Ok, i did a search and found stuff about legalities of beadlocks but not actual safety. I have heard of tires coming apart on the highway on a beadlock wheel. Are they really unsafe?

they are fine, dont be a puss

i would say safer because the tire will stay on the rim with a blow out. so second the don't be a puss statement

Mine travelled fine on the highway. They didn't get motion sickness or anything bouncing around on the trailer.

Seriously though, I drive them daily 20 miles to & from work without any problems. Be sure to check the torque on them frequently (I do it every Saturday morning).

Bob

Just keep your bolts tight, or else you will roll over and die, maybe you need street locks:flipoff2:

I have had a couple oh -shiaiaits. Twice after a hard weekend of wheeling. I have aired up gone down the road at 65-70 and had the bolts go flying off. Air dumps out of tire and it is fun getting it stopped of the road. Mine are the 5/16 16 bolt wheels. Just info.

P.S. don't be a puss.

we run 16 3/8's bolt beadlocks with 1/4 inch rings... no worries on a DD

mike-

i drove my 38's with mrt's at 90 mile an hour all the time ...shit i even drove up to CANADA 22hrs hahahaha!it's my DD .they are just fine...

also dont be a pussy.....:D

Thats the least of my worrys

i am not sure if we have ever even found out IF they are actually illegal. anybody have a refrence on this issue?

Originally posted by camo
i am not sure if we have ever even found out IF they are actually illegal. anybody have a refrence on this issue?

Here we go again :rolleyes: :flipoff2:

Originally posted by camo
i am not sure if we have ever even found out IF they are actually illegal. anybody have a refrence on this issue?

Spent a buncha time searching for it. Couldn't find any indication that they're illegal, couldn't find any spec saying that they are. Called the Utah Highway Patrol, and they said that beadlocks aren't legal, but couldn't cite a law that says so... just waffled around on it. Called the Cali Highway Patrol... same kind of answer. Neither could find a state law on the books, both said "it must be a federal thing" and suggested a couple sections of Fed DOT code. I'd already searched everything they pointed me towards, without finding anything--told them that, and they strangely ran out of time to deal with me. I was praying for a ticket last time I was in Utah, specifically for beadlocks, so at least then the cop would have to cite the law and I could then get a copy of it... didn't happen. Closest I got was a cop who checked my license, registration, and insurance, an hour after my reverse rollover off of Proving Grounds, out in the sand, and wanted to make sure I wasn't drinking.

scott

i am glad you replied. i remember you looking into it and was curious if you had ever found the law. guess not. thanks for the research

Originally posted by tj7
i drove my 38's with mrt's at 90 mile an hour all the time ...shit i even drove up to CANADA 22hrs hahahaha!it's my DD .they are just fine...

also dont be a pussy.....:D



whatch out they are illegal here in canada:flipoff2:

Originally posted by Jeepmangled87
Just keep your bolts tight, or else you will roll over and die, maybe you need street locks:flipoff2:

Just be careful here....too tight and they will expand and spit your bolts..

I torqued mine to 20# when MRT sais 12# and I snapped a few bolts the first time on the road.

When I backed off to 12# I have never had any bolts break.

Don't be a puss. :flipoff2:

I'd say the issue isn't legality...the issue is DOT approval.
If your beadlocks fail and you cause an accident, the lack of DOT approval could open a pandora's box of trouble. From insurance, to civil suits (both against you AND the manufacturer of the beadlocks).
While DOT approval generally is a paper trail of manufacturing standards ensuring (for instance) wheel dimensions fit a certain range of manufactured tire dimensions, the lack of DOT approval could be a focal point should a beadlock failure be the cause of the accident.
Anyhoo...quit being a pussy and run 'em!

just run grade 12 bolts :flipoff2:

If you have to change or modify the tire in any way to install the beadlocks they are illeagl !!!! I say run em they look cool plus if you dont your a pussy:flipoff2:

Originally posted by DieLucas!
I'd say the issue isn't legality...the issue is DOT approval.
If your beadlocks fail and you cause an accident, the lack of DOT approval could open a pandora's box of trouble.

If I send a wheel to DOT for approval, and I send along enough money to cover return shipping, I might get a DOT official to ship it back to me. They won't test it, they won't approve it, they won't deny it, etc.

I've posted this before, and I'm sure this won't be the last time I post it.

DOT is not an approval body. They are not a testing facility. They are a regulatory body. They write the laws. They write the testing procedures to go with those laws, when they feel testing is appropriate. They do not approve or deny parts.

By stamping "DOT" on a product, I certify that it meets DOT standards. If it doesn't, and I stamped it "DOT" anyway, I am criminally liable for serious fines and penalties. Jail time, too. If I ship a product that doesn't say "DOT" on it, and it's something that is required to say "DOT" on it to use it on the street, it's not legal to run it on the street. If you buy a wheel from me, and it doesn't say DOT on it, and you run it on the street anyway, technically, the liability is on you. In today's society, it's gonna fall on me too, but the way it's supposed to be is, it's up to the installer or end user to verify that what he's buying/installing/using meets the appropriate standards. Same with tires.

Now... with regards to wheels themselves... DOT requires that the wheel have three things stamped into it: the letters DOT, the date of manufacture, and the manufacturer's name and/or symbol. Anything else stamped into the wheel, is optional (and not required). There are a couple design criteria that it has to comply with (one of which being that it will retain a flat tire at 55mph or so, for a reasonable distance, to allow the driver to realize he's got a flat and stop) but none of the requirements dictate wheel construction, weight ratings, bolt pattern, etc. There are no testing procedures in there, that beadlocks don't meet.

Other items have specific testing procedures (the flat-tire-not-coming-off-the-rim one is an example for rims, the "whip test" is for brake lines, etc.) for the manufacturer to certify compliance with--but the fact remains, DOT does not approve designs or products. I know Four Wheel Parts sells "DOT approved brake lines" but the reality is, Four Wheel Parts makes them, they test as appropriate to the DOT standards, and Four Wheel Parts, not the DOT, sticks the "DOT" stickers on the parts.

FWIW, certain wheel manufacturers don't bother stamping DOT into certain sizes of wheels. Non-beadlock wheels, at that... but they don't stamp 'em DOT.

And the fact remains, if your beadlocks fail and you cause an accident, you are opening a world-o-hurt upon a lot of different people. The guy in the Geo that you Tonka, isn't gonna be happy, and he's gonna sue you and anybody else whose name he can get off of any part that made contact with his car, or failed during that little dance, or the like. That's the biggest reason why very few companies will say that they're OK to run on the street.

And since it's becoming a side note now...
I run mine on the street. No problems. I don't even run grade 12 bolts (but I think I should upgrade--I'll ask at the bolt store about getting some grade 15's or something), although I do run socket head cap screws (roughly equivalent to grade 8).

sounds like the dot com bust :D

:flipoff2: this whole issue is a waste of time cause theres no real answer. Just remember that if it looks ilegal then it gives a cop a reason to pull you over and then its hes word against yours, usually they win. My whole truck is a fix it ticket and i am sure i am not the only one.

scott you know your stuff keep it up. We could all learn a thing or two:beer:

Originally posted by Cody Swinehart
this whole issue is a waste of time cause theres no real answer. Just remember that if it looks ilegal then it gives a cop a reason to pull you over and then its hes word against yours, usually they win. My whole truck is a fix it ticket and i am sure i am not the only one.

Just playing devil's advocate... y'all have seen my truck. I drive it on the street. Regularly. And I don't get stopped much, if at all. Is it 'cause it's so "out there" that the cops don't even know where to start, 'cause it's too embarrassing to call in the plates and then ask "what is this thing I'm pulling over?", 'cause I drive like a grandma, or...??? FWIW, I've been through the Colorado statutes on it... there's only one violation left: the bar going from the halo bar to the cowl bar (in front of the windshield). I fixed my busted taillight.

Personally, I drive like a grandma for two reasons.
1. I don't have the gerbilpower to drive any faster.
2. In Colorado, as long as you're not making a problem for others, the cops are pretty cool with not making a problem for you.

And if it's your word against the cop, you lose. Got witnesses, it might be a different story... maybe.

scott you know your stuff keep it up. We could all learn a thing or two:beer:

Thanks! I'm still learning--that's why I'm still calling and hassling cops about what I can and can't run.

The more I learn on this one, the more I like the proliferation of fakelocks, too. The cops can't tell the real thing from the fakies, so they're learning to ignore all of them. :)

The only time I've gotten questioned on equipment legality, BTW, was when I had the following:
No doors
One rearview (center mount) mirror
Lexan windshield (popriveted in--no trim--the rivets are visible at 50 feet)
Beadlocks
No bumpers
No fenders
No headlight-looking lights
No mudflaps
Windshield bar installed
A friend hooked to a strap behind me (on the street)
Rear Boggers/front TSL's

...and the cop's only concern was whether my tires were DOT legal (44 TSL's and Boggers don't exactly look roadworthy).
Gotta love Colorado.

as long as you dont get stockton wheel bead locks all will be good...i lost 3 tires with em:mad: :mad: :mad:

Originally posted by camo
just run grade 12 bolts :flipoff2:
ROFL :D

Scott your exactly right if one knows more about the law the less they will get pushed around. Well ok you didnt say that exactly but the point is that if you know the rules and the loop holes you can exploit them and drive freely. Now i am not saying go and brake the law i am just saying know the law and use it towards your advantage.

"stay in school, learn the law. then change it" dont remember where i heard it just thought it fits:beer: :usa:

Originally posted by Scott@Rockstomper


Just playing devil's advocate... y'all have seen my truck. I drive it on the street. Regularly. And I don't get stopped much, if at all. Is it 'cause it's so "out there" that the cops don't even know where to start, 'cause it's too embarrassing to call in the plates and then ask "what is this thing I'm pulling over?", 'cause I drive like a grandma, or...??? FWIW, I've been through the Colorado statutes on it... there's only one violation left: the bar going from the halo bar to the cowl bar (in front of the windshield). I fixed my busted taillight.

Personally, I drive like a grandma for two reasons.
1. I don't have the gerbilpower to drive any faster.
2. In Colorado, as long as you're not making a problem for others, the cops are pretty cool with not making a problem for you.

And if it's your word against the cop, you lose. Got witnesses, it might be a different story... maybe.



Thanks! I'm still learning--that's why I'm still calling and hassling cops about what I can and can't run.

The more I learn on this one, the more I like the proliferation of fakelocks, too. The cops can't tell the real thing from the fakies, so they're learning to ignore all of them. :)

The only time I've gotten questioned on equipment legality, BTW, was when I had the following:
No doors
One rearview (center mount) mirror
Lexan windshield (popriveted in--no trim--the rivets are visible at 50 feet)
Beadlocks
No bumpers
No fenders
No headlight-looking lights
No mudflaps
Windshield bar installed
A friend hooked to a strap behind me (on the street)
Rear Boggers/front TSL's

...and the cop's only concern was whether my tires were DOT legal (44 TSL's and Boggers don't exactly look roadworthy).
Gotta love Colorado.

DUDE!!!

33s are ILLEGAL over here...im coming to colorado!! :eek:

i love your truck, streeting 44s.....ROFL that thing would be violating just about every law i can think of its soo cool:p

Originally posted by pitter




whatch out they are illegal here in canada:flipoff2:

hahahahah! well you live in real CANADA where i used to live was french fawking CANADA hahahahh! QUEBEC where the sepratists and terrorists reside....what a shit hole anyways if you move to NORTH CAROLINA they have no problems letting you run beads here either hahahahah!well not yet at least...

Would there be any problem with Lock-Tighting the bolts so they don't back out?

The lockite would only be a problem if you did break a bolt, then it might be a bit harder to get the rest out... Just don't be lazy and tighten them every so often, or use those grade 12's!!:flipoff2:

Originally posted by pitter




whatch out they are illegal here in canada:flipoff2:

Really? Show me the law where it says that... :flipoff2: :flipoff2: