I don't know the brand but those are standard steel wheels with a weld on bead protector ring on them. When you are wheeling on rocks all the time you end up bending the outer bead of the rim. Bend them enough and the rim won't hold air. So you weld that ring around the bead to keep it from getting bent. The hole at the bead are for water and mud to run out. It is a real pain to try and get mud out when you don't have those slots.

When I was building my Hummer rims here are the bead protectors I installed.



Now I was just going to use rebar and weld that around the bead but once I got the rebar I didn't like the look.



And here is a ring sitting on the rim.



One of the things you have to do when welding the rings on is to jump around. I did that on 3 rims but forgot on one and warped it a little bit.



After being powdercoated.



And here is what the rocks can do to a rim.



Now WK is running internal beadlock as opposed to me who runs a dual beadlock.

 

WK,
Did you get your HAM radio lic? I have just started reading the book to get my lic.

 

thats interesting. Learn something new everyday

 

Great breakdown there Boss man of the Wild. I wasn't able to do powder coat. I caught these wheels just in time. Only 1 of the 5 had some visual bending that was salvageable. All balanced out to just under +2oz on top of what already was on them. Run smooth. That was the greatest risk with these for on road use. But I practiced making those 6" long welds, plus prepped the edges for fitup.


Only 1 correction, I'm not running any beadlock. You may be thinking of Corbo. He put those in last summer, iirc.

This wheel set is staying cost effective until going larger.


I've had my HAM lice for a couple years now. Have been using handheld units. 1 good Yaesu FT-60 and a couple Baofeng for spares/loaners to run on Simplex. The mobile was just added.

 

When you say jump around? You me jump up and down on the ring while it's on the rim? While you are welding?

 

^hahaha that's funny and I could see a real redneck doing that. nah, not really, ok maybe.

No. First the rings and rims are prepped by cleaning all paint and scale off. Get a tight fit up, which might need bevel or knocked off edge as these rings are typically laser cut. So the edge is nice and tight. You then tack them down, after centering them.

Not all rings have the same amount of contact with the rim. What Wild is talking about is burning in 1 length, then moving to 180* away (opposite) to burn next one. This needs to be done to minimize shrinkage problems. As the first side cools, it shrinks and pulls, so you hit the opposite to counter/equalize it. Same idea for torque lug not pattern.

 

You calling me a redneck eh?

Don't learn nothing if you never ask questions!

I see what you're saying. Same thing when you bolt things down. Criss cross And what not. Makes more sense too.

 

What's the purpose of the studs around the perimeter of the wheel? I have never seen anything like this before today.

 

At first I was like....whaaat?!

You are talking about Wildman's wheels. He has double beadlocks. So the wheel is basically 3 pieces. An inner shell, outer shell, and insert. The bolts you see are what clamp the wheel together. The insert clamps the inner beads of the tire between it (insert) and the shell (inner/outer).

hope these pics work.

 

Ok, cool! Thanks!