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Sliced 2 BFG KO2s 10 minutes apart on Arkansas trails

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.

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Halstem1

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In the pros column, can I add that they look dope.

Also, waiting for all the people to hate on the BFG soon. I like mine but several had told me they are susceptible to sidewall tears.

I don't get the chance to offroad enough to have beadlocks and justify the negatives of daily driving. However, the last couple times I was out, de-beading a tire was probably my biggest concern. Partially because I'm new to airing down. And partial because the areas where it looked sketch, would SUCK to either have to re-seat a bead or change a tire.
 

scrape

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Why are you running KO2s with that sort of terrain?

Get some better tires in an E load and you will be fine. You can run E load 37s at 5 psi on asphalt for short stints I do it all the time.

If you switch to 37x13.50 ridge grapplers I think you will be very happy.
 

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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 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 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 of 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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What happened to you has more to do with the tire than the rim....... :)
 

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word302

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I'm guessing those tires have a very weak sidewall. I've been running on beadlocks for years in Oregon (ugly sharp rocks everywhere) without ever damaging a sidewall. Currently running Trail Grapplers and used to run Super Swamper TSL. Losing a bead sucks. Beadlocks are worth their weight in gold over spending hours getting to a spot where I can safely change a tire and then getting it changed.
 

Sheepjeep

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As you said a beadlock does a great job of keeping your tire on the bead, but only the outer bead, you can still loose the inner bead but it is so much harder than no bead locks. You can pick https://www.innerairlock.com/ or something similar to allow both beads to be seated but they come with their own cons and are more for trail only rigs.

Other things you can so to help maintain a bead on a non beadlock rim is to run smaller width rim, you loose a little in the way of tire height (not much) but the the air pressure needed to push the tires on the bead is much less than one a wider rim.

But for your issues on your latest outing a beadlock could help a little but not solve your problem. You slashed your side wall and that all comes down to sidewall strength. It is impossible to say for sure but if you ran at a lower PSI thanks to the beadlocks there could have been a possibility there could have been more side wall flex and you may not have slashed the side wall, but maybe not. Really the issue here was sidewall thickness and shit luck.
 
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LUV2JEEP

LUV2JEEP

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Why are you running KO2s with that sort of terrain?

Get some better tires in an E load and you will be fine. You can run E load 37s at 5 psi on asphalt for short stints I do it all the time.

If you switch to 37x13.50 ridge grapplers I think you will be very happy.
I can see how E rated tire with thicker sidewall would be good, but after reading on this forum for a year it seemed like having more flex was best. It seemed like the hottest tire was the 38x13.5 C rated Milestar Patagonias which is what I went with originally. Those debeaded on me twice but no sidewall slashes. Maybe it's just luck. I plan to keep a 6th tire with me in the future. I have to get 2 tires to replace these 2 plus I was going to get a 6th tire as a second spare. So 3 new tires. I hate to go buy 3 more KO2s if they are the source of the problem.
 

word302

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I can see how E rated tire with thicker sidewall would be good, but after reading on this forum for a year it seemed like having more flex was best. It seemed like the hottest tire was the 38x13.5 C rated Milestar Patagonias which is what I went with originally. Those debeaded on me twice but no sidewall slashes. Maybe it's just luck. I plan to keep a 6th tire with me in the future. I have to get 2 tires to replace these 2 plus I was going to get a 6th tire as a second spare. So 3 new tires. I hate to go buy 3 more KO2s if they are the source of the problem.
The fact that you lost 2 in the same day leads me to suspect that they are indeed the source of your problems.
 

scrape

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I can see how E rated tire with thicker sidewall would be good, but after reading on this forum for a year it seemed like having more flex was best.
And that's true if you don't run beadlocks. 10 ply tires like to be in the mid to low single digits and that might be too low for non-beadlocks depending on what type of wheeling you do and how careful you are. But you have beadlocks, so just keep dropping the pressure until you get the kind of flex and grip that you want.
 

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I'm going to give you a few things to think about that aren't in your pros or cons list. Your situation has lead you to think the way you are thinking and that is great. But there are situations that can occur that hopefully you never experience. I've watched people lose a bead on a tire that lead them to have more costly problems. On road and off.

Bead locks help keep the tire in place. We agree on that. Having the tire on the wheel is always 100% better. If the tire comes off the wheel in any situation you can cause really bad issues. Especially the faster you are going.

Imagine having the side wall issue in your pics only to have one let go at highway speeds.

Y'all need to quit running single sided bead locks. They were designed for race car applications to keep the wheel from spinning inside the tire. Run double bead locks. :)
 

word302

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I'm going to give you a few things to think about that aren't in your pros or cons list. Your situation has lead you to think the way you are thinking and that is great. But there are situations that can occur that hopefully you never experience. I've watched people lose a bead on a tire that lead them to have more costly problems. On road and off.

Bead locks help keep the tire in place. We agree on that. Having the tire on the wheel is always 100% better. If the tire comes off the wheel in any situation you can cause really bad issues. Especially the faster you are going.

Imagine having the side wall issue in your pics only to have one let go at highway speeds.

Y'all need to quit running single sided bead locks. They were designed for race car applications to keep the wheel from spinning inside the tire. Run double bead locks. :)
Lol. Single-sided beadlocks work just fine. It's rare to lose the inside bead and much easier to reseat one if you do.
 

DOOKEY

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Lol. Single-sided beadlocks work just fine. It's rare to lose the inside bead and much easier to reseat one if you do.
Singles are fine. Doubles are better. First time I ever ran single bead locks the inner bead slipped off the wheel. I spent $450 per wheel to have that issue.

Run doubles and never have any issues. Maintenance is gone. You don't have to worry about the inner bead. The good wheels are all around the same issue. The only negative to doubles is the added weight.

I suppose the single versus double debate should be for a different thread since PO was after a different question.
 

scrape

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I'm going to give you a few things to think about that aren't in your pros or cons list. Your situation has lead you to think the way you are thinking and that is great. But there are situations that can occur that hopefully you never experience. I've watched people lose a bead on a tire that lead them to have more costly problems. On road and off.

Bead locks help keep the tire in place. We agree on that. Having the tire on the wheel is always 100% better. If the tire comes off the wheel in any situation you can cause really bad issues. Especially the faster you are going.

Imagine having the side wall issue in your pics only to have one let go at highway speeds.

Y'all need to quit running single sided bead locks. They were designed for race car applications to keep the wheel from spinning inside the tire. Run double bead locks. :)
Guy that works for a company who makes double sided beadlocks recommends double sided beadlocks

Not saying you're wrong but he already has the wheels
 

DOOKEY

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Guy that works for a company who makes double sided beadlocks recommends double sided beadlocks

Not saying you're wrong but he already has the wheels
Used to. Haven't worked there for the past 7 months. I stand behind the principle just as I have for the past 10 years.

If you're up for a healthy debate I'm game.
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