From: Vernon Tuck (vtuck@tucklings.com)
Date: Mon May 24 2004 - 07:51:51 PDT
Marc,
I think we're talking about the same thing but by a different name.
When I say "split rims" I am talking about "split rings" such as are used on
M37s and deuce rims.
A few months ago there was an in-depth discussion about these. I don't
think anybody would argue that they're not dangerous.
But if you're in the middle of nowhere and have to fix a flat there's
nothing better as far as I know.
This is only my unproven theory but I would argue they're more dangerous now
than they used to be for the following reasons:
Many of the people who knew how to properly seat them have died of old age.
Coming behind them are a couple of generations who don't even know what they
are.
For example: A couple of years ago, on ebay, I bought an '89 Dodge Cummins
short wheelbase one ton flatbed dually truck. I flew out to Colorado
Springs to drive it home. To my surprise it had a full deck of split rim
(split ring) wheels. I don't think it possibly could have come from the
factory that way.
While on the road, If I'd have needed to fix a flat I'd have HAD to do it
myself 'cause you can be sure most tire shops will not touch 'em anymore.
Once I got the truck home to Texas I replaced all of 'em with conventional
rims at a local shop. It just happened that the shop had some take-off rims
AND tires so I just bought the set.
I happened to see one of the workers, an 18 year old, airing up one of the
take-off tires and wheels, as a courtesy.
He didn't have a clue about the hazard because he'd never seen or even heard
of split rims (or rings if you prefer). I was very happy to be able to
gently educate him about this, explaining that OSHA mandates airing them up
inside a tire cage. I even provided a couple of horror stories to make sure
the lesson stuck with him.
I.e. ignorance of the danger substantially increases the danger.
VT
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.4 : Sat May 07 2005 - 20:30:00 PDT