Legality of beadlocks

[DontCallMeRubi]

DOT is charged with defining what a "motor vehicle" is...they also define parts and the definition of "pneumatic tire" which is used on all motor vehicles for street use is air holds the tire to the rim...that is why beadlocks don't meet the DOT definition of pneumatic tire, does not mean they are illegal but manufacturers cannot attach non-pneumatic tires to the car going out the factory door...what the owner of the vehicle does is governed by state vehicle codes...each state adheres to DOT rules and regulations and it is up to each state to create the motor vehicle code which tells you what you must have on the vehicle to make it street legal...in CA there is no mention of beadlock wheels in the vehicle code...CA also does not have a safety inspection like some other states...there may be an issue at that inspection (if the state has decided beadlocks are illegal) if you pull in with a Jeep running beadlocks and the inspector can see the difference between the beadlocks on a Rubi XR running the factory stock non-beadlock beauty ring, for example, and one that has the true beadlock ring and is running beadlocks and decides you can't run the beadlocks.

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[Dyolfknip74]

Not a myth. Happened to a few people.

Utah used to have a mandatory vehicle safety inspection the expressly prohibited beadlocks. I would put on a set of beat up steel rims on very unsafe tires to pass my inspections, then put my beadlocks back on after I passed. The catch is if you were pulled over by the police, usually state patrol, they can cite you for a violation in the safety manual and give you the option of calling in a trailer to get it off the road, or have it towed, along with a ticket.

The safety inspection was removed a couple years ago. I've read through the state code and there is nothing prohibiting beadlocks in it. It might fall under a unsafe vehicle code, but then the state would have to prove my wheels are unsafe. I've driven over 100,000 miles on beadlocks on a couple of Jeeps in the past 15 years, not a single failure.

Well ya. I didn't mean during inspections. Everyone has to play the inspection game if where you live requires them. I'm just saying that if there were people regularly getting pulled over for it, we would definitely know about it. I watch like 4 channels where the people are always on them. On highways, on camera.