Are truck/trailer rims a weak link?

[Fstmvrerik]

After reading a lot of information in regard to weights and towing on this forum I was crawling around my F350 srw looking at weight ratings for the various components on my truck. I have 3750 per tire, and 3640 per rim (both aftermarket). My heaviest scale ticket shows 6120 on my drive axle, which is under the 7280 weight rating of my rims: when you think about the pounding that happens driving down the road, how often does the weight exceed the rating of the rims?

I have broken several rear rims and 1 front rim over my lifetime, but I have chalked them up to when I de-bead tires, or rock strikes doing stupid stuff driving to places probably above the trucks paygrade.

Now wondering if highway travel and heavy trailers could be part of the problem. How frequently do rims fail?

[memtb]

This was a fear of mine, and we took a few short trips knowing that we were overloaded on the rear tires/rims. With retirement near, providing more and longer travels.....we upgraded to 19.5” tires/rims. we’re now rated well above anything that the tires/rims will ever see. That modification also allowed us to go with a more narrow tire, which works better for us when traveling on ice/snow or off-road use! If running unloaded, the truck is a little “squirrelly”, but when loaded.....”rock steady”! memtb

[LITEPHIL]

From what I've seen, most 1/2 tons come with cast aluminium wheels and the 3/4 ton and up have forged wheels. There should be no issues with the forged wheels and of course the steel wheels just bend before failing.

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

wing_zealot wrote:

twodownzero wrote:
There's plenty of stuff I spend time worrying about. This isn't it. The wheels are much stronger than the tires around them.

That's exactly what I was thinking also, but the OP has already broken 3 (or more). That is beyond an anomaly.

I don't normally rock crawl when I tow my trailer!

Aluminum is a poor material when it comes to using it in extreme conditions for rims. Magneesium is even worse.

[Grit_dog]

Yeah rims can be the weak link, just like tires driveline, whatever.
No unless you’re extremely unlucky or horse whippin your rig, it’s not normal to break rims. Steel or aluminum.

[Fstmvrerik]

I work doing traveling construction, dragging our office/tool trailer with me. Usually weight is just under 24k, which is our max tagged weight. I average about 95k miles a year, 2 or 3 sets of tires on average.

On vacation a large percentage of destinations wind up on logging or fire roads. Mostly kayaking, hiking and a little climbing. So my tires and wheels see a lot of bad surfaces.

[1320Fastback]

The shiny rims on my trailer say Made in China and 55psi Max although I put metal valve stems on them when I mounted the goodyears last week. Luckily 55psi works for my gross.

[JIMNLIN]

Fstmvrerik wrote:
After reading a lot of information in regard to weights and towing on this forum I was crawling around my F350 srw looking at weight ratings for the various components on my truck. I have 3750 per tire, and 3640 per rim (both aftermarket). My heaviest scale ticket shows 6120 on my drive axle, which is under the 7280 weight rating of my rims: when you think about the pounding that happens driving down the road, how often does the weight exceed the rating of the rims?

I have broken several rear rims and 1 front rim over my lifetime, but I have chalked them up to when I de-bead tires, or rock strikes doing stupid stuff driving to places probably above the trucks paygrade.

Now wondering if highway travel and heavy trailers could be part of the problem. How frequently do rims fail?

RV folks don't travel much vs those that make a living on the road so they see/have little experience with wheel issues.
This question is a fairly common issue on haulers forums I frequent. Some haulers may put 80k-100k miles a year on their trucks and trailers so they see more and are subjected to more issues with wheels (steel or aluminum).
When I hauled I ran only steel wheels on my trucks and trailers. I've had busted out centers/cracked valleys and split bead seats from over wheel pressure ratings.

JMO but most rv folks carry weight inside their trucks GVWR numbers....other rv folks seem to understand how to safely carry weight determined by their trucks rawr numbers. So overloading a wheel isn't a big issue on rv websites.

[patperry2766]

Method Racing Wheels makes a 17" & 18" rim rated at 4500 lbs each.
Method 305 NV HD

[pitch]

wing_zealot wrote:

twodownzero wrote:
There's plenty of stuff I spend time worrying about. This isn't it. The wheels are much stronger than the tires around them.

That's exactly what I was thinking also, but the OP has already broken 3 (or more). That is beyond an anomaly.

Some folks can destroy an anvil with a rubber mallet!

[wing_zealot]

twodownzero wrote:
There's plenty of stuff I spend time worrying about. This isn't it. The wheels are much stronger than the tires around them.

That's exactly what I was thinking also, but the OP has already broken 3 (or more). That is beyond an anomaly.

[Grit_dog]

twodownzero wrote:
There's plenty of stuff I spend time worrying about. This isn't it. The wheels are much stronger than the tires around them.

Good to see ya back!
And an unexpected response from the chief of the weight police!
Have you been enlightened?

[twodownzero]

There's plenty of stuff I spend time worrying about. This isn't it. The wheels are much stronger than the tires around them.

[ferndaleflyer]

I have been driving about 65 years and have cracked 1 aluminum wheel and it was on my Mercedes years ago. Trailers, DP, Cs, Bs, all kinds of cars and trucks rode hard and put away wet----1 wheel hit a deep pot hole!!!

[BenK]

Agree...Dick Cepek taught that with my first purchase from him. Wanted alloy wheels for the dune buggy and called him (he used to advertise in the back of one of the off readers magazines

Then for the 1973 K5 Blazer, ordered the delete back to min stock tires and wheels...drove down there as a breaking and new tires/wheels. He remembered me and we talked about alloys again. Decided on steel after all of his cautionary points described me.

Alloys crack when they struck boulders at slow, crawling speeds. Steel will bend and hammer it back with a ball peen hammer.

Old-Biscuit wrote:
Other than some serious off-road/rock climbing I have never broken a rim, truck or trailer

Have bent one rock crawling when I slip down but didn't break the tire bead

But then I don't run aluminum rims.....steel only