Going Rockwells, anyone else done this yet?

http://www.rehvid.com/index.php?page...mp;sort=moodud

For a large number of sizes with pictures.

Gotta love INCH DEEP tread on the new ones!!! I was looking at my 1100x16 XL's the other night...They gotta be a pretty soft tread compound and get drive longevity because of the big blocks.

I've heard or received nothing in about two weeks from USA6x6 on my purchase. I have to post a lead time in my business...fair is fair right?

If you have any questions about Daniel and his 'ethics', I think you should do a few things. Like keep on his butt to get your stuff. And also do more research on him. After more reading, it would seem that he has seriously burnt a lot of buyers and businesses.
I sure wish you the best of luck dealing with him.

As for the tires, yeah, the serious tread is a very nice thing. I also hear that the Goodyear tires, at least the big ones, have a VERY soft compound. Which is a great thing.

holy crap look at all those perty tires... Too bad they're where they are... dang it. THey're perfect for an updated look on these trucks!

Hammer, don't be afraid to cut those big hunkin tread blocks! I did on my measley 1100x 16's and it made a big difference. It also helps the big tread blocks to wrap around things a little better.

Daniel....yeah, I'm gonna call and motivate him.

Spicer, I wish you good luck with Daniel. He told me 5 weeks. Then it went to 7 weeks. Then at 9 weeks my wheels were ready to ship and guess what ?? Somebody stole them !!! At 10 weeks I finally got my wheels. He is nothing but a big BS 'er. M1028

Barry, it was Nicole Simpson's real killer... he needed them for his covert, in-hiding type vehicle. Don't worry! OJ's on it.

tech content: what are the main benefits of the 2pc rims vs. beadlocks?

These 2 piece rims are beadlocks. M1028

Yeah, the two piece act as a double beadlock. And the insert that goes in your tire is squezed against the beads when the two pieces are put together.
http://www.stazworks.com/images/h1.gif
That is the insert that goes inside the tire.
No more screwy ring with a ton of bolts that warp them. You can also mount/dismount the tires while the rim stays attached to the vehicle (done this many times in the army on HMMWVs).

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showt...hreadid=153941

Another picture of John's work. Btw, that is the design that I am thinking about using as well.

Some more pictures ( PVC on HMMWV rims).

http://www.respite.org/images/cj66dean/wheel-1.JPG

http://www.respite.org/images/cj66dean/wheel-2.JPG

http://www.respite.org/images/cj66dean/wheel-4.JPG

yeah, I know the 2pc'ers are beadlocks LOL.. I was just wondering if there is any really big technical advantage to them over the standard deals... Dismounts might be one....

Most beadlock wheels only grab the outside edge of the tire and have been known to leak down after a little while. These double beadlock and shoudl save some weight...not that Hammer and his 53's are concerned. :)
I called Daniel yesterday and he told me like two weeks...and it's already been two weeks that he didn't tell me. You know if something is listed 'ON SHELF' I expect that in three days. I told him that at least he could get the detroits and pans out to me in the mean time. He agreed (yeah...we'll see) and then asked if I have access to a big lathe. I said yes, and he said he's send me a picture of what the hubs need to be machined to look like for the front brake kit. No email...no pic and it was supposed to be a couple of minutes...that was about 15 hours ago. If I do the machining...he best ought understand that I get my core charge AND machining price BACK. I'll keep you guys posted.

Advantages are military based. No special equipement is required to mount/dismount the tires. Although some say to break the bead after they are on the 20" setup requires some serious effort.
You maintain the original sealing surfaces.
Most external beadlocks use a big ring and a LOT of bolts to 'clamp' the tire against the lip. But when you torque down the bolts, it will distort the ring, and finding a medium ground for where to stop tightening is a pain.
Some external beadlocks have a ledge so most of the distortion doesn't happen, but this doesn't work perfectly because tires are different. Also the external uses FLAT pieces of metal to secure the bead/tire. These can cut the sidewalls up if they are not chamfered (not usually done).
Where as the internal uses the stock rim and bead to hold the tire with the insert holding it up tight from the inside. Even if it could slip (supposedly the 20" rim itself can hold the bead to an extreme on it's own), it wouldn't damage the tire/bead at all.
Oh yeah, THEY BALANCE out well. External beadlocks are notorious for not balancing out. Where the internal is about the same as a stock rim setup for balance.
Oh, and it still looks street legal ;)

Spicer, I would call him and ride him every day. Most people talk about how GOOD he is at talking his way out of the BS that he gets himself into. Don't let him sweet talk you! Stick to your guns when you call him.

Oh yeah, here are some pictures of the 12.5 x 20 tires for you. These would look VERY nice for the setup you are after!

http://pics.montypics.com/Mudyota/20...6/mvc_027s.jpg

SWEET. Found a local guy that will sell me the tires, used and worn out, but CHEAP. This is perfect for me to test with!
And $30 to $40 each for 16x20 tires isn't too bad ;) He has everything from bald to truly brand new.

How big are th 12.5x20's? forteeeee-what? My 1100x20's are in the 41" range. That Toyota is using regular deuce 'bud' wheels. The ones I have for the project have center set in a little bit so that it wouldn't work as a dually rear wheel. Check the link to look at the tire and wheel I'll be using.
http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/spi...y+1100x20s.jpg
What do you think of them?

Oh, I emailed Daniel and got him to "resend" (ha,ha) the pics from yesterday. I did get them.

42" or 43" I think. Not too sure really. Logic would say 43" though. Pretty much the same as what you have, but much more 'square' in appearance. And a little taller of course.

Ok, next few topics of interest on the rockwells.
New Ujoints with the zerk fitting for greasing them instead of filling the entire knuckle with grease.
Zipper style boots.
And a skid plate under the boot so I don't destroy the boots all the time.

And with the bigger meats, I will keep my options open for the better axles shafts later on as well.

Okay...Why the zerks? Think you'll get more grease INTO the joint? I replaced one of these axles one time and I recall he joint being...not loose, but very knuckle full of grease friendly. I think I'd lean toward keeping the grease for water repellant as well.

Zipper style boots ROCK as far as doing a replacement job. If they didn't unzip, then you'd have to pop both king pin bushing outta the knuckle and work very carefully to get the alignment just right so that the knuckle with come off of the pins. It's a little tricky if stuff is greasy. Also, I think the grease helps the zipper from leaking water in.

Do you mean in addition to the guard in front of the boot?

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attac...postid=1936084
There is a skid plate like I want to make.
And that also shows the better clamp style for the normal boot.
I hear that the zipper style leaks a lot. Of course I wouldn't have all the grease in there.

Oh, if you have a greasable U joint, you don't have to have the entire knuckle filled with grease. Just hit the three zerks now and a again and you are geased and ready to go.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showt...hreadid=227425

That thread covers the U joint issue.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showt...hreadid=141578

That one covers the allow axle shafts if I ever needed those. (which also have a killer Ujoint setup).

GOOD LINK! I'd rather have grease leak out time to time than dirt and crap get in. I'll take my WITH boots please! :) At lease one of those guys needs to quit the speculation and actually tear one apart and look at the design of the stock joint and grease...mass.

Oh, I wasn't all that clear on the pic of the boot guard. I understood the text, but couldn't get it out of the picture.

The stock boot guard is a flimsy piece of metal. He made one out of 3/16" steel.
Other's have taken pictures of the joints pulled apart. The stock Ujoint relies on the knuckle to be full of grease to get grease into the ujoint. Not the best setup in my book.
The new style Ujoints have the zerk that you can either pull the boot to the side, or drill out the inspection hole and put the grease gun through there. Search on pirate, they have pictures of it all. You just have to wade through some of the BS.

It may be possible to take that stock guard which...actually is a fairly heavy guage...and take like a piece of !/4"x 1" and wrap it around it's edge, tack weld it, and also have an upper mounting hole and a lower mounting hole. That way it would have the strength of the mounting holes, as well as the bends of the stamped factory piece. Have you run across any of the ball/cv style rockwell shafts yet. I had one in my red truck that I changed out because the short shaft busted right inside the drive flange at the hub. The joint is pretty impressive and really looks strong...although I'd still stick with U-joints...I'd not call one of those trash by any means.

spicergear, Is it possable to make my own pinoin brake on rockwells? If so what rotor , calaper ,and master cylinder shoud be used. I'm just to poor to buy the set-up although the 300$ seems like a good price.Please e-mail me ... amygeurts@earthlink.net Thanks, Wout

It would seem if you use a suzuki rotor and a toyota caliper it works (I think I have those right).
Search on www.pirate4x4.com for these.

And disregard my earlier posts for USA4x4. He is a con artist.