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">
18 bolt Beadlocks
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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..
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..
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.
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27,537 Posts
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.
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.
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
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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.
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.
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138 Posts
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.
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.
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....
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....
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138 Posts
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.
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