Whats the infactuation w/ Beadlocks......seriously

[andrewfarmer]

My ignorance is showing again:- when fitting beadlocks do you fit a lock to the inside as well? if not what stops the bead from breaking from the inner wall of the rim?

Nothing - except that the inside doesnt normally break - typically mine have broken from hitting something on the outside, rather than something under the truck

I have outsides only, run down to 5 psi with no problems 37x12.5x16 creepy crawlers on 16x8.5 rims

 

[Mace]

Rockcrawler.com
"Bead locks can be unsafe and they can be very difficult to balance and are more prone to driveability problems than normal wheels. Please use caution when building and using bead locks. Remember to check your bead locks often, as it is common for bolts to loosen over time. Also keep in mind that bead locks are not DOT-approved in most states."

Show me one manufacturer that states that they are street legal as opposed to the normal disclaimer such as stated by OMF Performance "All OMF products are designed for off-road and racing purposes only. Never intended for sale or use on any street or highway application."

That is a standard disclaimer for everything.. How many roll cages are actually sold as roll cages instead of grab bars??


Also consider the statement "DOT approved in most States"..
Since when do the states regulate the Federal Department of Transportation??

Let me put it like this. I can buy rim shells that have a DOT stamp on them. Then weld in my own center, drill some schrader valve holes or whatever to them. Meaning, if it is a modification to the shell that voids the DOT stamp then why sell the shells with the stamp at all??

DOT does not test rims, they sell the rim producer a stamp that the rim producer decides to put on their product or not.. The stamp says that they comply with the DOT standards. Nothing else.

Most of the people who produce beadlock rims do not want the hassle of testing their rims to verify DOT compliance. Plus, you knever know what Jow Blow is gonna do with the bolts holding on his outer rim. So, they add disclaimers to cover their butts..

 

[camcruiser13]

yeah

what he said

 

[bsevans]

That is a standard disclaimer for everything.. How many roll cages are actually sold as roll cages instead of grab bars??


Also consider the statement "DOT approved in most States"..
Since when do the states regulate the Federal Department of Transportation??

Let me put it like this. I can buy rim shells that have a DOT stamp on them. Then weld in my own center, drill some schrader valve holes or whatever to them. Meaning, if it is a modification to the shell that voids the DOT stamp then why sell the shells with the stamp at all??

DOT does not test rims, they sell the rim producer a stamp that the rim producer decides to put on their product or not.. The stamp says that they comply with the DOT standards. Nothing else.

Most of the people who produce beadlock rims do not want the hassle of testing their rims to verify DOT compliance. Plus, you knever know what Jow Blow is gonna do with the bolts holding on his outer rim. So, they add disclaimers to cover their butts..

Gee Mace I would have thought that you would know that every state also has a Department of Transportation. Here in Arizona it is called ADOT. Point is, states develop their state transportation statutes in compliance with the federal DOT.

Again, just point me to one supplier that says they are legal for use on public roads.

Just got off the phone with a number of off road shops here in Tucson, and every one of them said it was against the law to run real external bead locks in the state of Arizona because external bead locks "in total" are not approved for use on federal and state funded public roads by the DOT and ADOT. I called my local precinct, and talked with a traffic control officer and he said that real external bead lock rims are a ticketable offense. He also went on to say that in most cases they give a ticket for the rims when stopped for another violation like speeding. He said that if a law enforcement officer wanted to play hard ball they could have the vehicle flat bedded or towed.

 

[Mace]

Gee Mace I would have thought that you would know that every state also has a Department of Transportation. Here in Arizona it is called ADOT. Point is, states develop their state transportation statutes in compliance with the federal DOT.

Again, just point me to one supplier that says they are legal for use on public roads.

Just got off the phone with a number of off road shops here in Tucson, and every one of them said it was against the law to run real external bead locks in the state of Arizona because external bead locks "in total" are not approved for use on federal and state funded public roads by the DOT and ADOT. I called my local precinct, and talked with a traffic control officer and he said that real external bead lock rims are a ticketable offense. He also went on to say that in most cases they give a ticket for the rims when stopped for another violation like speeding. He said that if a law enforcement officer wanted to play hard ball they could have the vehicle flat bedded or towed.

Sigh. I know that states have individual Departments of Transportation. But those fellas basically have nothing to do with the DOT stamp on a set of rims. They just use the Federal guidelines. Besides, you pointed out that beadlocks may indeed be legal according to SOME states DOT regulations. Please point them out to me.

Again, point out one supplier that says their roll bars are for protection. It is a standard for the off road industry to cover their asses.. But there is no reason a external beadlock cannot be legal..

Call your police friend up and please have him cite the actual law that states that external beadlocks are illegal.

Goudy beadlocks are DOT approved. they have a slightly different mounting style than the weld on plate style beadlocks but are far different from the multipiece Hutchison design (your double beadlock). They also only lock the outer edge.

Champions design which according to you is "illegal"

And finally the hummer dual beadlock design which is a 2 piece rim with a seperate runflat in the center..

 

[camcruiser13]

again find a law book where it actually states that beadlocks are illegal

i wanna see one.

wheres kurt hes got some info on the matter as well

sorry to drag you into this kurt

 

[Mace]

Another pic of the goudy line. This is an "external" beadlock right??


BTW, Goudy is not making this rim any more unfortunately. The reason he is no longer making the design had nothing to do with the law.. Unfortunately he stopped making them because he could not keep up with the demand...

 

[fj40forlife]

They say you shouldnt have locks on the road. The cause because when turn blah...... you could have one of the bolt heads break and go flying...... But like if you in cali. its kind of hard to get stop. because theres are alot of fake ones. just for looks

 

[Jetboy]

no one mentioned this, but beadlocks are also good/necessary in deep snow. In really deep snow it's necessary to run <2lbs. Sometimes let all the air out to float on top depending on tire size and vehicle weight. At these pressures you lose beads quite a bit. It depends on tire and rim combo though. A wide tire on a 8" rim is usually ok. A swamper on any rim will come of cause they don't exacly use tight tolerances. Anyway, some people will just glue the tire on for this type of use. It's certainly not as violent or taxing on beads as rock crawlin.

Also I know it's been said, but I think the illegality comes from statutes which say in effect "only DOT approved rims and tires may be used on maintained highways in state xxx." They are illegal by noncompliance, not because they are specified as something illegal. It's also a matter of enforcement. Probably not something to worry about, but I guarantee if your ring came apart on a highway and injured someone, any decent lawyer would have an easy time cashing in at your expense.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

again find a law book where it actually states that beadlocks are illegal

i wanna see one.

wheres kurt hes got some info on the matter as well

sorry to drag you into this kurt

Here...

This has been argued soooooo many times on the internet. Several folks have offered up $$$ for someone that acutally received a ticket for beadlocks. I have run mine for 7 years now, never a problem, ever. There is no law in the State of Utah prohibiting them... Now I know, there isn't one that says they are legal either... but their isn't a law that OK's blue paint either

I'll give any Utah resident $50 if they can show me a ticket and they agree to fight it!

 

[Mace]

It was Scott From Rockstomper that actually offered either $100 or $1000 for someone to show proof that beadlocks were illegal. He has not paid out a cent yet..

 

[camcruiser13]

i knew it was someone out here offering money,

 

[camcruiser13]

They say you shouldnt have locks on the road. The cause because when turn blah...... you could have one of the bolt heads break and go flying......

that is why i have 33 bolts per wheel and i dont think a bolt head will just snap off on grade 5 bolts

I'll give any Utah resident $50 if they can show me a ticket and they agree to fight it!

i know where you live

 

[MiniPigg]

my dad used beadlocks back in the early 1970's on his race car with drag slicks... used to air down and keep the tire from spinning on the rim... that was my first introduction to bead locks. ;p

 

[bsevans]

Well I was able to find DOT "compliant" beadlocks (whatever that means). Of course you have to run 17x8.5 with 1.5" spacers and pay $463 a corner for the pleasure.
DOT Approved Beadlocks

 

[Jetboy]

So would your insurance cover you if your ring came off? If not... give them a call and see.

also Utah code 41-6a-1630
(a) A replacement part and equipment used in a mechanical alteration shall be:

(i) designed and capable of performing the function for which they are intended; and

(ii) equal to or greater in strength and durability than the original parts provided by the original manufacturer.
[so the question becomes one of interpretation, did the legislature mean strength and durability to really mean likelyhood of failure, if so that would make beadlocks illegal. IMO at least the ring style beadlocks, especially those built at home, are more likely to have failures than OEM wheels]

(b) Except for original equipment, a person may not use spacers to increase wheel track width of a vehicle.

I wander how many people are in violation of this?


BTW: I don't care much what people run, however after seeing some of the PO's work on my 40 It would scare the hell out of me if I knew he was going to be welding up a set of beadlocks and driving em down the road. It really depends on who built em and how they were done.

 

[Mace]

Well I was able to find DOT "compliant" beadlocks (whatever that means). Of course you have to run 17x8.5 with 1.5" spacers and pay $463 a corner for the pleasure.
DOT Approved Beadlocks

Did you happen to notice that the ones you found are simply AL versions of the hummer beadlock?? Those are "internal" beadlocks that you do not count in your argument. I found external beadlocks that were DOT compliant.

Did you call your police friend and find the exact statute that proves that beadlocks (either internal or external) are illegal? Or even worth impoundment of a truck???


Jet, why are beadlocks weaker in strength or durability than the original rims that came with your truck?? Heck, the super cheap DOT cast AL rims are weaker than most steel OE or forged al OE rims..

You are grasping at straws..

 

[Mace]

btw insurance is not the issue here. Insurance won't generally cover a hopped up motor either, but that does not make them illegal..

 

[Jetboy]

btw insurance is not the issue here. Insurance won't generally cover a hopped up motor either, but that does not make them illegal..

sure it does. Can you drive an uninsured vehicle? I'd bet that even if it's a little uninsured thats enough. I don't have enough time to sift through the insurance regulations, but I'd bet they call for insurance in fact, not just a piece of paper that indicates you have coverage. If you know that part of your vehicle is likely not to be covered it would probably be a violation, making it illegal.

And, Yes I think the point of the law was to include aftermarket parts that are of a higher potential for failure than OEM. Sometimes the words are not important, it's the intent of the law. Also its important to note that this is in a set of laws that are directed at the safety of a vehile so it would be reasonable to assume that strength and durability are intended to be measures of relative safety. I sure as heck wouldn't want to argue before a judge that my beadlock ring that came loose was just as safe as a single piece cast wheel.

 

[burnttoastburgos]

OK take it easy,who cares about legality. Damn,im glad i didnt ask about immigration laws......i'm not getting beadlocks!!