f550 Wheels for 335/80 mpt 81s on a custom camper rig - Hutchinsons vs Non-beadlock

[S2DM]

We just ordered our truck this week and are debating the merits of beadlocks. Lots of posts in the jeep sized vehicle world, but fewer on the bigger campers. Earthroamer owners seem happy with them, and we see them on some of the brush trucks and military 550 rigs. We have a set of Conti 335 MPT81s. We don't envision much rock crawling, but do go down to baja quite a bit and spend a lot of time on sand.

That said, we also spend alot of time on fire roads and the freeway. The difference in price between the rims we are considering (custom from staz or rickson vs hutchinson vs starrtracks trucks vs the new buckstop package), isn't enough to be a deciding factor, atleast considering how much we've spent on everything else

So, cost aside, are they worth it? OR, for the non rock crawler who still likes to cross rivers and get out to remote beaches through soft sand, are the beadlocks more of a PITA than they are worth in this size truck?

We don't have all that much experience in this realm and don't want to over or under buy, we just want nice rims that will allow us to air down and get out of the situations we might commonly encounter. We are planning on carrying a mounted spare rim and tire, so aren't looking at the beadlocks to be able to field change a spare, which I understand isn't easy. Weight wise, we are also significantly under GVWR, so weight isn't a huge concern in terms of the additional associated with the beadlock insert.

-Scott and Heather

 

[Byrdseye]

I went with Stazworks on my 5500...........i dont have enough time on them yet to give you a meaningful opinion. But so far, so good. Really do like to have the option to air down.

 

[S2DM]

I went with Stazworks on my 5500...........i dont have enough time on them yet to give you a meaningful opinion. But so far, so good. Really do like to have the option to air down.

Beadlock stazworks? Ive seen custom sets of those for Mogs before

 

[heimbig]

I faced the same issue. what I would really have liked is the conti HDC 12 R 20 these are construction tires that are tough enough for off road but meant for use on highway as well. They can be replaced without special equipment like the mpt 81 and aired down. if you look at continental's site it is clear the mpt 81 is not intended for road use primarily (as I recall 20% road 80% off road) and hence these become very expensive tires because they just don't last very long when used on the highway.

for mpt 81 hutchinson is a good, but expensive, wheel. Hutchinson 20x11 or 19.5 wheels both could be a good solution the 19.5 more appropriate for you since you say you are way below the GVW.

no perfect solution.

I ended up with low profile 22.5 semi truck tires and wheels - because I am at the high end of my F-550 GVW. Les Schwab had custom steel wheels built 295/60r22.5x9.00 and mounted Michelin 295/60r22.5 X multiway XD.
http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...ehicle-Economical-build?p=1523517#post1523517
Scroll down to post 163 for photo of size differences

I for sure would NOT go with Rickson they are a bad company though they can produce a good product they are so messed up there is no way to know what you'll get. I know Turtle Expedition uses 20" steel Rickson and hasn't had any problems - but, of course, they advertise for rickson. Who makes Buckstop f550 wheels ? I don't see it on their website, perhaps Rickson makes them. That is Ricksons latest scheme - because Rickson lies - they get other more responsible company's (Firematic also Les Schwab if you are not careful) to sell their product . see post 90 on GOVE: http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...ehicle-Economical-build?p=1435284#post1435284

If I was to buy Rickson, for sure, buy from a trusted third party (not direct) and ask for 12 month 12,000 mile warrantee, don't pay the full price until you see them.

 

[S2DM]

Anyone else have any experience with Stazworks customs? I spoke to him this morning and their process sounds spot on and the price is right. Actually lighter than hutchinsons as well.

 

[adam88]

Anyone else have any experience with Stazworks customs? I spoke to him this morning and their process sounds spot on and the price is right. Actually lighter than hutchinsons as well.

They are reputable, very popular on pirate 4x4. They are growing quickly though and last I checked, like all growing companies, their customer service is a bit slow. I don't know how well they will handle returning stuff. I read something somewhere (don't ask me where) about X amount of their wheels leaking air on arrival and they are not responsible for that or something like that. Who the heck knows where I read there. Oh I think it was over at pirate4x4 in a thread that got nasty. Things have changed maybe since then, better quality control??

 

[bahndo]

I have some Stazworks double bead locks with the conti MPT81's on my Dodge 2500. The wheels are nice, tires are nice but I think the insert doesn't fit very well. I know that when they shipped them John was up in arms because they had such a hard time getting the tires on the rim with inserts and then he said they couldn't balance them all that well. My understanding is that they had to shave the insert a bit to get the wheels put together. I would guess that the insert is too loose now and can move a little throwing the wheel out of balance. It's not really that bad but occasionally we get some vibration that seems to correct itself with time. I drive this truck with my family on 1200 mile road trips and the wife doesn't seem to mind/notice so it must not be that bad....

 

[Healeyjet]

Byrdseye, what size tires did you end up going with? How far do the front stick out?
Ward

 

[Tesoro]

I cannot recommend Rickson one bit after my paying and waiting experience.

 

[adam88]

Who makes Buckstop f550 wheels ? I don't see it on their website, perhaps Rickson makes them. That is Ricksons latest scheme - because Rickson lies - they get other more responsible company's (Firematic also Les Schwab if you are not careful) to sell their product . see post 90 on GOVE: http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...ehicle-Economical-build?p=1435284#post1435284

If I was to buy Rickson, for sure, buy from a trusted third party (not direct) and ask for 12 month 12,000 mile warrantee, don't pay the full price until you see them.

Just an FYI but I would be surprised if Buckstop bought their wheels from Rickson. A lot of people don't know this, but Buckstop is part of a much larger company called Truck Accessories NW (http://www.truckaccessoriesnw.com). In addition to Buckstop, they also own "Trail Ready" bumpers and a subsidiary Trail Ready Wheels (www.trbeadlocks.com). So I highly doubt a company that owns a beadlock wheels company would order wheels from Rickson. Chances are they are made in-house. But a simple email to them rather than associating them with a company like Rickson would clear things up I am sure.

 

[Byrdseye]

Byrdseye, what size tires did you end up going with? How far do the front stick out?
Ward

At present, I'm running 37 x 12.50 nitto trail grapplers on 20 x 10 Stazwork double beadlocks. They stick out more than i would like (about 1 1/2" ) but im the one that did the measurements so i cant blame John. Lol There is plenty of room for the MPT 81s should i decide to rock 41s in the future. The wheels are very high quality and easy to mount the tires. The pvc insert fits the bead thickness perfectly (another measurement supplied to John) and im balacing with Airsoft BB's. AEM fender flares may be in my future when they hit the market.