New to Jeeps and need help deciding if I should sell the bead locks...

[CatButt]

As the title states...I am newbie to the newschool Jeeps. I just bought a 2008 JKUR, hemi swapped with a J180, and fully kitted inside and out. It has very low miles on it but it needs some TLC to get her road worthy. Joints, rod ends, a few bushings, etc...nothing major. It has a Traflex 4 inch lift kit, King coilovers (front)...BUT it also has Spyderlock beadlocks with 37 12.5 17s. Those are some DAMN heavy tire/wheels...like 140 lbs. Too heavy for me to get one back on the tire carrier by myself.

SO...I am pondering ditching the beadlocks and ALSO downsize to a 35. Beadlocks are great and all, but they weep a little air, hard to balance, tire shops won't mess them (for the most part), they have a lot of back spacing and make the JK pretty darn wide...oh, and they are heavy. A bonus too would be I won't have to regear...it has a 4.10 in there now and with the Hemi it feels pretty good...certainly nice on the road and I have yet to see how it is offroad, but me thinks it'll be great, however some folks have said I need WAY lower gears, but I am just not too sure if they are considering the use and the Hemi. Another bonus, for me, is tire cost...35s are certainly cheaper.

So, for you Gurus, what am I gonna gain or lose by downsizing AND ditching the beadlocks. This JK is built mostly as an overland rig...I like to out the miles on to ride bikes too.

Thanks in advance...

 

[GarrickG]

I’ll have to agree with TrailerBadger. You should set the jeep up how YOU want it. There really are no set rules.
We have a 2016 with the Mopar bead locks and (for now) are satisfied with them. The main point that stands out for me is that you say you cannot handle lifting the spare when you need to change a flat.

I would be considering a tire size/wheel combo that you can use when you need it. If you’re over landing, that would be the most important detail of your spare.

Congrats on the new Hemi jeep and welcome (back?) to the jeep life! Post some pics of this hot rod when you get a chance!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mitch502]

I don't own a JK, but handling a 33" tire on an aluminum wheel by yourself can get pretty hairy sometimes depending on how strong you are (I'm not very...)...let alone if you're in less than ideal conditions. I have 33's with 4.10's in a 5.9L wrangler and couldn't be happier...I do not plan to go to 35's, and highway riding isn't bad since I drive my Jeep anywhere is goes off road.

The question is do you NEED the beadlocks, or were they just on there when you got it? If you don't need them, then I'd say swap out to something smaller/lighter.

 

[Comanche Scott]

Might find a set of take off wheels, and keep your beadlocks for a year or two.
By then you'll have the experience to know what you want.
It would be a costly mistake to sell them now, only to purchase new ones down the road.

If you are single, a set of large wheels/tires with a bit of plywood make great end tables. If you are married, and don't want to be... :elkgrin:

 

[Superduty]

The biggest arguments in favor of a beadlock in my mind are the ability to run lower tire pressures (really only important in sand and extreme rock crawling) and you can actually change a tire without tire irons.

It sounds like you have answered your own question and beadlocks and the 37s are not a great match for you. I have never compared the weight of beadlocks to non. My beadlocks are aluminum, but coupled with a 37 inch tire it is not easy to move around. 25 years ago it was a little easier for me.

 

[Happy Joe]

Honestly, it depends on the wheeling that you do; the only folks that I know that really need bead locks are those running custom built rock buggies on extreme trails.
I have run quite difficult trails, at quite low air pressures (below 7 psi in some snow types) including; rocks, sand, snow, mud, etc. for quite a few decades without needing bead locks (although I have considered them).
Honestly, I don't remember that we have ever needed to dismount a tire off road but we have had to clean the mud out of one that went flat and spun the bead off; Just need an old timey jack handle and a BFH then an air compressor to remount it.

I second those who say go smaller and figure out what you really want/need then consider selling them.
I too, am a fan of scrapyard/take off wheels off road.
... got rid of the Jeep with 35s now I am trying to decide which 33s I want.
Enjoy!

 

[CatButt]

Thanks for the replies...

The wheels were on it when I bought it. The weight, while pretty darn heavy IMHO, is only half the issue...the other half is getting the damn thing onto the tire carrier, while not being able to see ****** is going on with the bolt holes...I have 35s on the Ram now and apreciably lighter. I could easily rid up a cheap winch to lift it or use a ratchet strap or someting...I am certainly not just gonna give up and leave a wheel somewhere.

I have seen several sets of take offs with and without the right tires and they may be the interim way to go. I am in no way doing any serrious crawling, although I do want to run the Rubicon Trail one day...and of course play in Moab...but I still need to be able to driver there and back.

 

[Comanche Scott]

With a 60" Hi-lift jack, and the wheel lift adapter, you may find that works very easy to put the spare up on the rack.
Also saves lifting up a muddy mess, or shredded tire by hand.
Hi-Lift Extreme 60" Jack
Hi-Lift Tire Liftmate

Even with 35" tires on stock wheels, this made it easier, but not as quick.

 

[Outside somewhere]

Have seen a few "overlanders" running beadlocks. When I asked why they chose them none could come up with a valid reason. I suspect it was a)they think it's cool b)the shop where they get all their stuff bolted on for them knew they could sell them on another useless modification We ran buggies for years when we were into rockcrawling, full tube chassis, ls powered on sticky 40's crawlers and ran beadlocks but we were wheeling in places like superlift park, disney oklahoma, the badlands, tellico, paragon, rausch creek, moab and so on. These are places with boulders the size of your crawler and where 38's are the minimum tire size selected. Not sure why someone overlanding in the US would need beadlocks but to each their own. And fyi, you don't need beadlocks to run the rubicon. I ran it in an 06 TJ rubicon with 35's, $45 a piece steel wheels and 4.10's. There was an open/welded CJ on 35's that was also in my group that made it so...

Sounds like an opportunity for you develop a plan for what this build will be used for, if not crawling large rock formations at low pressures then I would sell your current combination and get something more user friendly.

 

[Happy Joe]

I do want to run the Rubicon Trail one day...and of course play in Moab...but I still need to be able to driver there and back.

YES!...Definitely DO Moab (4WD Heaven) there are trails for, pretty much, any experience/vehicle level and don't forget the Arches National Park (walk, maybe bike) since you are in the area.
Enjoy!

 

[CatButt]

I have spent a ton of time on Moab, grew up in Wesern Colorado so when we needed to thaw out we would go there. However, mosy of that time was spent on 2 wheels. I used to laugh at the Jeepers back in the day (35 years ago) as I went flying by them...good times. We used to take the Scout over Black Bear Pass as a "shortcut". But at my now advanced age I want to relive all that in a more responsible (read into that as you will) and reasonably pased way.

 

[tgreening]

Consider yourself lucky you didn’t go the military beadlock direction I did. A whole new definition of nut-busting goodness at just shy of 190# a piece.

I wouldn’t hesitate to dump 5he beadlocks. I ran standard setups for decades, down to single digits of pressure, and never rolled a bead from a standard rim. Maybe I wasn’t trying hard enough.

What I would question is changing the tire size. Those big JKs look proportionally perfect on 37s (to me) and I’m all about proportion when lifting/widening a rig. That hemi and 4.10s should have no trouble with the size, or weight for that matter. I turned 37s and steelies on a CJ-7 with a not especially strong 304 and those same gears.