Who is running, or did use 18 bolt Beadlocks. What problems, if any have you encountered? If you switched to 32 (36, 38) bolt locks ...Why? <IMG SRC="smilies/question.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/question.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/question.gif" border="0">

I ran them for a couple of years. Never had any problems, loved them!

I did switch to 36 but b/c I got a good deal on the wheels. You shouldn't have any probs...

Not a problem out of my 18 bolt beadlocks so far <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">

FYI:

16 bolt - Bart, Eaton, and some other lower cost beadlocks
18 bolt - MRT
24 bolt - Champion
36 bolt - MRT

Not sure where TrailReady fits in there, or any others I may have missed..

I run MRT 18 Bolt. Would shoot myself before I tighted 32 bolts per wheel <IMG SRC="smilies/puke.gif" border="0">

Ok, cool so far no stories of bolts falling out popped bolts, the captive fastener pulling through. I ran with a friend last weekend that was using 16 or 18 bolt locks, looked like MRT's but were not. He was using them to test the boggers they contained. Anywise,,,, on one run he had two bolts shear, and found several loose. The owner of the wheels said he shears a few bolts on every run, and they are consistently coming loose. Hence the questions of this post

Will they loosen up? Sure, a little bit. We're talking about clamping 2 pieces of steel around rubber, and the rubber moves.. not exactly the best situation for ensuring that bolts remain tight. Whats the solution? Spend a couple minutes retorqing your bolts every now and then.

Just don't over tighten the bolts. On the road the tire expands and THAT will bust bolts off. I have found 10 ft/lbs to be optimum. MTR recommends 12, but I threw 2 bolts on a hot day on the street with them that tight. I replaced them and torqued to 10 and I have not had a problem since.

Couldn't use you locktight, or do you think that would screw you up when you papped a head?

You guys with Bead Locks on the street, do the cops bug you much?

Joe <IMG SRC="smilies/smokin.gif" border="0">

Will they loosen up? Sure, a little bit. We're talking about clamping 2 pieces of steel around rubber, and the rubber moves.. not exactly the best situation for ensuring that bolts remain tight. Whats the solution? Spend a couple minutes retorqing your bolts every now and then.

Apparently you have mistaken me for a Newbie. Not somebody who has been wheeling for more than 20 years and wrenching longer than that. If you read my post you will see I referenced the time frame of one run, not some indefinite time period. I fully realize they will loosen over time, but I expect them to stay tight for at least one day of wheeling. As for a couple of minutes,, if you are following the specified procedures by MRT, Champion, ect, You see it will take you more than a couple of minutes. And sence that is the point, who wants to stop every few miles and do that? To the rock only crowd that measures trail length in ft (admittedly do to the difficulty of such trails) having to re tourque bead locks every few miles is not such a big deal,, heck that’s about once a run. But many other wheelers (like those of us up here in AK) travel 50 mi or more just to the trail head (not including the paved road miles to get to this point), and the trail it self might be 30, 40, 50 or more miles long. If by chance you have any usefull information to respond to the questions of the post I welcome it.

Originally posted by Bronco78:
<STRONG>Apparently you have mistaken me for a Newbie. Not somebody who has been wheeling for more than 20 years and wrenching longer than that. If you read my post you will see I referenced the time frame of one run, not some indefinite time period. I fully realize they will loosen over time, but I expect them to stay tight for at least one day of wheeling. As for a couple of minutes,, if you are following the specified procedures by MRT, Champion, ect, You see it will take you more than a couple of minutes. And sence that is the point, who wants to stop every few miles and do that? To the rock only crowd that measures trail length in ft (admittedly do to the difficulty of such trails) having to re tourque bead locks every few miles is not such a big deal,, heck that’s about once a run. But many other wheelers (like those of us up here in AK) travel 50 mi or more just to the trail head (not including the paved road miles to get to this point), and the trail it self might be 30, 40, 50 or more miles long. If by chance you have any usefull information to respond to the questions of the post I welcome it.</STRONG>


Wow, you asked a question, I answered it. I've done more than read the MRT information, I run MRTs. Specifically the very same beadlocks you're requesting information about. You want specifics on my beadlocks I'll give em to you. You never mentioned any time frame, so I didnt either. But since you're being a dick about it I'll illucidate. After installation they required a retorque the next day. After that they sat for another day before going on the con. Upon returning approximately half of the bolts lost their torque significantly, I'd say to about 8ftlbs from 12. Once retorqued they've now settled and it takes me a whopping 3 to 5 minutes a tire to check them on a regular interval so
<IMG SRC="smilies/flipoff.gif" border="0">

Mike, in retrospect I see that you do have useful information, and I thank you for it. I wish you had provided it the first time in place of your other post, which did not, and at best was condescending.
If I had wanted a lesson about the dynamics of clamping rubber between steel I would have asked that question.

As for me not specifying a time period, well true.. I implied and referred to a time period.. I said "on one run he had two bolts shear, and found several loose. The owner of the wheels said he shears a few bolts on every run, and they are consistently coming loose." So the time period I was referencing was indeed stated, ONE RUN.. I apologize for not making it clearer. I knew what I was thinking and asking, but apparently I did not word it plainly enough for all levels of ability to understand my question.

No worries one way or the other. No condesention was meant. I simply put it the way I would have explained it to most of the folks I know. I do feel, however, that its necessary to point out the obvious at times when its a possible safety issue.. regardless of who the inital poster was. I've seen a few too many people treating beadlocks like standard wheels and quite simply you cant. A few installation tricks I learned the hard way... Id RTV the weld before starting, this will prevent pin hole leaks and its far less frustrating to assume they're there then pull it apart to redo later. Also their instructions reference setting the torque 4 times, in my case it took about 7 on the initial install to get them to hold evenly. Once you have them down initially they're a lot easier to retorque, normally mine seat fully after 2 turns on the tire, which after a while becomes habit and you fly through it. I'm running 12.5's on an 8" rim and I do experience some burping from the inner bead on the trail. Next time I'll go for 14.5's and see how they work on the 8" wheels. Good luck and have fun installing them <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0"> And for what its worth, I cant imagine wheelin' without em anymore.

Erik,
I am looking to buy a set of 18 Bolt MRT's in the very near future. I have several friends that have been using them for several years without problems.

Ya know, I know in a heated arguement, some post's get lost. But I ain't a newbee either, and I asked an honest question. CAN YOU USE LOCKTITE?

Originally posted by BrianR:
<STRONG>Ya know, I know in a heated arguement, some post's get lost. But I ain't a newbee either, and I asked an honest question. CAN YOU USE LOCKTITE?</STRONG>

Sorry dude <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0"> You could, but it wouldnt do any good. At least IMHO most of the problem is the rubber bead shifting and flexing inbetween the lip and the ring.

Why the 18 bolts over 32 version,, besides the labor and time involved in working 32 bolts in to place..... Advantage? Disadvantage?

I think that the champions and the Trailready's clamping design helps center the tire better and help prevent the bolts from loosening. A buddy of mine runs the Eatons. 16 bolts that do loosen rather quickly. My TR's have never come loose. Although I still check them periodicly. Personally I love the TR's.
As for Cops. I have never had a problem with them. But I hear that in Moab they will give you a lot of greif....

Main reason is the price for me. I have also been told that on the MRT's the 18 bolts use 3/8" bolts and the 36 bolts use 5/16" bolts. Not sure if its true.

Originally posted by TX4WHEELER:
<STRONG>Main reason is the price for me. I have also been told that on the MRT's the 18 bolts use 3/8" bolts and the 36 bolts use 5/16" bolts. Not sure if its true.</STRONG>


Yes, thats true. Champions also use 5/16"

Originally posted by Bronco78:
<STRONG>Why the 18 bolts over 32 version,, besides the labor and time involved in working 32 bolts in to place..... Advantage? Disadvantage?</STRONG>

I went 18 because of a combination of price, and having talked to several 18 bolt owners.. finding out they hadnt had problems. MRT does recommend 36 bolt wheels over 36" though.. for whats its worth. Then again, they're not exactly warranteed anyway

OK, what size tires are you all running?

Im running 36 swampers on mine, next tires will be 38's. Im not overly worried. Course, my rigs nice and light.. that may work in my favor

I ran the some gaRBAGE 16 Bolts on the street. Popped bolts everytime I hit a bump. offroad you can be sure of losing more than a few bolts.

I finally buckled down and bought the MRT36 bolt wheels. Haven't lost a bolt yet.

i am running 18 bolt mrt beadlocks. i am very happy with them and there is no way in hell i would want 36 bolt beadlocks. it would take a day just to mount the tires. i know we all like overkill but 18 is enuff for me.

I run 18 bolt race car beadlocks, not sure of the brand. When I had 35's (SSR's), I broke bolts off all the time. NOTE: almost all the bolts broke off on the street, and most were during cornering. I wouldn't run locktite because that would make it harder to get the broken bolts out when I replaced them. The Jeep was driven daily by girlfriend for about a year this way. I've since switched to 38" SX's and haven't broken a bolt yet. I've been running it this way for about a year now. I check bolt torques periodically, and don't seem to have problems. As far as cops, I haven't had any questions about my wheels in three years. Next time I'd buy beadlocks with a thicker ring (I like the Avalanche ones with 1/2" rings), but I don't see any problems with 18 bolts. A friend has 36 bolt MRT's and they just take way too long to mount.

Champion's bead lock legality:

http://www.championwheel.com/champion_wheel_statement.htm

i would not run locktite on beadlocks because you need to periodically retighten them not necessarily because the bolts have backed off but because when you put beadlocks on tires that haven't been beadlocked the rubber compresses over time. the locktite will break upon retightening them and do you no good.


I ran 18 bolt beadlocks for a while and never had a bolt break but was never very happy with them the ring looked like a surfers wave between the bolts and it just didn't instill confidence in me. I got some 32 bolt allied wheels and love them, sure its more bolts but i can fully mount a wheel and have them torqued in about 1 hour which is not too bad for the added security.

no one has said anything aboot rockstomper ones, how many bolts are they, has any one had experience with em??

Thats because this thread is OOOOOLD
why do people reply to a thread that is dated 9/1/01
Check it out, more info on Rockstomper beadlocks
http://rockstomper.com/catalog/wheels/beadlocks.htm

Originally posted by welndmn
Thats because this thread is OOOOOLD
why do people reply to a thread that is dated 9/1/01
Check it out, more info on Rockstomper beadlocks
http://rockstomper.com/catalog/wheels/beadlocks.htm old thread what the hell are you talkin about
i just wnated to know if people were having the same type of problem with the rockstomper beadlocks too.., like the rockstomper site is gonna say, "oh ya the bolts shear off all the time, and the loosen up on you, and when driven on pavement they blow up..."

Stupid ass:flipoff2:

Originally posted by MOFUGRA
no one has said anything aboot rockstomper ones, how many bolts are they, has any one had experience with em??


Rockstomper runs 36 3/8" bolts. Overkill is in Scott's blood I think.

Originally posted by MOFUGRA
old thread what the hell are you talkin about
i just wnated to know if people were having the same type of problem with the rockstomper beadlocks too.., like the rockstomper site is gonna say, "oh ya the bolts shear off all the time, and the loosen up on you, and when driven on pavement they blow up..."

Stupid ass:flipoff2:

If you would of cared to look, only 4 posts were made today, all the others are very old, answer your question on "why is no one talking about rockstompers"
Use the search, you will learn

I am running 44 inch tsl's on front and 44 boggers on back on 15x10 MRT 18 bolt beadlocks. I tightened them all the way down til the rings are against each other(thats right no gap).My thinking is if you leave a gap between the rings a side load is placed on the side of the bolt rather than the head of the bolt holding the load.Similiar to why a lot of people break the two bolts that hold the spring clamp on a dana 60 front on the passenger side.They usually use a thicker spring pack than what came factory causing a gap between the plate and the flat spot on the housing where the plate is suppossed to be against.Thus, a side load is placed on the bolt and as well as the head off the bolt...boom the bolts break off flush with the housing..I made a spacer on my 60 fronts to take up the gap and have never broken another bolt..So I just applied the same to my the bead locks.So far I have not had one bolt come loose or break in over 2 years of hard use.I have bent the outer rings and boogered up the edges of the bolts on rocks ;but, no troubles with bolts loosening or breaking..just my experience.:D