RvFNG76 wrote:
Anyone got a good source for finding new rims and also is it normal to have the back 4 rims one style then thr front two a different style????
Junkyards, salvage yards, etc. I've been trying to find a source for suitable new rims for over a decade, without any luck unless I'm willing to pay hundreds of dollars per rim.
Yes, big/little wheels does occur sometimes, usually with hotrodders and less frequently with trucks. I'm going to have to go to that on MLP. 16" dual wheel rims on the rear and OEM 17.5" rims on the front. The 17.5" rims are necessary due to the large dual-piston Kelsey-Hayes calipers on the RM350 front axle. (Rear is a standard Dana 70 axle.)
On first impression, this would appear to mean two spares, especially in Alaska. I plan to carry a spare 17.5" tire only. 16" tires are readily available so it shouldn't take more than a day to get replacement, wherever I'm likely to go in Alaska. 17.5" tires are extremely rare, special order only, in Canada and the Lower 48 as well as Alaska. (This all assumes I don't damage a rim ... risk versus weight, space, and other considerations.)
The one exception, in terms of where I might go in Alaska, is the Dalton Highway, also known as the North Slope Haul Road. (You've seen the Dalton Highway if you've watched "Ice Road Truckers" and similar Alaska shows.)
I don't plan on ever traveling the Dalton Highway and would only do so with extensive preparations. (There's a great many other places in Alaska with equal, better, or similar scenery.) There is virtually no repair services along the 414 mile length of the Dalton highway. Just getting repair parts usually takes at least three days and sometimes a week or more. Getting a tow truck takes as long and costs hundreds or thousands of dollars.
Add the fact most of the highway is unpaved, with stretches best described as primitive. So, the Dalton Highway is best described as an
extreme tourist excursion, only to be done with careful preparation.
