This rim issue has become a big deal for me, and it appears that a number of others are in the same boat. My 4400's wheels are so rusted that they absolutely have to be replaced, whether they are 'widow makers' or not.
I actually got a quote on tires for my 3800. They said $143 for each tires and $27 for each tube, but they won't mount them. Let's see, $180 per tire/tube, times 7 gives us $1260 for tires for a truck that I paid $775 for.
New 19.5 wheels for the 3800 seem to cost a little more than $200 each. Seven wheels means $1400 before S&H and I still wouldn't have any tires.
My wife has lost hope, but I have not. I've read, in this thread, about places that will practically pay you to haul off nearly new wheels, with nearly new tires already mounted. I also understand that the only way to find places like that is to 'look for them'. Grigg, and several others, have mentioned the problems with trying to do this by telephone, and I suspect that results would be even worse if you send them a letter. If you use the internet to find a place that will distribute your requirement to several salvage yards, you will probably get several responses that say they have exactly what you need, whether it is a left handed framistat, or a truck wheel, but there's never any price or details, just a phone number. So you make the call and you get the same result as you would if you had called without sending the e-mail.
Next, think about why this whole problem exists. Not very many people try to keep old trucks on the road. We're kind of like 1 percenters. Even fewer people try to keep Big Bolts running. If there were thousands of Big Bolters around, things might get easier.
Basically, I haven't given up. I hope I can say the same thing next week, and next year, because I believe that I will be a lesser person if I give up, on anything, ever.
My favorite quotes about situations like this are:
1. If it was easy, anyone could do it.
2. If it is easy, it probably isn't worth doing.
