split rims

[Longhorn Man]

Oops..forgot the pic.

[Zeke]

Here's a picture of a split rim that would be found on one of our trucks. Hope this works 1st time posting pic

[Jeremy_5]

Well I got tires on my truck, Charged me extra since I had split rims on the back, they struggled with them for over an hour, I decided to keep them to stay original, since my truck is mostly all original, and the fact that i spent $450 on the tires and had no cash left I may change sometime down the road.

[mtdave2]

will they take the tires off a spilit rim? i have a set of bias tres on the orginal split rims. i even have the recipt from when they bought the tires in 78! they are almost like new, so id hate to get rid of them.

id like to put them on a safer rim, will they shops do that?

[FrankHoy]

MtDave,

Any truck stop, that changes tires, will take them apart. The danger is not in taking them apart, it is in not airing them up properly.

Changing tires for Goodyear was one of my first jobs back in '75. I changed many split rims and only ever had one come close to coming apart and that was caused by someone bending the split ring. The shop I worked at did have an employee that was killed airing one up. And it did literally cut him in half and continued through the roof.

You could still see where it went through the roof. I think they never fixed the interior part of the roof to serve as a reminder to the other shop employees.

Depending what size they are, you may have trouble finding a standard rim for them though. Many of the split rim tires, (ie tube type) are offsize ie 16" vs 16.5.

[jcab]

Thanks Longhorn man.

[Cruiser71]

Most of them were 700-16 or 750-16... Ive changed too many in my day. Never again.............

[chevy71super]

I work for an insurance company. Had a claim years back when a guy was unloading a split rim out of the back of a pickup. The tire had just been repaired and they were unloading it to put it back on a different truck. The guy in the bed rolled the tire and wheel out of the bed, it hit the ground and the ring blew off. The ring hit the guy who was standing on the ground in the chest. Killed him instantly. You never know when they will let go. Personally I would not mess with one. Just not worth the risk.

[BET68]

DON'T MOVE YOUR TRUCK UNTIL RIMS ARE BURIED (DEEP) AS ANDY SAYS

[Orange70chevy]

I have heard of people talk about split rims never seen one until this post. So my question is what was suppose to be the benefit of having a split rim?

[Mechanic]

When compared to tubless radials, there are no benefits. The only thing I could see as a plus is if you were trying to stay original. It's a little like asking what's the benefit to having a load of gasoline in the cab behind your seat, when it could be outside between the rails. That's how they made 'em.

If the question is why did they put these on back then, that was the HD wheel/tire package to carry the weight back then. When 16.5 tubeless wheels came along, people started switching. Then tubeless 16" wheels came along and people started accidentally mixing these up with the 16.5's.

[Longhorn Man]

The advantage to a split ring, both then and now, is if you are working on a construction site, on a wranch in the middle of no where, ect., you could break the wheel down on site with very few tools. I know a couple old timers who seek these wheels out for this reason alone.
I still say cut them up and burry them though.

[FrankHoy]

Actually, there is no advantage to changing the tire, in itself. You can also change a radial/tubeless by hand. Believe me I did many a aluminum mag by hand, because the owners didn't believe the machine could change them without cracking their rim. All you need is a slide hammer and two bars or screw drivers, to change it. Fixing it is not as simple as the split rim though. There is a possible advantage in the fact the split rims were tube tires. So you could either patch the tube or throw in another one and be on your way. Radials can be patched but you have to be carefal of the steel belts. And a side puncture will never hold a patch, because of the flex of the sidewall.

[Longhorn Man]

Frank, have you ever broken down a 16.5 by hand? I highly doubt it is doable.
I've done car tires by hand too.

[FrankHoy]

Yes I have. I don't think there is an car or truck tire I haven't done by hand. I was changing tires for about 5 years in the mid 70s. I was responsible for the fleet work, so I had to do many in the field. I live in an ag area so I also changed many a tractor tire filled will sodium chloride. Even did a few earth mover tires, at the local rock quarry. The ones that are 6'+ tall and have 3"-4" sidewalls. Definitely not my preference for work but you do what you have to do to make a buck.

[Mechanic]

Gentelmen,
Before I became a mechanic, I spent 7 years working at the Firestone truck tire center in Seattle driving a service truck. (till '86 when it closed) I've changed a couple of multi-piece wheels. From little 15-16-17 inchers off pickups...20 and 22" truck tires...on up to loader and log-stacker tires.

Here's what we used: for a 750X16 like in the previous photo, a tire hammer, jug of soapy water, and 2 lock ring bars like in the photo, only one was the longer type for leverage on the larger wheels. If a tire guy was changing a tubeless 16 or 16.5 in the field you would grab the hammer, soap, and 2 tubeless bars.

Let there be no doubt that breaking down a 750X16 tube type split rim is by far, harder to do than knocking down a 8.75X16.5. It's not even close. One swing of the hammer, the tubeless is down, flip it over, 1 swing, break the other bead, grab the 2 tubeless bars, first bead comes off, insert 1 tubeless bar between remaining bead and wheel and pull. Done. The 750X16 takes more just to get 1 side down and the ring off. Then add the tube and flap...like I say, not even the same sport!

Most tire guys would rather change a 1000X20 than a 750X16 because they're such a b***h. Because these things were such a chore, we used to have a game like "name that tune" when a 750X16 came in, where we would challenge each other to see how few hammer swings it would take to knock down the top bead. If you were real good, and didn't get a F**d wheel, 2-3 swings was typical. 1 swing was pretty damn impressive. I'm talking about tire men here...not novices.

[Longhorn Man]

I've tried to do a 16.5 by hand...All i did was bleed all over the place. I aslute you both...and call you crazy at the same time.

but you do what you have to do to make a buck

As I always say...it is amazing what a hard working man will do to put food in front of his wife and children.

[1972C10]

16"s and 16.5"s should be easier to break down than 14s and 15s becuase they have no saftey bead.

Ive been around tires/ tireshops since i was 15 My friend does split rims But charges about 15 a piece to change as opposed to 7 on regular.

You can wrap a chain around the hole in the center and the outside in two places so if it does go off no decapatation.

Tapping the ring with a hammer helps seat the ring also.

but on something like a light duty truck where you can get 8 lug or 6 lug wheels for little of nothing why bother with split wheels You have to run tubes and liners and thats just extra money on top of new tires.

and tubeless tires should be mounted tubeless

Now on equipment or big trucks they use a different style of split wich is Still D.O.T. aproved and safe But still requires proper installation/seating of the rings.

[687980chevy]

I worked at a Firestone store in the 70s and changed alot of them. Sure we sure liked seeing a 3/4 or ton with 1 piece wheels they were alot easier but, they are not bad if you have the right tools.One thing we always did was break down the front bead & remove the ring(s) then put it on the tire changer and break down the back bead & sometimes this pushed up the front bead also.We had a cage to inflate with but just like anything else you cannot be careless, people have been killed by 1 piece wheels also. If you like the look of your wheels keep them just find a good shop to service them for you.

Also 16.5 are tubeless with 1 piece wheels 16" are 2 or 3 piece,always tube type (on pickups).In the 70s you could order either wheel from chevy.

[70-Chevy]

we have M198 Howitzers (artillery guns) that have the split rims. Every time we have to bust tires, we always put forklift slides overtop the rim to prevent the ring from blowing off. Have seen a few close calls but for the most part they always stay on.

[Longhorn Man]

In fort hood, only the E-5's and abov are able to do split ring tires. There was a kid got killed back in 97 I think...might have been 98.

[chopttop]

I recently purchased a '71 C30 cab/chassis w/a 24' Franklin Motorhome mounted on chassis, original rims, so I would guess split rims, seeing that it will not be used that much, run to Sturgis once a year and a couple of say 100 - 200 mile camping trips , why not keep the split rims, have them powder coated, put on new tires, which I need , and call it good, the truck will probably rust away before I need to change tire again. I would love to put on some Alcoa Dually type rims for the look but it seems a hassle to find some that fit. I want it to look nicee and the nasty paint pealing, spray painted looking ones that are on their now are not doing it. Any help would be appreciated.

[WorkinLonghorn]

I've got a Nov.-Dec.1968 Kelly Blue Book here and it says " * H.D. Camper Equipt. includes H.D. Tires,H.D. Springs and Split Rims".
>>My custom camper came from the orig.owner with split rims but I changed them over to regular rims and radial E rated tires.
>>Someday when I'm long gone,guys will be restoring these trucks to original and cursing us out for ditching the split-rims.A good set will be going for $1200.00.

[JAKES 68GMC]

Originally Posted by WorkinLonghorn

I've got a Nov.-Dec.1968 Kelly Blue Book here and it says " * H.D. Camper Equipt. includes H.D. Tires,H.D. Springs and Split Rims".
>>My custom camper came from the orig.owner with split rims but I changed them over to regular rims and radial E rated tires.
>>Someday when I'm long gone,guys will be restoring these trucks to original and cursing us out for ditching the split-rims.A good set will be going for $1200.00.

Don't make me grin too much, I've got 6 of them scattered out through the woods, plus the 4 decent ones on my truck.

[Longhorn Man]

wow, this thread is almost 3 years old!

Check with your inspection station before spending a penny on them.
A good reason not to do it, you'll be broke down in BFE with a flat tire, and Billy Bob's flat tire service won't even touch your split rims.