IXNAYXJ
Adventurer
Get the MT/Rs, hands down a better tire. The Toyos are SUPER heavy and suck in the mud.
-----Matt-----
Are Beadlocks necessary?
- Thread starter SWbySWesty
- Start date
-----Matt-----
Desolation
Adventurer
I used to have a yellow slip of paper that clearly said that the officer issuing and the judge agreed that no DOT stamp on the bead-lock was not legal for highway use. Now people have told me many times since then that the officer and the judge were wrong. They may in fact have been mistaken, but you know what? It simply cost WAY less to plead to a fix-it ticket and remove the wheels. They were way heavy anyway!
ntsqd
Heretic Car Camper
[drift]
The reason that I asked is because I see it stated frequently on the net that they are not legal, but no one can provide a section number or a link to the section that says that they are either directly or indirectly illegal for street use.[/drift]
In any case, if the OP isn't going rock crawling to the degree that he or she needs to be able to hammer a bent wheel lip back into shape then I would suggest going to a lighter wheel that still has an appropriate load rating. Knocking even a couple lbs. off the unsprung weight does marvelous things for ride quality and vehicle response.
I see BFG bashed all of the time, but I've also noticed that after the latest fad tire's luster has faded that the BFG's are still there, still getting the job done. Excepting my very first set of BFG's I've had excellent results in using them. I have one set of 285/75R16's that has been to hell and back. Their first trip anywhere was to RM 616 of the Baja 1000 in 2001 and the return route was through the San Ignacio Silt Beds AFTER the race. Life hasn't gotten much easier on them since, but they are now ready to be retired. I've no doubt that there might be a better tire for this or for that, but my experience with BFG's has been that they just keep plugging along doing it all without issue. Since I've no desire to be a "Tire of the Month" club member I keep buying what works for me.
If they weren't stamped as meeting DOT specs then they were not road use legal. There would be no way to prove that the bead locks were added after the stamping so long as the welds did not overlap the stamping, and the burden of proving that is on them - not on you.
The reason that I asked is because I see it stated frequently on the net that they are not legal, but no one can provide a section number or a link to the section that says that they are either directly or indirectly illegal for street use.[/drift]
In any case, if the OP isn't going rock crawling to the degree that he or she needs to be able to hammer a bent wheel lip back into shape then I would suggest going to a lighter wheel that still has an appropriate load rating. Knocking even a couple lbs. off the unsprung weight does marvelous things for ride quality and vehicle response.
I see BFG bashed all of the time, but I've also noticed that after the latest fad tire's luster has faded that the BFG's are still there, still getting the job done. Excepting my very first set of BFG's I've had excellent results in using them. I have one set of 285/75R16's that has been to hell and back. Their first trip anywhere was to RM 616 of the Baja 1000 in 2001 and the return route was through the San Ignacio Silt Beds AFTER the race. Life hasn't gotten much easier on them since, but they are now ready to be retired. I've no doubt that there might be a better tire for this or for that, but my experience with BFG's has been that they just keep plugging along doing it all without issue. Since I've no desire to be a "Tire of the Month" club member I keep buying what works for me.
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Desolation
Adventurer
X2 on you summation of the BFG's.
I know people that talk crap about them all the time.
My only negative comment is that the MT's of the KM type are terrible on pack snow/ice. The AT's on the other hand are terrific on Snow and Ice, so much better that I regularly chose the 2WD truck over the 4x4...
08whitex
Adventurer
Bead locks are not necessary ir you have these:
http://kalecoauto.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3&products_id=36
http://kalecoauto.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3&products_id=36
TOTJ
Adventurer
SWbySWesty
Fauxverland Extraodinaire
Thanks everyone for the information!
SAR Jeepster
Observer
I run 36x16.5 Fun Country on 15x12 Black Steel Wheels with out bead locks for snow. I regularly run front tire pressure of 1psi and rear of 2psi. I have only completely lost a tire once but occasionally I will slide sideways and pop a bead but t doesn’t take long to reseat it and keep moving.
Still moving I had to get out and clear the snow from the radiator.
Still moving I had to get out and clear the snow from the radiator.
Desolation
Adventurer
Still moving I had to get out and clear the snow from the radiator.
Thanks for the Pix reminds me I have work to do before the real wheeling season starts!
Bogie
Observer
For you guys that need something in the meantime while you consider droping the cash for beadlocks just get rim screws. I tested them on some old steel's with 36" Goodyears and the tire machine could not break them loose. Now done on my 37" SSR's on my Crew Cab no issues with single digit PSI.
cruiseroutfit
Well-known member
This has been an age old debate in Utah. Lets put it this way, there is one place in State law or policy that mentions beadlocks and that is in the state safety inspection manual handed out to all the safety inspection shops across the state. Its simple reads 'reject if beadlocks present'. But there is zero state law or motor vehicle code on the books that excludes them from being used. And as the safety manual is a literary work of the Utah Highway Patrol, they don't have the authority to create law based on an addition to their manual. So for most we consider them legal, just not wise to take them to the safety inspection
That said it has not been tested in court, despite everyone's "buddy" getting a ticket for having them... nobody has actually ever produced a ticket for them. Mudflaps, tire widths, lift heights, bumpers, aftermarket lights, studded tires, etc... all covered both in the safety manual and law in Utah, but bead locks, no. Its definitely debateable as there are some catch-all 'safe vehicle' clauses that basically do offer the UHP some judgement calls on what is safe and what is not. But from an engineering standpoint the 36 bolts holding each of my tires on are about 6 times less likely to fall off than my 6 lugs 
Stumpalump
Expedition Leader
This has been an age old debate in Utah. Lets put it this way, there is one place in State law or policy that mentions beadlocks and that is in the state safety inspection manual handed out to all the safety inspection shops across the state. Its simple reads 'reject if beadlocks present'. But there is zero state law or motor vehicle code on the books that excludes them from being used. And as the safety manual is a literary work of the Utah Highway Patrol, they don't have the authority to create law based on an addition to their manual. So for most we consider them legal, just not wise to take them to the safety inspection
That was my understanding of the law. Basically their is no enforceable way to stop you from using them. For a daily driver they are a pain because so many of them leak air. Now that could be dangerous if you didn't notice a low tire. They are also heavy and don't seem to balance well because it's easy to bolt them down slightly off center.
As for off road they are a dream. So many say but they never lost a bead and either have I but there is nothing like cruising trails with single digit air pressure. You go from 30-15 and say wow because you just reduced air by half. Now reduce it by half again with a bead lock and say wow all over. Bead locks rule and if the op is spending money on rims anyway then now is the time to get them. I have used bolt on rings and Stuans. I like the Stuans because even at 6PSI I can run hard with out fear of bottoming on my rim. They are a pain to install so only buy them if you have a good shop nearby that has plenty of experience with them. The bolt on kind are nice because you can mount tires yourself. Check out the Walker Evans wheels if you want the best. They are worth the extra money.