12-Bolt Beadlock questions

[Sharecropper]

Ok I have searched and read and searched and read and searched and read some more and still cannot find answers.

I love my custom 11.00/20 wheels and NDT tires for highway use. However for off road use there just isn't enough room under my fenders for articulation. So I plan to put together a set of 12-bolt beadlocks with HMMWV take-off tires to run during hunting season.

Questions -
1.)- I will not use the run-flats, however I do want an insert to facilitate reducing tire pressure for increased off-road traction. Is the PVC insert from Trail Worthy Fab the only choice, or is there a more economical insert available?
2.) - To run the 12-bolt wheels I will need a set of 2" spacers. I would prefer steel instead of aluminum. Where is the best place to purchase steel spacers?
3.) - Should I use LocTite on the bolt threads that hold the spacer to the wheel? Red or Blue LocTite?
4.) - The military valve stem is vulnerable in rocky terrain. I don't like rock guards, but I would like to keep a couple spare valve stems on hand. Where is the best place to purchase new HMMWV valve stems?
5.) - I plan to use Dyna Beads to balance each tire/wheel. The quantity of Dyna Beads is determined by the combined weight of the assembled tire and wheel. What is the weight of the 12-bolt wheel and HMMWV tire? I will add to this the weight of the beadlock, valve stem, and lug nuts to determine how much Dyna Beads to order.

Thanks in advance for answers.

 

[Chaski]

I can get the weight in a day if no one else chimes in.

Is there any reason why you don't want to re-center instead of running spacers? It is pretty easy to do. I've done one set with stamped centers, with less than .025" runout. I'm doing a second set with rougue fab centers to get 5.4" offset.

 

[Gripy]

I believe the weight of the wheel/tire combo is between 115-130 lbs. Instead of the beads I went with the centramatic balancers. Since, when you change the tire those beads go everywhere!

 

[Sharecropper]

I can get the weight in a day if no one else chimes in.

Is there any reason why you don't want to re-center instead of running spacers? It is pretty easy to do. I've done one set with stamped centers, with less than .025" runout. I'm doing a second set with rougue fab centers to get 5.4" offset.

Well I might very well go with re-centered wheels after seeing the cost for steel spacers. I need to learn more about re-centered wheels. How does that work?

 

[Sharecropper]

I believe the weight of the wheel/tire combo is between 115-130 lbs. Instead of the beads I went with the centramatic balancers. Since, when you change the tire those beads go everywhere!

Yeah but those Centramatic Balancers are kinda pricey.

 

[Chaski]

The pictures show stamped centers, which result in 3.5" backspacing. They are the easiest ones to do, and the ones in the photos are now on a buddies M1008. The stamped centers can be found from a few diffrent vendors (trail worthy fab is one), they are 1/4" thick steel. They are about $60.00 each. I really dont like the backspacing when using stamped centers. On my buddies M1008 he has a 4" ORD lift, and it took some serious fender trimming up front to provide clearance when the wheels were at full lock. I'm making up a set with 5.4" backspacing using rogue fab flat centers with gussets. They should be much easier on the fenders. I really dont like the wheel center design that Rogue Fab sells, but they are willing to make whatever you want. I had them make up a 8X6.5 center with six round holes for me. Simple and I dont need a flat bill hat with metal mulisha written on it to match the goofy bat blade centers they currently produce.

The re-centering process is pretty easy. I start by flipping the assembled wheel onto its outer rim, then using the hole in the inner half as a guide for my plasma cutter. I seem to cut best with 1-2 beers to steady the nerves. After the center is cut out the rims can be taken apart and the coating must be removed from the inner wheel half. I bolt up the new center to a hub and spindle assembly that is clamped to my bench. Next step is to slide the rear wheel half over the new center. I then use some c clamps to lightly clamp the assembly. Next step is to clamp on the dial indicator. Radial runout has always been good with the stamped centers, axial runout requires some correction. What I do is set up the indicator to measure against the inner bead of the back half of the wheel, and rotate the wheel to find the spot that is furthest away from the rear of the hub. This furthest point is now the measurment that the rest of the wheel will be brought out to. I apply a small tack between the center and the rim where this furthest point is, then slowly rotate the rim and loosten the c-clamps to bring out the rim from the center to match the tacked point. I work my way around the wheel doing my best to match the original tack, applying tacks every 90 degrees. After the center is tacked in every 90 degrees I keep working my way around, checking against the dial indicator, and applying pressure one way or the other with clamps, then tacking untill I have a tack about every 30 degrees. With good wheels you can get runout in both directions to be .025" or less. I had one rim that had rock damage, and that one took some serious fiddling with various devices to get it within .040". As long as you have a plasma cutter, or know someone that will let you borrow it the project is pretty simple.

As far as inserts go... I plan on runnign the laser cut steel baskets currently produced by performance cryogenics Lincoln CA. I have not fooled with anything other than the rubber run flat inserts personally. The PVC ones seem like they might not be the best on a rig that might tow and have hot brakes.

 

[Skinny]

Have you priced out a decent off road tire in your size range that will fit on a stock 16" CUCV rim?

The Goodyears I'm assuming will set you back $400 for the set, plus the rims $200, spacers $150 (aluminum)...you may just be better and cheaper buying a set of new rubber instead. The Goodyears are decent at what they are designed for but not steller offroad. Just a thought if you are spending that much money...

 

[richingalveston]

I would love to buy your 20 inch rims but here in Texas I have the same problem with them as I did with My TWF recentered hummer rims. They are not DOT approved. Once the rims have been altered the DOT stamp on them is worthless. In many states and in local areas, you will never get checked and it is not a problem. In Harris County Texas, you will get stopped checked and ticketed for non DOT rims.
You are probably ok in KY.
In some states Wheel spacers are not DOT approved either.
As far as run flats you have three options that I know of. TWF pvc centers. Hutchinson inner bead lock inserts and Hummer run flats with the runflat donut removed. I think the TWF's are cheaper than the Hutchinsons. The hummer runflats are almost free but take a lot of work to remove the donut.
I would go with blue lock tight on the spacers.
I found the stubby metal valve stems work great and can be picked up at most auto parts stores.

 

[Sharecropper]

Rich; Thanks for your comments. I see that you are running TWF hummer rims. Are these DOT approved?

 

[timarr]

Sharecroper, I have 12 bolts on 2 trucks with spacers front and rear. Yes I used red threadlocker. I purchased blem spacers from rough country as they only were scratched up. Ive gotten the valves from different places ,the cheapest is any where they sell plumbing parts it the same as a well pressure tank.
For balancing I use 12 oz of airsoft bb's just buy the seamless ones.

 

[patracy]

I'm running 24 bolts on my CUCV. I'm running aluminum spacers. But I'd like to find a set of factory 1 ton dually front spacers to switch to. I just don't care for the looks of a recentered HMMWV wheel personally. (That's only an aesthetics thing for me.) I believe I used two packs of equal per tire in mine. I'm not running a beadlock insert. It's not worth the hassle for me as I doubt I'll ever air them down.

 

[richingalveston]

I sold the TWF rims with new good year MT's because I was warned by my mechanic and other locals here that they were quick to check them around here.

I now have Hutchinson Aluminum GM bead locks (from border patrol vehicles)
They have the DOT stamp and I am using the Hutchinson bead locks that came with them.

I am running Michelin XZL tires (11wide, 39 tall on a 16 inch rim).
The tires are like brand new even though they are several years old. I have collected 2 sets so I am going to run them till they are gone and then hopefully I can get something similar by then.
I have 11 total XZL's 7 new, two with 50% tread that are good, two with 50% tread and mild dry rot. Saving the dry rotted ones for the off road park.
I like the narrow tall tire and really like the tread pattern on the XZL.
I could not find another 11 inch wide tire that was 37 inches tall or taller.
These tires are only rated for 60 mph but I am also only running 1/4 the weight on them so I think they will be fine. I have checked their history and did not find any reports where they failed due to speed while running them on the street.

Sharecropper - I like your rims and tires but they won't let me run them around here. If you are changing tires to make it easier to get in the vehicle, the 37's are not that much lower. They have some pretty good electric steps out these days, with your clearance you could probably get a 3 step electric stairs from an rv to work.
With what you did to your truck, I would hate to see you cut the fenders but you could easily cut the fenders where they will still look factory at the edges and then build custom inner fenders. I am doing this to my truck to make the 39's work off road with only 5 inches of lift.

 

[Sharecropper]

Rich; My 11.00/20's are 44" tall. I used Rancho 4" springs in the front with Zero Rates for a total of 5" lift. I moved the front axle forward 1". I am running cross-over but not high steer and have no problems. I cut my front fenders back to the inner fender and filled the void with flexible body filler and painted. I cut the entire bottom off the front of the front fenders right under the side marker light and also filled & painted. I have no issues on the highway, however when off road and going through a ditch at an angle I still get rubbing. The 44" tall 20's look and ride great on the road, 55 MPH and 1900 RPM with surprising power due to the low road contact surface area. I still have the original CUCV 16" wheels, I might see what tire is available to fit those to run during hunting season.

 

[Zenk]

12 bolt TWF recentered using the Flat center with 4.5" back spacing. 5" front/4" rear lift. No rubbing on road... have not had it off-road.... yet.

 

[Sharecropper]

12 bolt TWF recentered using the Flat center with 4.5" back spacing. 5" front/4" rear lift. No rubbing on road... have not had it off-road.... yet.

View attachment 519581

Zenk; Thanks for posting. That may be exactly what I need. Do you have a close-up photo of the wheel? Also how much lift do you have and how?

 

[Sharecropper]

Please disregard my last question in my previous post. I see your lift height now. Stupid me.

 

[Zenk]

 

[dstang97]

I have over 10k miles on my aluminum spacers. I have also towed around 8-9k with them.

 

[Sharecropper]

I picked up six (6) late series 12-bolt wheels for $25 each. I am leaning towards using these wheels with spacers, along with HMMWV tires and TWF PVC inserts. The only decision left to make is aluminum-versus-steel spacers, and how to balance the wheel assemblies. If my budget will allow, I will use steel spacers and Centramatic balancing units.

Thoughts?

 

[Zenk]

Sharecropper,
My first attempt at balancing was with 8oz of CounterAct in each wheel/tire combo, but that was obviously not enough. So I switch to the Centramatic balancers instead of wasting more money on the expensive beads. My tires have quite a bit of lateral run-out, so I still bounce down the road between 45-55, smooth before and after that range.