Split Rings (again)

After reading enough posts on here, I’ve gone from being reminded of split rings, to having the beegeezus scared out of me (making a wide berth around my Deuce), to feeling that if they have not blown apart yet, they won’t (barring digging at the ring – i.e. Deuce roulette). I’d love to have some feedback on my understanding as this is definitely not my area of expertise and a wrong understanding could be the last one.

Suppositions:
1. If they are on there, have been for as long as I know, and the rings are not corroding excessively, misaligned or damaged, there is minimal danger of explosion.
2. Filling the tires from 15 psi to 50 psi should not create any explosive results.
3. Filling a flat tire, provided no damage to the ring was done and it was not driven on, should not create explosive results.
4. You do not have to act as if the tires/wheels contain nitro glycerin when removing the inflated tires/wheels from the truck (provided you do not abuse them and treat them as you would any other wheel assembly).

The knowledge base of this board, which has been extremely helpful so far, would be greatly appreciated.

Hoping my Deuce doesn't bite...too hard.
Bo

If the tire was flat and you were refilling it I would exercise the recommended caution... if the ring has moved at all do the same... The danger comes when mounting and dismounting them from the wheel... and or... filling a flat which has come unseated...

Otherwise they are not going to sneak up on you in the middle of the night or anything lol...

Just hearing one or two stories of the rim going boingoingoing into someones face is enough for me to stand back whenever dealing with the wheels/tires.

I bought a handy tire inflator from Griot's Garage that has a trigger and a length of hose that locks to the valve stem letting me fill or deflate at a distance.

I guess its always best to treat a firearm as if it is loaded.

These rims are really very dependable and safe when handled properly. As was mentioned in another reply, the danger time is when inflating a tire that has to bead up. As with all things, the bad press gets widely circulated while the millions of them daily running millions of miles are not mentioned. The military rims are better than some civilian ones I have changed because the ring has a longer flange on it that goes further under the tire bead to secure it. I have changed many of these both by hand and with a mount/demount machine with never a close call while following proper procedure.
Regards Marti

I will jump in with the 4th or 5th opinion. The military rims are 2 piece locking rims. The bad press was all directed toward mostly 2 pc split rims. There is a huge difference.

For our rims to hurt you, the entire bead of the tire needs to be about 1-1/2" toward the middle of the rim on the lock ring side. Anybody that has torn one down will tell you that it is not always easy to get them to move that far. Once the tire has been pushed in that far, the lock ring then has to be pried off. This normally takes a BFH and a pair of tire irons. Again, not the easiest thing in the world to get done on purpose.

The above is assuming the rim is in good condition and structurally sound. As pointed out already, treat them with respect. But don't live in fear of them. If you don't want to risk it yourself, take a rim to the nearest semi place and have them tear it down. Then you take the rim and ring outside and learn how it works. Once you do, I imagine that you will be alot more comfortable with them.

I like to let my local tire business deal with my tire/rims. They have the safety equipment, tools and experience needed to do these rims safely and easily. I know it costs dollars to have others do your work but it is so much easier and I hardly have a worry this way. It also gives me time to bs with them and talk Mv's or trucks. Free coffee too! Years ago, I had a summer job changing truck tires, I did about 3-10 per day for 3 months straight. I used to use 2 chains ,slide them under a box trailer(loaded with used tires) and inflated them with a 50' hose. I am happy to say every one of them went well. I did spend the time needed to clean and inspect every rim before mounting the tire or ring. I do remember discarding a few rims or rings because I did not like what I saw.(used rims are cheap!) Also I used to mark each ring position to the rim before dis-assembly I always tried to line up the slit exactly where it came off.(a ring will wear into the rim some) With all that said , be careful and don't do anything you are uncomfortable with. Eric

Thanks…I am very glad to know that I can get some sleep now. Of course, I was sleeping fine, it was my wife that was convinced that they would sneak in the house.

And I agree, they should be treated as loaded firearms…I just wanted to know when they were cocked. Going on (inflating) and coming off.

I figured that they were reasonably safe. Although the government leaves me to wonder at times…I doubt they would keep homicidal wheel rims.

And finally…yes, I intend to take them to a tire or truck shop (the next challenge, finding someone to work on them), I’ll plug an occasional tire, but most of the stuff I let the guys that do it all the time…and have the tools/equipment…do it for me. But I will take the advice and look at the disassembled assembly as well as watching as close as they will let me. I was afraid of working on brakes…before I did it several times…now it is not much of an issue…except I hate drum brakes. Thanks for all of the feedback.

This is how I got my 105 trailer from GL. This is one rim. Compaired to the other one it is not bad. The other rim had almost a foot of the lock ring not seated. The other wheel really scared me so I dismounted it, no pic but it was really scarry. The rings hold really well but this was way dangerous. When the tire seats it is almost impossable for the ring to come off. Don't be scared but do it right and be careful.

About 22 years worked at a crane rental yard we did all our own tire work 900x20 to 1400x20 tires best way to inflate tires Lock ring to the ground with a clamp on air chuck fill tire to about 30psi then let deflate. Letting tire on rim to seat and relax then back up to your tire pressure . Our tires ran about 90psi.Can safely say we had no lock rings fly off! Just be aware of what you are doing ! And keep a safe distance for any one around where you are working with these tires . OSO

My advice, to myself or anyone listening, is to always make sure the lock ring and it's groove are clean and free of rust so that the lock ring seats completely down in it. Also, a liberal amount of soapy water or tire lube is good to help the tire bead slide over the flange ring instead of trying to bulldoze it ahead, sometimes shoving the flange ring or lock ring out of position. All the lock rings I've worked with have a tab that sticks out and keeps the ring from seating if installed wrong side out. Once the tire is inflated, the flange ring holds the lock ring down in it's groove so that it can't ride up and out. Eyeball your wheels as part of your pre-drive check looking for loose or missing lug nuts, and cracked or missing sections of the lock ring. If that condition is found, I deflate the tire BEFORE jacking up the truck and changing out the tire; no way I gonna end up wearing that lock ring whilst wrestling with the lug wrench.
Like anything heavy and/or capable of bursts of high speed; just treat 'em with respect but don't be afraid of them.

I'd really recommend training on this type of wheel before you ever trust it. The loaded firearm thing is a good one. If there's questions, the answer should be carrying it to a seasoned pro (not the new kid at Walmart who doesn't know yet to refuse the tire). Having done it before is worth more than any amount of information.
However, for "light" tire repairs, such as re-inflating flats in split ring, or really any commercial sized tire, I really recommend making (or modifying) your own inflater gauge. Use a self locking coupler, three to five feet of hose to the gauge/valve assembly, or to a gauge and ball valve from the hardware store. If the wheel assembly is bolted to the truck, the rim isn't going far, and if the unspeakable should happen, air might (but probably not) come out the tread area but that'll just be a tear. The shrapnel and spare parts blow out from the sidewall side of the wheel. This longer inflator allows you to fully control the filling from a much safer position.

I agree with Barrman completely on this and will add some. These have a much larger/deeper lockring than the typical civvy/commercial lockrings that have the public scared walk around the vehicle. It's not just the groove, it's the entire ENTIRE tire's bead that keeps the ring from expanding to blow past the it's locking seat. Sure...be cautious, but know what you need to be cautious of and not just bulk group it in with the killer lockring decapitating menace of truckshops past. These, though they are still lockrings, ARE different and much much more safe. These had to be designed to take a real hard shot to that ring and not dislodge. The way to accomplish this is a much deeper bead seat on the lock ring.

There is a split rim explosion video clip in the steelsoldiers video gallery. See: "sniper vs tire", JimK