New tire mount process

[47 1.5 ton]

Finally found some new 7.50 x 20”  tires and picked them up today. What are some suggestions for coating the inner rim and split ring? I was going to use rustoluem on the rims and baby powder the flap & tube, 3-36 on the rings when mounting. Not sure if I’ll need to ether for setting the bead on these since I have tubes?
 

 I figure there are old school tire guys on here that may have better suggestions? I have (6) to do and don’t what any re-works. Have some 30t straps that I am planning to wrap. Also have log chains but thought the straps could be adjusted better for safety. 
 
As always—thank you, Kevin 

[Ivan_B]

Are your rims actually rusty on the inside? Mine were pretty clean (original paint, too), so I just washed them and that's it. The tubeless tires use soapy water for mounting. Since we have tubes, I just used the good old tire talc powder. Both on the tube and inside the tire (spread it around with a piece of cloth, etc). Do not use organic baby powder for automotive tires 🤣

You don't have to worry about setting the bead, etc. Your biggest concern should be how to not pinch the tube in between the tire and the rim. Also, make sure that you have the correct-size tubes. One of my old tubes had a fold in it. When I put the tires on, I inflated them to around 10 psi, just to hold shape, and then pushed around the sidewall, on both sides, to make sure that the tube was nicely seated in the middle of the rim.

Edited April 20 by Ivan_B

[9 foot box]

   I like aluminum paint, it dries without any buildup. Check the inside of the tires for any tags, that could eventually rub a pin hole in the tube. I wiped the inside of the tires and the tubes with corn starch with a cloth. It doesn’t need a lot. I paint the bead of tire with rubber lube, so the bead slides easily on the wheel as it sets, you can put the lube on the wheel seat to ensure a soft seating of the bead. The flap doesn’t need any lube. Set the opening of the lock ring opposite the valve stem. I have a special hammer/mallet with a duck bill on the other side. I use the rubber part to tap the lock ring into place as I fill the tire slowly by adjusting the pressure on my regulator. This assumes that your rings are clean and no cracks, they have been painted and the notch in the wheel where they lock is perfectly clean. I’ve trashed wheels and rings that had been beaten with metal hammers. The lock ring ends should be almost touching when done correctly. Any questions, ask, it is a risky job even if you’ve done it before. These are 16” wheels, but the same design as the 20” wheels that I have. Once the bead is set and the lock ring is secured properly, I let the air out and refill with the valve core installed to eliminate any tube wrinkles. After you get it to pressure, you can bend the valve stem for access when the wheels are on the truck. If there is anything you don’t understand, ask. Rick D.

[kencombs]

Most of us don't have a cage to use when airing lock ring wheel/tire combos.    I'm one of those without.   Haven't done one in a while but when dealing with them , I put the wheel on backward, ring toward the inside before airing to higher pressures.   Seat ring first with just a few psi in the tube.  Might not be possible on all axle/frame/wheel combos but works on some.

RuGlyde on the beads, corn starch in tire and on tube.

Dad used to wrap a chain around the tire and thru all the wheel holes to retain all the pieces 'just in case'.   Never seemed particularly safe to me.   A local tire shop operator in my home town was killed by one of the two piece widow-makers when I was a little kid.   Hearing the description in adult conversation made me very cautious my whole life.

 

[47 1.5 ton]

1st— I want to thank all three of you for your suggestions. 
 

 I have no idea at this time what the rims look like as the still have tires mounted prior to myself, I am concerned however that there will be a considerable amount of break fluid trapped due to leaking wheel cylinders that have been replaced but that is another topic.                                                        Another concern I have is that I bought the correct tubes— had a choice of offset or centered valve stem. I bought the centered for 5/16” stems but looking at Rick’s beautiful pictures, those are clearly offset. I do see they are 6 bolt wheels so fingers crossed.

 I noted in his post that there may be special tools required that I need to look at before causing any damage with a sledge and large, steel, flat screw drivers.

 Points well mentioned about preventing wrinkles and rub areas.

 I am very interested in any safety measures or best practices used- did not think about feeding through holes before.    Not as sharp now as before my stroke so I need to write everything down and walk though task with a checklist. Have checked with local shops and they will not mount these anymore due to liability concerns. Last tire I mounted was a rear tractor tire and was not easy.

  Thank you for the responses! Kevin

[Dave72dt]

If your local shops won't do split rings anymore, maybe they still have their old cage stashed somewhere that they'd be happy to get rid of.

[9 foot box]

   I have a couple 20” wheels. They are the narrow style. You wouldn’t have to feed the stem into a center hole. The assembled  tire, tube and flap should drop straight in. My previous pictures are one ton 16” wheels. The flap covers the gap in the slot for the valve stem in a larger wheel. I’ve seen metal reinforced valve stems, maybe that’s what you need. I use this hammer to assist the lock ring to seat properly. A rawhide, dead blow or rubber mallet would probably work, just don’t use a metal hammer. When you dismount your old tires, you need to break the bottom and top bead, to be able to get the tire and lock ring off. That’s the hard part because the bead is rusted to the wheel. That’s why the rubber lube is important, not soap and water. It makes repairs a lot easier also. There is a slot on the lock ring to insert a flat bar to get it above the flange, I use another flat bar and tap it around the circumference to remove the ring. It prevents distortion of the ring. I’ve seen people pull the ring off after releasing it, but it stretches the ring. You can see that this wheel needs bead blasting or knotted wire wheel cleaning and my preferred aluminum paint. You got a long way to go, till new tires. Get though the front wheels okay, you got it figured out. Your wheels are probably cleaner than the flat tire I took off this wheel. Rick D.

[47 1.5 ton]

A lot of information to process. I am trying to understand your point of not stretching the ring during removal and prevention.

 I have a spare truck that I may pull a wheel and use as my proof first piece. I kind of figured this task could use a little experience and patience before jumping into it. 
  I didn’t ask about cages but would think they have scrapped them if not in use. I will ask though.

 Thank you, Kevin 

[Los_Control]

Going to steal some photo's from the internet ..... You need to break the tire away from the wheel. .... here soap and water helps.

 

Then as 9' box says, there is a notch in the ring.

That notch is there exactly for removing the ring from the wheel. .... you just get it started and work it loose. First you want to smack it around a little bit to get it loose.

Rust forms and wants to stick to the rim .... you do not want to damage the ring though. .... If the tire is loose & the ring is loose .... ring comes off easily.

 

Just remember, the ring is a spring of sorts. And we can see the lip on the spring as it is being pulled out of the wheel.

If that lip is damaged in anyway from rust or bent ..... You do never put it back together.

Because the ring is a sort of spring. when you lay it flat on concrete .... it may not lay flat. If there is any damage or bends to the ring .... it is junk.

 

If you take apart a wheel and it looks like this ......

I would never put back together a wheel that looks like this. The wheel may be just fine, it needs to be sandblasted and inspected thoroughly before deciding.

Your carefully inspected lock ring needs to mount to the wheel ..... If the wheel is heavily rusted .... you might lose your head.

Nobody should mount a tire on that wheel in it's present condition ..... unless you a farmer, they play by a different set of rules.

 

There is a bit of a process to remove the tires from your old wheels, not really difficult though. .... I say get them dismounted and show pics of what you have.

Then we can move forward.

 

I suspect any full service truck stop that takes care of 18 wheelers can change the tires ..... because of current condition they just do not want to waste time on them .... welcome to classic vehicles where we do the work so they do not have to. ...... Bring them fully restored wheels and they will be happy to take your $$

[JBNeal]

additional information - split lock ring tire installation

[47 1.5 ton]

Reading through this information, appears it will be more than a day involved. Guess I’ll get (2) dismounted and validate conformity first and try not to damage anything.

 

thanks folks for the in-site!