# Where could I get custom wheels built?



## Alan (Mar 2, 2000)

Does anybody know of a company who builds custom wheels? I'm not talking fancy looks custom here, what I want is a 19.5" rim that will bolt up to a standard 8 hole lug pattern and have the right center hole to work on Chevy axles. I need to gain tire load capacity, as there is nothing in 16" that will do what I want.


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## wyldman (Jan 18, 2001)

I've been searching for the same thing.Here is what I have found so far.

Try rickson truck,they do a lot of than stuff.The web address is www.ricksontruck.com.They should have them,in stock,just be prepared to pay $$$.

There is also a guy on the east coast that will build custom one off wheels,just don't have the link handy.I will see if I can dig it up.

You may also want to check out some local tire shops.There were a bunch of 19.5" wheels they used to make to fit on older chevy's.I know my tire guy got a set for his 79,but he says they are discontinued.You may be able to track some down.they were manufactured by Palmar,or Palmer,something like that.I think they were originally made to replace some of the single 19.5" wheels found on a limited run of UPS trucks.

There are also adapters available but I wouldn't recommend them.I also have links to them,just not handy,let me know if you want them too.


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## wyldman (Jan 18, 2001)

The place that makes them custom,any size you wish is called Stockton wheel.They will build anything.Call them,they are very helpful.Here is the website.

http://www.stocktonwheel.com/

Some of the other people I spoke to were Rim-X,which I believe is a division of Accuride.They will do limited production runs,and may have,or will have soon,what you are looking for.Call them and see.They don't have a website.Here is the phone number (780) 444-8899.Ask for Al,he is the tech\R&D guy who knows all the stuff.

That's all I have for now.I have kinda put the project on hold as I may just find a few donor F550's,to swap complete axles and wheels into my trucks.

I will ask my tire guy on Monday if he can look into tracking down a few more like he got for his older Chevy.


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## Joey D (Jan 6, 2002)

Alan, What are you in need of tires and wheels like that for?
Like Wyldman said Stockton wheel will make what you want.


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## Alan (Mar 2, 2000)

Joey,

As it is now I can't load my vee box full, as I go way over the capacity of my present tires (245/75R16 E). Springs are easy to upgrade to hold the load but the tires get squirrely and the truck feels like it's on a cheap drunk. I can gain a little by going to 265 Es but not much.

However, if I could jump to 245/70R19.5 I can get way up over 4,000 lbs per tire, which would do just fine. Tire rolling radius will be greater but not very much and with the lower profile there is less sidewall flex. 

This would do fine on my K3500 SRW and will also be the way I'll go on the custom plow rig I'm trying to build.


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## Joey D (Jan 6, 2002)

Alan, I thought there was a load range F tire available for 16 inch wheels. A friend of mine owns a tire wholesale co. so I will ask him. 
I can't remember which years it was available but some of the Grumman vans had 8 lug 19.5's for wheels. 

Whats the custom plow rig going to be made from?


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## wyldman (Jan 18, 2001)

I just remebered,Alcoa is coming out with a new line of 19.5" wheels to fit 3/4 and one ton pickups.I know they have newer Dodge applications in SRW.I have seen the prototypes at the SEMA show.Don't know for sure what they will have in Chevy apps,but it wouldn't hurt to drop them a line to see what they have upcomming.

You can see what they have to offer now at www.alcoawheels.com


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## wyldman (Jan 18, 2001)

I am also build a few custom plow rigs for next season,including the plows.I'd be quite interested in hearing,or seeing about any plans for your upcoming project.I have always been quite impressed with your trucks.

I think those Grumman wheels were the ones made by Palmar like I mentioned above.As far as I know they are obsolete,but it wouldn't hurt to check around.


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## Chuck Smith (Dec 30, 1999)

I just did a quick search and found them here. About $137.00 each. Only one photo seems to load, and it shows 10 lugs. They list 4 different ones, so I assume some are 8 lug? Might have to give them a call. THe wheels are 19.5 X 6", steel.

http://www.wheels-and-rims.com/cgi-...el_id=1765&sid=8LpJDk0lMJm-0jj-33103621194.da

~Chuck


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## John DiMartino (Jan 22, 2000)

Chuck, I am guessing none are 8 lug,sine it is a non stock application,and it would need to be custom.Being such i would expect the price to be higher on such a wheel.If they are 8 lug,and can be ordered for SRW trucks,then im getting a set. Alan I taked to 2 guys wh o have Dodges with 19.5's,they say the truck handles like a sports car,words to describe it were like its on rails.


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## JohnnyU (Nov 21, 2002)

I would say that those are just generic pictures. If you look at the description of the application, it says *"89 CHEVROLET CHEVY PICKUP"* . Whether or not they are infact 10 bolt, I cannot say. However, I have not seen too many 10 bolt 'pickups'. Thats my take on that, perhaps they just use one image to display a basic idea of what the wheel looks like? Or maybe they call the 'low pro' type trucks pickups?  Only one way to find out.

-John


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## wyldman (Jan 18, 2001)

Looks like they may be factory replacements for the OEM 10 bolt wheel on the HD series maybe ?

If they are available in 8 bolt i'd be interested as well in getting a set at that price.


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## Alan (Mar 2, 2000)

I wrote to Stockton Wheel last evening and already got a response. It comes down to anything is doable if you throw enough money at it. They're talking $255 a wheel, so I think I'll explore the other places now.

Thanks for all the input!

I just checked wheels and rims.com and those are dually wheels. I am going (trying to) this route so I can stay on single wheels. Running duals would have the outside rears always treading snow. Duals would make this whole thing really easy as I could stay with 16" rubber and still have the load capacity I'm shooting for.


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## Pelican (Nov 16, 2001)

Alan,

I checked the tires on my equipment trailer today, they're Goodyear Unisteel 235/85/16 LTs "G" rated. They'll take 3750 lbs per tire if that helps.


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## Arc Burn (Oct 21, 2002)

What kind of tread can you get on that model tire Pelican?I'm assuming he wants someting with good traction besides just the extra capacity?Trailer tires are not usually that aggresive.

BTW,Pelican,just wasn't Mark Martins day was it ,sorry,just thought I'd throw that in!


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## Pelican (Nov 16, 2001)

Thanks for the reminder, Arc Burn! 

Roush definitely has a problem to correct.

This tire is an LT tire, not trailer. It says it's an all season tread, I've seen them on UPS trucks. It's probably available with other tread designs too. It's not the most aggressive tread I've seen, but with weight on it, it ought to do OK.


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## Alan (Mar 2, 2000)

*Wheel trivia*

I ran across some interesting trivia that connected with my search for a wheelwright. The following information is from "Endless Tracks in the Woods" by James Young and Jerry Budy. The book is a pictorial history of logging, with much emphasis on events leading to the development of "track laying tractors" and how it all impacted timber harvesting.

The Holt family had one of the first successful tracked tractors. When an onlooker commented that "It moves like a caterpillar", Holt used (and copyrighted) that name for his early machines. Later Holt was bought out by and merged with the Best Company and became the Caterpillar Tractor Company.

OK,, so I rambled, here's the part that I set out to relate.

In 1863, Charles Holt moved from Boston the San Francisco, where he established the Holt Co., which was in the business of importing lumber to manufacture wagons. In 1870 two bothers joined in partnership with him and it became Holt Brothers and opened a wheel factory in Concord, NH.

Wagon wheels made in the humid conditions of the Northeast did not do well when used in the dry air of the western deserts. The Holt Company found that San Francisco was not good for wheel making either, for the same reasons and in 1883 Holt Brothers opened a wheel shop in Stockton, CA. Yet another brother joined the firm at that time and moved to California to run the wheel shop which was known as the Stockton Wheel Company.

Apparently it has been a successful venture as it's still there after 120 years. I wonder if there are any Holts still involved in the business. And I'll bet they don't have much problem with wood wheels shrinking and loosening up now.


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## Arc Burn (Oct 21, 2002)

So let me get this straight......You decided to use custom wooden wheels? ,Just kiddin,interesting story.


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## Chuck Smith (Dec 30, 1999)

Alan,

Going back to a replacement tire, you might want to call Galaxy Tire. I checked on thier site, and they really don't show any custom wheels, but they do make wheels, and they have a large selection of tires. I know thier pricing is good from past experience. Maybe if you give them a call, they can get a tire with the load range you want.

Galaxy 
Tel. (781)321-3910 
www.galaxytire.com

Incidentally, they have great prices on skid loader, tractor, loader, and trailer tires and wheels too.

~Chuck


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## TLS (Jan 31, 2000)

What is the capacity of your rear axle?
6-7000lbs? or so?
I would much rather run a tire a bit heavy then an axle. You get too rigid a tire and the whole truck will suffer harder jolts from weights it wasn't meant to carry.

My Michelin 265-75/16's are load range E for 3415 lbs single.

How are you going to stop this truck when fully loaded?

What is your anticipate GVW going to be?

We want details!


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## Alan (Mar 2, 2000)

> _Originally posted by TLS _
> *What is the capacity of your rear axle?
> 6-7000lbs? or so?
> I would much rather run a tire a bit heavy then an axle. You get too rigid a tire and the whole truck will suffer harder jolts from weights it wasn't meant to carry.
> ...


In the order of your questions:

Currently I have no idea just what the rear is rated for. This is a 14 bolt semi-floater, so I know it's not the best I can get. If I can find a 14 full floater that has the ABS sensors and is 3.73 I'll swap it in in a heartbeat.

I'm looking at it just the opposite. The axle has some designed in overbuild. The axle rating isn't just the axle, it's a combo of axle/tires/springs. That happens to be 6,000 lbs in this case, almost exactly what the tires are rated for. With the vee box loaded with salt I am very close to that weight as well. The problem is when I load with sand I get another 1,000 lbs, most of it on the rear. It's not loaded to that level for very long, after the first stop I'm ok again. But at that load the tires are showing they are not happy, and the truck just feels squirrely.

That would be all the upgrade I need. I'm not really crazy about having to go wider but it may be worth a try

Same as I do now, push on the left pedal. Not trying to be smart but brakes don't seem to have any problems.

On the 3500 I'm looking at 11K loaded. I know I'll probably get all sort of warning about being over design GVW and liability, etc. Frankly, I don't care. I don't feel particularly unsafe or dangerous. Trips are not all that long and usually not in really heavy traffic, plus the high load isn't a constant condition.

When I build the decicated plow truck it will eventually get a dual wheel axle, even if I only run the inside wheel on the rear. That one will also get loaded heavier and I'm not ruling out running duals on the back. But a duallie axle will get me bigger brakes as well as a high rating. I'm hoping to design that truck around axles that will get me to 11K minimum.

Originally I'll build it with a 14 semi-floater rear and 10 bolt front. I already have those axles and they will do to prove the concept. I have found a pair of axles I will be negotiating on, a Dana 70 DRW rear and a 70 front out of an ex military truck.


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