Re: Flying lock rings off the rims
Post by luckypabst on Aug 10, 2006, 2:11pm
There's quite a bit of good info about mounting a two-piece wheel on the web. Most of it deals with large commercial type wheels of which many have a 3 piece design and the general gov't based information all recommends cages and remote fill devices.
A quote from one website:
"This is a safe procedure if done carefully! I have never seen an injury due to a separating split rim off a light vehicle rim. Big Rig wheels are a different format and it is these that cause concern."
http://www.4wdonline.com/Wheels/Split.html
A couple other interesting links:
http://www.worksafe.wa.gov.au/newsit...t19970013.html
and
http://www.tireindustry.org/pdf/osha_Demount-Mount.pdf
Obviously there is danger involved. But if you actually get in there to do the job, you'll see that the design of our M715 wheels is quite safe compared to other types of split ring commercial wheels.
Changing a tube on your own is a very good practice to get into if you drive your truck any measureable distance or take it to remote areas. It only takes one flat more than the number of spares you carry to effectively screw you. You won't have the luxury of shopping around for the best size and price or even finding a shop to do the work in some places. If you can make contact, the off-road tow service in the Eastern Sierra starts at about 800 bucks if you're close to pavement. Some people have reported 3x that if they're way far back.
There has even been an incident of some wacko environmentalist hiding a spike strip in a lightly used, very remote desert roadway. In that situation, I'd be very glad for 2-piece wheels and a box of spare tubes. The people that "found" the booby trap were very lucky to say the least.
Chris