There is almost nothing worse than pulling
the bead off a tire while wheeling. It could range anywhere
from being a nasty inconvenience while in a mud hole, to very very
dangerous while being on a rock ledge and off camber. Popping
the bead in this situation could lead to a roll over.
Beadlocks are not new, they have been around for a while in the
racing and off-road communities. Allied Racing, who have also
been around a while decided to make their own version. I
obtained a set of Allied Racing Beadlocks and after using them
myself, I feel they are an outstanding product.
For those of you who have no idea, a beadlock wheel is one
that clamps at least one of the tire beads (these are the very
inner part of the sidewalls, where the tire meets the wheel)
between a pair of steel rings, one of which is usually welded to
the wheel. This is the case in about 95% of all beadlocks and
it works well. Clamping the bead of the tire to the wheel
keeps the tire from pulling off the bead and deflating, it also
keeps the wheel from spinning inside the tire. This really
comes into play when you air down your tires for better off-road
traction.
Allied's
Rock-A-Thon Beadlocks are very well built and can take
Tons of abuse (literally). Allied makes
both steel and aluminum beadlocks. All of their locking rings
are secured by 32 3/8" bolts per wheel. These bolts are Grade
8 and the ones I received are the new type and have captured
washers. The rings themselves have a unique feature, the
outer lip is rolled into a very tight ring. This helps to
keep the ring flat and the bolts flat to the ring to make the
clamping force stronger and more even. It gives a smooth
rounded edge at the point of contact with the tire. This will
help protect the tire's sidewall when at low air pressure and the
sidewall is squeezed in-between the wheel and whatever you're
driving on. Finally, it also helps to protect the bolt heads
from damage while rubbing against rocks.
The wheels themselves are available in several
styles in both steel and aluminum. I got
the steel black "Modular" style beadlocks for project
RocK5ready, they are 15"x10" with 3.5" of backspacing.
I also got some R.A.D (rapid air down) valve stems for my beadlocks
(Klune-V makes these). They are stainless steel
and work extremely well, they will air down tires faster than
removing the valve core. You simply remove the valve stem cap
and unscrew the knurled knob until the bleed holes are exposed,
careful now, they bleed air FAST! Speaking of valve
stems, on the Rock-A-Thon's the valve stem hole is
placed well to the inside of the wheel to protect it from damage
while you're wheeling. The fit and finish of the wheels were
flawless, I had no air leaks and all the wheels were
true.
Mounting the tires on the wheels is very easy, you
only need a few tools to install them. A 1/2 inch socket and
ratchet (or speed wrench), and a torque wrench. You will
become intimate with the torque wrench (more on this later
LOL). First you need to remove the bolts and separate the
clamping ring from the wheel. Next you install your choice of
valve stem. Lube the rear bead of the tire (dish soap works
well for this) and then drop it over the wheel. Center the
top bead on the top wheel flange. Place the beadlock clamping
ring onto the top tire bead and install 4 bolts at the 12, 6,3 and
9 o'clock positions of the ring. The instructions say to
tighten these by hand 3 or 4 turns. The tires I used had a
very thick bead and it was not possible to start the bolts at
all. My solution to this was to get four 1" longer bolts and
use these to pull the ring down to its initial starting
point. As soon as I had the bead centered, I installed 4 of
the original bolts and after removing the longer ones installed the
rest of the included bolts.
Once you have
all the bolts installed and just snugged down you can start the
torquing process. You will need to bring the ultimate torque
of the bolts to anywhere in between 12 to 15 foot pounds. I
set mine at 13 foot pounds as a compromise. Now this is the
time you will get intimate with your torque wrench, because not
only do you have to torque each bolt to the desired torque, but you
have to do this in steps, you can't just go all the way to the
final torque the first go around. I did mine in three
steps. Five, ten and then finally 13 foot pounds of
torque. You also need to torque the bolts in a pattern.
Start with the 12 o'clock, then go to the 6 o'clock, then 9
o'clock, and finally 3 o'clock. Move one bolt clockwise from
the 12 o'clock bolt and then one bolt clockwise from the 6 o'clock
bolt. Following this pattern, tighten all the bolts. On
your final torque, you will have to go around the wheels several
times until all the bolts are set at the torque you decide
on. Now after you drive them for 10 to 15 miles do this
again. You will need to keep a check on the torque
periodically to make sure all bolts stay set at the proper
torque.
After all the
tires were mounted and torqued down, it was time to hit a local
trail and see how they performed. On a previous run at this
location I had pulled a bead off of my left rear wheel and had to
secure the K-5 with a winch and high lift jack to re-inflate the
tire. On this trip it was a different story. I aired
down to 8 p.s.i. and had no problems what so ever. I was able
to climb the ledge that denied me with the popped bead the first
time. I also put the K-5 on several rocks and turned the
wheels from side to side to try and pop a bead. Last I put
the K-5 on an off camber ledge with quite a bit of it's weight
(which is a little over 6000 lbs.) pulling on the sidewalls of the
tire and all the beads held. I am very impressed with
the Allied Rock-A-Thons and would highly recommend
them to anyone looking for a good quality set of beadlocks.
To make a set of these fine Allied
Rock-A-Thon Beadlocks your very own, take a look at their
distributors and make and order from them. Allied Rock-A-Thon Distributors.
Thanks for reading and hope to see you on the
trails... Glenn
Any questions or comments
regarding this article.
Please feel free to
email me at depdog@off-road.com
Any
questions or comments about this product please contact Allied at
the link below
Grade 8 bolts with captured washers are nice Click for full size image |
How it looked right out of the box. 32 bolts Click for full size image |
Back side of clamping ring Click for full size image |
Side shot of clamping ring Click for full size image |
Rolled edge of clamping ring Click for full size image |
Clamping ring on wheel side shot Click for full size image |
Deep offset valve stem hole Click for full size image |
Standard valve stem installed Click for full size image |
R.A.D. valve stem installed Click for full size image |
R.A.D valve stems Click for full size image |
Two different R.A.D. valve stem hole grommets Click for full size image |
The wheel goes between the grommets Click for full size image |
12 air holes that let the R.A.D. valve stem bleed air so fast Click for full size image |
Collar in bleed position on valve stem Click for full size image |
Included instruction sheet Click for full size image |
Wheel ready for tire installation Click for full size image |
Wheel on rim, ready for installation of clamping ring Click for full size image |
Clamping ring with four starter bolts at 12,3,6, and 9 o'clock Click for full size image |
Torquing the bolts (all 32! of 'em) Click for full size image |
Tire mounted and ready to roll Click for full size image |
Just starting to wrap on the rock Click for full size image |
Twisting sidewall on the rock Click for full size image |
Rear tire under side load Click for full size image |
Inside front tire under side load Click for full size image |
Wet tire climbing ledge Click for full size image |
Rear tire under extreme flex Click for full size image |
 |
Off-Road.com Newsletter Join our Weekly Newsletter to get the latest off-road news, reviews, events, and alerts! |
Follow @Off-Road
Your Privacy Choices