LUV2JEEP
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I've been riding in Arkansas Ozarks for a while and after having my nonbeadlock wheels debead on me twice at 15psi I decided that beadlocks were the way to go. When they debeaded I was going through a mudhole and something (rock or tree stump) must of pushed against the sidewall. I had a ton of mud and water inside the tire. I won't go into detail of how Discount Tire aired the tire back up and said "it's ready". I am curious how you balance a tire with all that in it???
I finally got to take the Jeep out this past weekend and see how the new beadlocks perform. I still only depressurerized them to 15 psi. I realize beadlocks can go down to maybe 5 psi, but I have to occasionally get on asphalt and gravel roads and go 50 mph when traveling between trails so I think 15psi is a good compromise. I also need my ground clearance and I would think <10psi would really reduce that. I made it about 2 days before my first tire somehow got it's sidewall slashed by a rock. I thought that sucks, but I have a spare. I swapped them out and continue on down the trail. At first I thought I would go ahead and enjoy my last day of trail ridding without a spare, but then I thought of how even the 0.1% chance of something bad happening tends to happen to me (I know......I know......call it pessimism) and so I decided it was best to go ahead and head back to campsite and leave. It's better to play it safe. Well I made it 15 more minutes and boom another tire goes. I said a few choice words and chewed myself out for a little bit because the rock that did it was obvious and somehow I completely missed it........I know.......man points lost........Luckily I was 200ft from the end of the trail so I slowly drove on the flat tire and reached the asphalt road. It was 3pm and by 930pm I had a tow truck!! I really want to vent on why it took 6 hrs, but I will try and maintain my maturity.
So I have been thinking are beadlocks really helping me?? What if in both cases I had a rock push against the sidewall and because I had beadlocks the next weakest link is the rubber itself and so the sidewall gets slashed and tire is toast. If I had nonbeadlocks the tire would have debeaded and I would have simply had to put a strap around the circumference and reseat the bead?? I'd have 2 perfectly good tires right now and I could have continued with my trip. Then again maybe my tire went up over these 2 rocks and then slide off and the tire sidewall got sandwiched between the rim edge and the rock and that sliced the tire. In this case I would imagine both types of rims would have led to a sliced sidewall.
Which type of rim is better for these trails? I'd rather have the lightweight, cheaper nonbeadlock rims that Discount Tire will work on, but if beadlocks are going to get me out of these trails more often then I'd stick with them.
Beadlock Pros:
1. Can't debead tire (but is this always a good thing????)
2. Can air down to 5 psi (doesn't apply to me because I need to drive 50mph occasionally; also airing down looses ground clearance which I need to get over rocks)
3. Tires can be mounted yourself (I might just keep a 6th bare tire with me, but it wouldn't be balanced). Although I have seen videos of people mounting tires on a nonbeadlock wheels by themselves.
4. As the edge of the rim (Beadlock Ring) gets damaged you can just replace the ring itself. Sometimes the rings are ridiculous prices though. The DV8 wheels I am using aren't bad. Replacement ring $75.
Beadlock Cons:
1. Cost more
2. Time consuming to mount tire. Seems like it takes a good 4 or more cycles around the rim to get all the bolts uniformly tightened.
3. Requires maintenance (checking the ring bolts periodically)
4. Heavier (robs power and gas mileage)
5. Tire companies won't touch them
I'm tempted to default to the most common rule reagarding beadlocks. If I don't air down to say 5psi then I don't need them (which I take to mean they would not benefit me). I'd really like to hear from people that have had both types of rims and who have a lot of experience going offroad. That will keep the thread short, to the point and hopefully provide more benefit to future readers.
I finally got to take the Jeep out this past weekend and see how the new beadlocks perform. I still only depressurerized them to 15 psi. I realize beadlocks can go down to maybe 5 psi, but I have to occasionally get on asphalt and gravel roads and go 50 mph when traveling between trails so I think 15psi is a good compromise. I also need my ground clearance and I would think <10psi would really reduce that. I made it about 2 days before my first tire somehow got it's sidewall slashed by a rock. I thought that sucks, but I have a spare. I swapped them out and continue on down the trail. At first I thought I would go ahead and enjoy my last day of trail ridding without a spare, but then I thought of how even the 0.1% chance of something bad happening tends to happen to me (I know......I know......call it pessimism) and so I decided it was best to go ahead and head back to campsite and leave. It's better to play it safe. Well I made it 15 more minutes and boom another tire goes. I said a few choice words and chewed myself out for a little bit because the rock that did it was obvious and somehow I completely missed it........I know.......man points lost........Luckily I was 200ft from the end of the trail so I slowly drove on the flat tire and reached the asphalt road. It was 3pm and by 930pm I had a tow truck!! I really want to vent on why it took 6 hrs, but I will try and maintain my maturity.
So I have been thinking are beadlocks really helping me?? What if in both cases I had a rock push against the sidewall and because I had beadlocks the next weakest link is the rubber itself and so the sidewall gets slashed and tire is toast. If I had nonbeadlocks the tire would have debeaded and I would have simply had to put a strap around the circumference and reseat the bead?? I'd have 2 perfectly good tires right now and I could have continued with my trip. Then again maybe my tire went up over these 2 rocks and then slide off and the tire sidewall got sandwiched between the rim edge and the rock and that sliced the tire. In this case I would imagine both types of rims would have led to a sliced sidewall.
Which type of rim is better for these trails? I'd rather have the lightweight, cheaper nonbeadlock rims that Discount Tire will work on, but if beadlocks are going to get me out of these trails more often then I'd stick with them.
Beadlock Pros:
1. Can't debead tire (but is this always a good thing????)
2. Can air down to 5 psi (doesn't apply to me because I need to drive 50mph occasionally; also airing down looses ground clearance which I need to get over rocks)
3. Tires can be mounted yourself (I might just keep a 6th bare tire with me, but it wouldn't be balanced). Although I have seen videos of people mounting tires on a nonbeadlock wheels by themselves.
4. As the edge of the rim (Beadlock Ring) gets damaged you can just replace the ring itself. Sometimes the rings are ridiculous prices though. The DV8 wheels I am using aren't bad. Replacement ring $75.
Beadlock Cons:
1. Cost more
2. Time consuming to mount tire. Seems like it takes a good 4 or more cycles around the rim to get all the bolts uniformly tightened.
3. Requires maintenance (checking the ring bolts periodically)
4. Heavier (robs power and gas mileage)
5. Tire companies won't touch them
I'm tempted to default to the most common rule reagarding beadlocks. If I don't air down to say 5psi then I don't need them (which I take to mean they would not benefit me). I'd really like to hear from people that have had both types of rims and who have a lot of experience going offroad. That will keep the thread short, to the point and hopefully provide more benefit to future readers.
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