new wheels for the 41'

[41/53dodges]

Has anybody successfully swapped newer model 22.5 wheels onto their large truck? the 1.5T could use some new wheels, and normal daytons and 10 luggers are plentiful and fit the bill, just need adapters. I was going to make some round adapters to the 10x11.25 pattern, but the hole in the middle interferes with the stock bolt pattern!

[MBF]

There was a guy that had a cabover 56 Ford on ebay with adapters that he had made converting the 5 hole 20's to 10 hole 22.5 Budd rims. It didn't look that good, you could see the adapters and lugs through the ventholes in the rims. 10-20's are getting expensive, and if you've got the old 3 pc widow makers vs the locking ring type you've got to find some type of alternative. I've seen some drop center 20's w 5 lugs at some truck shows, but then you've got to make sure that the center portion of the rim will clear the rear drums on the inside duals. Same problem exists for the 16" Budds on the 1 tons. Mike

[41/53dodges]

well, I could remove the old studs from the hub and put studs through the adapter with nuts on the inside to bolt ot the hub, then have studs facing out for the new wheel. It's not meant for looks, mainly functionality and replacability. my current rims look like this and scare the hell outa me every time i have to fill em'

[41/53dodges]

has anybody else tried to do this or am i on my own here?

[Todd B]

I can't tell you the difference but when I rebuilt my semi and camper the tire guy looked at my rims (8.25x20) and some were widow makers and some were fine. We looked at my bone yard trucks and found enough good ones. I sand blasted & painted them. I believe there are safe wheels for these trucks. I just don't know the difference. (they say the first thing to go is your memory)

Todd B

[Dave72dt]

The one in that picture is a spit ring and are relatively safe. The "widowmaker" rim did not have a detachable ring on the outside. Those literally had 2 piece rims and came apart in the center. There are/were some others that I wouldn't use either like the solid ring that was pulled over the wheel edge much like a tubeless tire is pulled over the bead. That ring would often have cracks or be mishapen from removal. There was a 2 piece lock ring style also. Solid ring went on first follwed by a split ring. As you aired up the tire, the solid ring was supposed to go oer the outside of the split ring, capturing it so it couldn't come out of the rim groove. None are as safe as the tubeless rims.

I have a trailer that originally had 17" 5 hole Budd. I ended up removing the center from them and standard 16" tubelss pickup rims and welding the Budd centers into the 16" rims. Made for an economical swap as the 10 ply off my daily would fit on and have a higher load rating than the passenger, high priced 17" did. Might be a solution that would work on the larger trucks as well.

[41/53dodges]

huh. I do have the original rotted out rims off the truck, the centers are OK, why couldnt I weld the centers into a newer model rim? great idea. I am still going to research using 22.5 budd wheels for availability of tires.

[Jerry Roberts]

Where I live there is a shop that specializes in this type of work . Perhaps there is a place near where you live .

[ggdad1951]

huh. I do have the original rotted out rims off the truck, the centers are OK, why couldnt I weld the centers into a newer model rim? great idea. I am still going to research using 22.5 budd wheels for availability of tires.

good luck. When I was doing my first foray into this concept for my 16" rims, the closest I could come to haveing a standard hoop to fit my centeres was 0.125" on diameter to small to have the centerers fit in.

[Dave72dt]

He's dealing with 20" rims on a 1.5 ton truck. Whole new ballgame from the pickup issues. 22.5 rims would be a deep drop center so still have to deal with offsets, drum clearance. May not work but just a suggestion of something to try.

[ggdad1951]

He's dealing with 20" rims on a 1.5 ton truck. Whole new ballgame from the pickup issues. 22.5 rims would be a deep drop center so still have to deal with offsets, drum clearance. May not work but just a suggestion of something to try.

lucky guy then! I beat my head against the wall for 4 months!

[4852dodge]

Try the Accuride wheel web site. They have listings for wheels by hub, lug and diameter. They also show the specs for most, you should be able to find what you are looking for and maybe what they were used on.

[41/53dodges]

haven't tried accuride yet, firewall doesn't like that site or something:mad:

I did on the other hand head down to the local boneyard and do some measuring. turns out that daytons would be too difficult to be worth it, as I would have to replace the whole hubs, which would be a pain to find some that fit original axles. The 22.5 budd semi wheels are indeed too far offset and would require too many modifications to work properly, and would most likely wobble. I think it will be safer to clean up and paint the old rims, replace the rotted ones, and just buy new tires. the tires would need to be removed to weld rims anyways! anybody know where to get 20" tires for a decent price? I think some NDT's would look nice...

[MBF]

Try Universal Tire's website. Another source is a scrapper that handles big trucks. Sometimes they get stuff in with the size you're looking for and want to get rid of them so that they don't have to pay a disposal fee. Just as an FYI, the 5 hole Budds were used on Fords and IH's up through the early 60's. Mike

[41/53dodges]

Try Universal Tire's website. Another source is a scrapper that handles big trucks. Sometimes they get stuff in with the size you're looking for and want to get rid of them so that they don't have to pay a disposal fee. Just as an FYI, the 5 hole Budds were used on Fords and IH's up through the early 60's. Mike

werent some of the fords the infamous widow makers?

[MBF]

The locking ring style are fine. I've run tubed radials on them on a tractor trailer w/o a problem. I found 6 of the 5 hole rims (locking ring) w good usable tires for about $125 several years ago. They're out there, ya just gotta find them. Inspect each rim carefully-make sure that the centers aren't rust jacked from the hoops near the rivets. Check that the face of the locking ring and the groove aren't badly rusted or damaged and that the locking ring is squarely seated. People confuse the widow makers with the locking ring style. If you do find some of the 22.5 drop centers in your bolt pattern, make sure that the hoop will fit over your drums and not have such a deep offset that it contacts the rear springs. Mike

Edited January 20, 2012 by MBFowler
correct ypo

[Merle Coggins]

Try Universal Tire's website. Another source is a scrapper that handles big trucks. Sometimes they get stuff in with the size you're looking for and want to get rid of them so that they don't have to pay a disposal fee. Just as an FYI, the 5 hole Budds were used on Fords and IH's up through the early 60's. Mike

That's a good Idea. Check with Hribar up in Sturtevant. (94 & 20)

[41/53dodges]

hmm, there is also erickson truck parts up that way too...

[Dodgeb4ya]

werent some of the fords the infamous widow makers?

Yes they were and here's a picture of those three piece rims called a RH5 rim.

The outer and inner section of the rim snap into that center 3" wide ring. The problem is it's hard to see and seat the outer rim sections to the center piece. A poor design for sure!