as a conclusion - in March 2010
Hi,
So, to sum up ... I tried hard to have custom wheels made (with an offset that would allow me to get rid of the tubed split rim duallies and go rear tubeless singles) but after 2 months I gave up with the feeling that the companies which have the right equipment (360 degrees welders) are not interested in such a specific and $ small job.
There will always be a focus on the big customers and the chances that a slot opens in the production planning are thin... which probably explains why the guys who finally got custom wheels had to wait 6 months...
I had a sample wheel (without the required offset or rim width but with the right bolt pattern) sent to Century Wheels and Rims in Montebello, CA so they could check the bolt pattern and aslo see if they could cut the disk and weld it on a stock 6-1/2 or 7" rim.
Why ? the offset I wanted required to have the disk slightly curverd and they don't have the equipment for that, they can only work flat disks.
They never looked at the wheel nor got back to me. I asked them to return me the sample, just to find 2 weeks later that they still had it in the shop...
BTW, this is the shop Frank from Stockton Wheels uses, so he may not be 100% to blame for delays, he probably feels like between a rock and a hard place...
I had a good contact with Jeff at
1stattack@mchsi.com (comfi with 19" and more, but about $400 per wheel) and MRT wheels
mrtwheels@yahoo.com but could not send them a sample.
Also checked DZiToy links but what we were looking for is quite unusual (3-1/4" offset on 6-1/2" or 7" rim to fit well narrow tires).
There are options in Australia with ALAN on ep but theirs are split rims, and with Warriors but he has to wait until a batch of several dozens are made, plus the shipping to the US is dear.
Finally, research in OZ (thanks HAVEN) showed that several ep members went SWR with stock wheels and happily survive the slight difference between the front and rear tracks.
So that's where we go, with stock tubeless to replace our split (which are fine for easy replacement of the tire, don't get me wrong with them, actually splits are very much searched for in Australia).
We'll keep an eye open in Central and South America since they have Canters there and labour is cheap. :sombrero:
We'll keep this posted if any news from there.
Thanks again to all of you.
Safe trips ! :smiley_drive:
Robert