HMMWV double beadlocks wheels on a Ford Superduty

[Bella PSD]

I am looking into running DOT approved hmmwv double beadlock military wheels.(http://www.trailworthyfab.com/) They are steel 16.5”X8.25” wide rims and are beadlocked with 12 bolts. From what I have read you can run them down to 10psi and a max of 50 psi. Weight capacity is 3,850 LBS per wheel and there are places that will re-center them for my 8X170 wheel pattern and many more. When they are re-centered you can get any back space from 2”-4.5” in ½” increments.

The best part is I could now change out a bad tire with just a ratchet drive and a screw driver and have the run flat feature just in case.
Looks like I can get 4 hmmwv 12 bolt double beadlocks with the PVC beadlock insert, converted over to 8X170 pattern AND 90% plus 37x12.5x16.5 Goodyear MT radials for about $1,212 delivered. That’s $303 per beadlock rim AND 37” MT.

Right now I am just looking into it. Checking into backspace (currently running 4.5” with 16x10) and looking into how good the MT does on and off road. So far they look like they will do pretty good on and off road but not excel at either. That’s about the balance I need.

UPDATE
I got the HMMWV wheels and 37" BFGoodrich BAJA tires on my Superduty. Page 12 for balance issues beginning to get fixed!

 

[Metcalf]

I thought about going this way too on my Dodge. I really like the wheels and I think the overall idea is great, what killed it for me is the availability of 16.5 tires currently....and it not getting anything but worse in the future.

The 37" old style goodyear MTs that come on those wheels are not that great of a tire. They have a pretty weak sidewall and are rather short for 37s.

There just isn't many tires, especially radials, being made in the 16.5 rim size these days.

If they where 17s I would be all over them. Stazworks makes a similar wheel in just about any size you can imagine.

Honestly, I would like to see a typical beadlock ( that sandwiches the outer bead ) wheel modified to accept the inner beadlock ring and have the ring form the outer edge of the wheel instead of the clamp for the bead. I think this could be done fairly easily.

Its not a cheap option, but Hutchinson ( same wheel company that makes hummer wheels ) makes a line of aluminum double beadlock wheels to fit most common vehicles in the 17x8.5 size.

http://www.rockmonsterwheels.com/

 

[RR1]

Why not get a set of Walker Evans? Not DOT, but who is really going to know? There is so many fake beadlock wheels out there running around...

I know some tire shops won't change out tires on a non-DOT bead lock rim, but you do your own tire swapping for now on. I would have on board air and an impact wrench though.:ylsmoke:

http://www.walkerevansracing.com/wheels.beadlock.17

 

[Rovertrader]

check into the Staun beadlocks. I had a H-1 a few years back, and the 16.5" tire availability was poor at best- then. I have sinced used the Stauns, and love them- and you can run even lower pressures. Theoreticly down to zero, as it acts as a reinforced innertube should you get a flat. Worth a look/see.

 

[Ron B]

with the 16.5's you are limited to super swamper and a few others. I don't mind because mine is a trail truck -- the iroks aren't a bad tire though. A bit noisy but not nearly as noisy as some I've had in the past.

the 17" two piece aluminum hutchinson rims that were available on hummers 2002 and up are much nicer...but more $$$. They come up on ebay a lot...might be harder to modify?

 

[Aggie]

I run H1's on my trail truck, and there are some radials out there for them, but they are limited. You can run lower than 10 PSI also . They aren't 37" Goodyear MTR's but MT's and they are decent tires for the road, harder than hell, and should last 60-70K miles.

www.trailworthyfab.com is the place to get them if you are really interested in them. I run Pitbull Radial Rockers on mine, but I also don't drive on the road. Here is a pic of mine, recentered to 6x5.5, with rock rings welded on and pressed centers for 3.5" BS, powdercoated black on black, 12 bolts, running <5 PSI.

 

[milo12]

Aggie is correct. The tires can be run down to 0 psi on a light truck. The tread has very poor traction in snow or wet. I have heard sipping helps. The problem is the rubber is too hard. Off road traction is ok, but there are many better tires out there.

My buddy went through all the same steps to put them on his Toyota and has them for sale if anyone wants them.

If you want the best get Walker Evans wheels, run Stauns and whatever tire you prefer. The money you save doesn't justify the poor performance of the H1 setup. JMO.

 

[Aggie]

Aggie is correct. The tires can be run down to 0 psi on a light truck. The tread has very poor traction in snow or wet. I have heard sipping helps. The problem is the rubber is too hard. Off road traction is ok, but there are many better tires out there.

My buddy went through all the same steps to put them on his Toyota and has them for sale if anyone wants them.

If you want the best get Walker Evans wheels, run Stauns and whatever tire you prefer. The money you save doesn't justify the poor performance of the H1 setup. JMO.

I wouldn't jump to that conclusion. You can't beat the double beadlock offroad (in a rock crawling vehicle). I have seen too many Stauns fail, and any other single beadlock, is just that a single beadlock.

For running down the road at 70 across this great nation, meh, I just don't think you need a double beadlock, and the lack of good tires available for the H1's (no matter how good they are offroad) just doesn't do so well.

 

[Metcalf]

I would have to agree on the Staun's. This spring in Moab my friend running them had ANOTHER wear hole in the side of the tube. This is pretty common for him. He has about 8 years as a tire guy back in the day. No matter how careful he is installing them, with LOTS of powder, the same thing happens about one-twice a year. The one upside to the Staun is that when they do fail you generally can keep the tire on the rim with higher pressure. The liner just collapses.

I also did a little looking around for tires in the 16.5 size today. Pitbull has some 38.5 x 13.5 radial tires now in 16.5s. They are pretty spendy, but are 10 ply also @ a load rating of 4000lbs per tire! For a big heavy truck this might be a good tire! The pitbull tires generally run pretty true to size, though there are a few exceptions. These should be very close in size to my 325/85/16 Michelins on my Dodge.

They are about $350-370 a tire through 4x4groupbuy.com. That is a LOT better than the $400+ retail price listing!

I may reconsider the the H1 hummer wheels for my Dodge with these tires. The H1 wheels ARE a very good value for dual bead lock wheels.

 

[milo12]

I'm sure those tires are way better than the Goodyear MT's.

One warning, the H1 rims are very heavy. A wheel tire combo is about 140 lbs.:Wow1:

Dodges are well known for lousy ball joints and heavy tires/wheels just wear them out faster.

 

[Metcalf]

I don't have ball-joints on my Dodge My Michelin XMLs are about 110lbs for just the tire!

Ditching the factory style rubber or magnesium beadlock for something lighter/shorter trims a LOT of weight off those wheels, but your loose the run-flat.

 

[wrench-head]

I have known several who used to run stauns that left them after many problems. Some were wear holes and others were pinched by the tire folding at low presures. They have ALL since converted to trailready HDs or Walker Evans. Any wheel made as a beadlock and not converted would be my first choice. I know one person who runs the H1s and they are great wheels, low pressure capable and run true down the road. The problem is lack of any decent MULTI purpose tire for them. He is actually trying to off load his currently due to a 45 minute daily commute...not a lot of fun on 39" TSLs.

I run the trailready HDs and they are great. I understand the single beadlock argument and it bothered me for a while, but after watching the vast majority of rock crawlers and racers use them, I have no justification for a double.

My friend drove out of this on a single.

-Alex

 

[Ron B]

just a matter of info or comparison, the 2 piece hummer steelies are roughly 46 lbs (rim with all lugs), the internal beadlock is 10 lbs and the rubber runflat is 35 lbs.

rb

 

[Bella PSD]

As luck has it I have a friend at the Moab Easter Jeep Safari. He has a flatbed semi trailer and is hauling jeeps to and from Moab this year. He said he might be able to pick up a set of the wheels and tires on his way back from Moab, saving the shipping cost($200). So I am thinking this is looking like a pretty good idea for the money now.


I am looking at getting them here
www.trailworthyfab.com 12-Bolt-Hummer-Wheel-Special-w-Tires

Louie

 

[ntsqd]

Pressed centers would be the only center that I'd consider driving on the street. A friend went with flat centers and the ride quality was very poor.