Assembly required

[Stu Olson]

Just like the title says..... :D

Been waiting for a while for these....finally saved enough nickels and dimes.

http://www.stu-offroad.com/bumper/beadlock/beadlock-1.htm

http://www.stu-offroad.com/bumper/beadlock/beadlock-2.jpg

[lancetkenyon]

Great writeup Stu, read the whole thing, and gets me to thinking............hmmm, maybe? Can you PM me a price for the rings and the tig welding job?

[DesertRat]

Those look great! Almost to nice to wheel in...well almost :rolleyes:

[SHNIPE]

Hey Stu... where did you get tires locally?? Decent price?

[Phx Cobra]

Pretty Cool. Let us know how the tires hold up and grip after wheeling them for a while, they look like decent, and Maxxis is known for strong sidewalls.

[SHNIPE]

sidewalls on trepador radials is 3 ply... sound familiar?

[Stu Olson]

Great writeup Stu, read the whole thing, and gets me to thinking............hmmm, maybe? Can you PM me a price for the rings and the tig welding job?
I could but it was no cheaper than if I had Champion Wheel convert them. Check out their web site for ring prices and conversion costs.

I had these built locally so as to avoid shipping them to someplace else....and the $$ went to a local guy here in the valley rather than going out of state. If you want Danny Foddrill's number, I'm sure I have it on a piece of paper. I believe his company is listed in the book as Foddrill Fabrication. (the on-line yellow pages probably has it too)

[Stu Olson]

Hey Stu... where did you get tires locally?? Decent price?I bought the tires at Troys shop. They were cheaper than MT/Rs from the Discount Tire down the road.

[Stu Olson]

sidewalls on trepador radials is 3 ply... sound familiar?
The question, IMO, is whether or not these 3 plies are heavier duty than the MT/R's three plies.

Most folks that wheel in this part of the country usually agree that the sidewalls on a BFG MT aren't as durable as that found on an MT/R. Am I correct in saying that BFG MTs have 3 ply sidewalls?

[Wayco]

I bought the tires at Troys shop. They were cheaper than MT/Rs from the Discount Tire down the road.

:eek: :cool: Really like the looks of that setup, Stu. Keep us posted on how they work. I'm planning on upgrading this summer, was thinking 17" Walker Evans BL's, but haven't decided on tires yet....

[katvans]

Stu

I know nothing about directional tires, actually very little about tires in general, so, can you tell me what you do when you have to use your spare on the wrong side?? Change it back as soon as you can?? Does it hurt the tire any to drive it in the wrong direction?? Or is it just that the traction is less?? :confused:

[YGOHOME]

I've heard that people alot of times prefer to mount directional tires backwards where the treads contact patch looks like this...

front
^
^
^
rear


instead of the manufacturers recommended direction of...

front
V
V
V
rear


by mounting the tires "backwards" it supposedly is a similar affect to "swimming" and you get better traction especially in rocky gravel terrain. Not as good for driving on the road in the rain obviously because instead of pushing the water outwards, mounting tires backwards would draw the water into the center of the contact patch.

in theory it works... not sure if youve seen flexyxj's TJ with the competition claws mounted backwards... definately seems to work for him.

[SHNIPE]

like mini paddle tires :D

[Moonrocks]

BL 1st on my wish list.
walker evans if the $ is there. was check'n the PSC wheels...look nice but $$...
Stu nice write up...Danny Foddrill is he in the book?

[Jdemonto@Airpark Jeep Sales]

Nice write up!!! Beadlocks are in my future...someday;)

Jason

[1toughxj]

I've got the exact same setup from Champion and they are excellent. No leaks at all and they have held up well to the abuse of the rocks.

[Stu Olson]

BL 1st on my wish list.
walker evans if the $ is there. was check'n the PSC wheels...look nice but $$...
Stu nice write up...Danny Foddrill is he in the book?
He is in the on-line yellow pages for sure.


http://www.yellowpages.com/sp/moreinfo/index.jsp?id=65036513&q=Foddrill%20Fabrication

[Stu Olson]

Stu

I know nothing about directional tires, actually very little about tires in general, so, can you tell me what you do when you have to use your spare on the wrong side?? Change it back as soon as you can?? Does it hurt the tire any to drive it in the wrong direction?? Or is it just that the traction is less?? :confused:
Well, I'm a noob on directional tires as well....these are my first set.

I usually kill the driver's side tire....so I mounted the spare for it.

I wouldn't hesitate to drive home with the tire going "backwards" if it happened on the other side. If that happens, I'll figure out what I'm going to do then.

The way I see it, if I kill a passenger side tire, I'll replace it, put the spare back on the carrier, and just keep going.

[Stu Olson]

Just an update.....

I returned early Sunday from the Desert Run event in Lake Havasu. The Sidewinder 4x4 club really put on a nice event.

Troy and I ran Copperhead on Friday. It gets your attention pretty quick with a rather large waterfall that serves as a gate keeper. There is no bypass around the falls. As with most photos, they tend to flatten the landscape and make things look easier than they are. This is 30' climb from the bottom. At the time the photo was taken, I had two tires on the ground and one winch cable hookup.

Anyway, I wanted to say that the Trepador tires worked very well for the two days I was on the trail. Both trails were not all that uncommon with what we see for rocks in the Table Mesa area. Having ran 35" MT/Rs for more than six years, I pretty much know what ledges and obstacles I am going to make and which ones will give me trouble. I am happy to say that I was wrong quite a few times this weekend......I made a lot of the "going to be trouble" ledges and obstacles without issue. We also went to another waterfall (just because it was there) and even though my portly TJ tips the scales more than most, I climbed notably further to the top before running out the winch cable. :)

I was a bit skeptical as to how well the Trepadors would work since they were brand new and only had about 400 road miles on them. I aired down to 8 PSI which gave me very nice sidewall flex. The new beadlocks worked great. Not a single tire fart the entire trip! And it was very nice to make the three hour drive home with tires that were just as well balanced as they were when I left Phoenix two days prior. ;)

I'm loving every mile of trail with these new tires and wheels! :D

Here is a photo of the waterfall on Copperhead.


http://www.stu-offroad.com/recovery/winchline/winchline-1.jpg

[BRUZR]

Just an update.....

I returned early Sunday from the Desert Run event in Lake Havasu. The Sidewinder 4x4 club really put on a nice event.

Troy and I ran Copperhead on Friday. It gets your attention pretty quick with a rather large waterfall that serves as a gate keeper. There is no bypass around the falls. As with most photos, they tend to flatten the landscape and make things look easier than they are. This is 30' climb from the bottom. At the time the photo was taken, I had two tires on the ground and one winch cable hookup.

Anyway, I wanted to say that the Trepador tires worked very well for the two days I was on the trail. Both trails were not all that uncommon with what we see for rocks in the Table Mesa area. Having ran 35" MT/Rs for more than six years, I pretty much know what ledges and obstacles I am going to make and which ones will give me trouble. I am happy to say that I was wrong quite a few times this weekend......I made a lot of the "going to be trouble" ledges and obstacles without issue. We also went to another waterfall (just because it was there) and even though my portly TJ tips the scales more than most, I climbed notably further to the top before running out the winch cable. :)

I was a bit skeptical as to how well the Trepadors would work since they were brand new and only had about 400 road miles on them. I aired down to 8 PSI which gave me very nice sidewall flex. The new beadlocks worked great. Not a single tire fart the entire trip! And it was very nice to make the three hour drive home with tires that were just as well balanced as they were when I left Phoenix two days prior. ;)

I'm loving every mile of trail with these new tires and wheels! :D

Here is a photo of the waterfall on Copperhead.


http://www.stu-offroad.com/recovery/winchline/winchline-1.jpg

I've seen this trail firsthand and can attest to its gnarliness :D !!!

When this trail first came to be and only a handful knew of it, it was known as Rubicon Falls, but Copperhead fits the "Snake" motif better. Even though I've not seen a Copperhead since leaving South Carolina...

[Allen]

Some serious air there Stu! Good shot!

[JPCooler]

http://www.stu-offroad.com/recovery/winchline/winchline-1.jpg

That is a great picture !

I've read some good things about those tires.

[BRUZR]

Did you notice his right rear tire all folded up?:eek:

[Stu Olson]

That is a great picture !

I've read some good things about those tires.
Thanks....and one other thing....my 1/2 size JP cooler was along for the ride in the back of the TJ. Held in place by one buggy cord, it survived vertical assault on the waterfall! (and I didn't spill a drop either!)

[Stu Olson]

Did you notice his right rear tire all folded up?:eek:
I would speculate that about 90% of the vehicle's weight was on that tire. The driver's front was against the wall....and the winch was pulling the vehicle forward to keep traction on that tire.....but that passenger rear Trepador saw most of it for sure.