation solution. Is it ok to use the truck air or should I source an additional compressor (any recommendations).

Thanks in advance for any solutions and advise.

Br

Al.
 

Ozrockrat

Expedition Leader
I carry a spare tire not a spare wheel. But it bit me on the ******** the other week when I blew a tire on a 120f day. Swapping that tire onto the rim eventually (I actually went 90 miles home and swapped wheel set to continue my trip) sucked and would of been nearly impossible on the side of the road. If I was wanting to carry 2 spares I would have one as a full wheel set and the other can just be a spare tire.

As for the compressor I always just use the truck air. Much better supply than a separate compressor will provide and doesn't add weight.
 

Kmrtnsn

Explorer
curious, have you ever broken down a split rim tire yourself? Broken the beads the old fashioned way, swinging a hammer? You that comfortable reinflating a split rim without a cage?
 

Kmrtnsn

Explorer
365-80r20-michelin-xzl-new-aluminium-wheel.jpg


Not what I want to wrestle on the side of the road, in the dirt.........
 

Ozrockrat

Expedition Leader
While I like the ability to change tires anywhere the reality is that my first choice is for someone else to do it. Especially outside the USA it is not expensive and it saves my back. This is coming from practical experience with split rims, beadlocks and normal type rims of all sizes.

I do run split rims on my landcruisers in Australia but finding people willing to work on them in the cities is getting a lot harder.

Whatever way you go make sure you practice at home before heading out to make sure of 2 things. That you have the skills and tools required. Also to ensure the buggers will come apart at all.
 

grizzlyj

Tea pot tester
Hi

Our ex-Mog had standard 10x20 steel split rims with 395 85 R20 XZls without a tube. Both factory options.

The bead of that tyre is slightly narrower than the rim, so either needs the washing up liquid and bicycle inner tube approach to reseal on inflation that I could never get to work, or some explosive gas which was more nerve racking but worked. Air freshener or Easi-start. With truck air (valve core removed) and some proper tyre lube.

395s are bigger than "normal" truck tyres so won't fit in the one safety cage at a fitter we looked at once.

I saw one road side garage using a pick axe and full swing to de-bead, so leaving your wheel with someone and going for lunch might not always be a good idea. You can buy a de-beading tool that screws a wedge into the bead using a wrench. Ours is similar to a "Bead buster", no big levers so compact.

Older wheel sets may well be rusted onto each other. It may be worth splitting all your wheels and remounting with lube (the stuff we have helps seal imperfections on older rims too) just to make it easier when conditions aren't ideal.

All tyres and a pair of spares mounted on Hutchinson bead locks may solve your weight issue from two fronts, lighter than steel wheels, lighter wallet too :) I'm sure you'll get that back long term on fuel savings though! (Man maths at it's best)

One downside with truck air on an older vehicle is working for a while right next to the exhaust is not that pleasant if you have to, plus just the engine noise after a while. But to remove that issue you need a big battery bank to power a second compressor.

Edit to add, bottom pic http://www.mogletinafrica.co.uk/mogletoutside.html you can just see the left hand spare is resting on and bolted to the rear bumper which is a chassis extension. We decided that a rear bumper was needed anyway, and although reduced departure angle was strong enough to plough its way through when needed. More weight! The right hand tyre is sitting on mounts within the rear camper wall that were there when we bought it. At that point there were a pair of mounted 365s on those frames, so I assumed an equal weight of unmounted 395 must be fine too. 395s side by side are too wide for the truck, so some difference in mounting height was needed too. You can also just see at the top and inboard of the lights is a pair of heavy tie down loops. The tyres were moved with a pulley block hanging from one of these)
 
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puiumeu

New member
Wow what a great response for my first post and some great information and advice. I think I will review my original idea to one mounted tyre and one without wheel. They will be new (refurbished) wheels but will heed the advice to dismantle and check.
Just out of interest how would you cope with balancing after a tyre refit? Just get it done asap?
Thank you all for taking the time to respond.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
 

Ozrockrat

Expedition Leader
The size tires we use are usually not able to be balanced by the normal truck guys. I run Centramatic balancers on my front wheels and nothing in the back. Some people also use dynabeads or bb pellets.
 

puiumeu

New member
Thanks Ozrockrat,

What about jacking solutions? Carrying a Jack and Axle stands for a big truck appears excessive and adds weight, what solutions do people here suggest?

Whats the whole deal with Hutchinsons I am not sure I understand the advantages or how I get them to fit. My vehicle is a Iveco 90-16AW converted for singles at the back so I have very different offsets. If I choose to carry one wheel and one tyre should I carrry a front or back?

br

Al.
 

Ozrockrat

Expedition Leader
Air over hydraulic jack with a single jack stand. Go to the local industrial
Metal supplies and get off cut aluminum blocks (just as light as wood but don't rot or splinter) to help under the jack. I doubt the safejack stuff would be heavy enough for your use. Make sure you have at least 2 suitable wheel chocks.

The hutchinsons are a dual beadlock wheel (available in aluminum 70# or steel 120#) which allows for field servicing and are much safer to inflate than the split rims. The beadlocks also allow you to run a lot lower tire pressures when you get stuck.

As for which wheel to run as a spare. I would suggest you see which offset could be used in both positions at a pinch. (I.e. The rear could be run on the front but would stick out a couple of inches). Then have that one as your spare. If that is not feasible my experience suggests that rear tires are more likely to get damaged/punctured than the fronts. But Murphy being the sadistic bugger he is will make sure all your flats are on the other end to what spare you carry. I do carry a heavy duty plug kit for the wayward nail type situations.

Remember also that with trucks you don't necessarily have to remove the rim from the truck to remove a tire. In some situations it is better to do it on the truck rather than fill everything full of sand/gravel etc. just be extremely careful in working on a vehicle that is on jacks/stands and also how you go about airing the tire back up.

With a good set of 395/85R20 tires you are not that likely to have punctures or separation issues if you keep a religious eye on your pressures. Tearing the sidewall out is a different story but usually operator error.

If you have an agricultural tire place around near you check and see if they will teach you how to do the big repairs (buying all your repair gear through them will help or just buying beer also works).

Now just for a background story. I was traveling in Australia one night in a 6 wheel Landcruiser pickup/ute. In one 80 kilometer section of gravel I got 4 destroyed tires. The road had just been regraveled and the gravel was big and sharp. Just ripped the sides out of the tires. Luckily I carried 2 spares and had a set of chains to chain the rear tag axle up so I could limp into civilization. All the damaged tires where on the rear. One tire did about 10 kilometers from new to destroyed. Talk about an unhappy camper.
 

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