An Update On Wheels.

So, just cause, I tore apart one wheel this afternoon. Took me quie awhile to get the beads broke off the rim, but I got it handled!

There are actually chunks broke out of the locking section of both rims.........................

That really alarmed me! While it was a PITA to the them apart, I honestly don't see how this particular rim would have held up for much longer, if at all (it was a deflated spare).

After reading through all the previous comments, and doing a bit of online research, I've began to ponder something. Is there any reason I couldn't weld these rims solid? I believe DeltaRed mentioned it in the last post too?

I feel like I could break them down, get tires off, clean the wheels, put the halves back together, get them as square as I could, and lay a nice heavy bead on around the locking edge? My neighbor is a profound welder, and I know he would tackle it in a heart beat, but I am wondering about safety?

I would still run a tube, but I don't see that being an issue? I should be able to pry a tire over a rim WITH a tube and liner without issues, right?

I can buy one piece 20" wheels online new for about $110 a wheel, which I don't think is out of line, but we are talking about a $1000 truck that is going to be used 10 times a year!

What do you guys think? I feel like tomorrow I might try it with one wheel and just see what happens?

If the truck is worth using, then it's worth using safely. Seems like a small price to pay for the peace of mind you would receive.

You would not be able to get the tire on the rim after you weld the halves together.
There is no deep valley in the center of them rims like one piece rims have.

Steve said to weld the rims up or better yet cut them in half.
This PREVENTS others from trying to use them.

Ahhh.... Now that makes sense! Thank you.

Try a truck wrecking yard. I didn't read your op but can you go up or down in size?

Go to a junk yard that deals in mid range trucks and find you a set of 20 inch lock ring rims.
If you give them these old split rims to scrap the new set should not cost you very much to upgrade.

If the split rims you have are aired up and on the truck you could use them till the tires wear out and then upgrade to 22.5 rims and tires.
That way you only need to replace the rims that need new tires today.

Get rid of them, no sense making Casey a widow before you are even married.

The rim probably does not have a drop center. (V shaped area in the shape of the cross section). This missing feature will prevent getting the bead stretched over the rim edges. Plus it is a bad idea safety wise if you could get the tire on. Jim

Those chunks are probably the "gate" I referred to, 180 degrees apart on the takeoff rim. I hope you watched the cartoon.

Bryce, I faced a similar problem with my '64 F-600, it had 8.25-20's if I recall correctly. Truck repair shop across the road, now gone, hooked me up with used non split type rims and 10.00-20 tires, if I recall the size correctly. The goal was to get rid of those rims. He had to do some machining as well, hub-pilot comes to mind. I wanted nothing to do with those rims, matter of a fact they are still here in the yard and inflated as I did not want to deal with the darned things. Probably time to get rid of these. They seem to be in serviceable condition, I just do not trust them and they serve no purpose to have.

Way back when, while driving a tandem mack dump on a landfill capping job, I was hauling wet heavy clay, approved capping material from a gravel pit to the site. One day with 29 ton on, (yes a bit heavy for a tandem, wet material) right front tire blew and the locking ring launched into the nearby woods. It blew the battery box cover off, fender well out with the post mirror on it and we NEVER found the locking ring. I cannot imagine being in the path of it or a widow maker split type rim when it comes apart. The pressures involved make these bombs in my book. Locally we lost someone airing up a heavy equipment tire on a rim that came apart, killed instantly. This was not after any tire work being done, just a young person like yourself adding air.

My stern advice is to ditch the darned things and don't make that young gal a widow so to speak. There are some things associated with this old iron that are not worth dealing with and these are definitely one of them.

I've watched auctions for years,and kept on the look out for rims.Once bought a set of 4 from the fertilizer guy with tires. Bought a pair of rims at an auction. Just run the old ones till the tire is worn out,or goes flat.That way you don't need to replace them all at once.Replace one or two at a time.I still have one widow maker on the front of the truck. Will run till flat,or worn out. Then the replacement wheel/tire(sitting in the shed waiting) will be installed.And then the last widow maker wheel will be destroyed.

Something else to think about is find a good set of rims, cut the center out of your old ones and weld them into the new ones. It might be hard to find rims with that bolt pattern! Done that couple times with the odd ball stuff I seem to bring home.