The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts Taking Rh-5s off the vehicle - safely?

I have a 1968 C50 with, what I believe to be, the Firestone rh-5 widow maker wheels (the two halves of the wheels come together in the middle).

I'd like to take these wheels off to service the brakes but after reading all the warnings out there about these wheels, I thought I should ask how to do it safety.

Can I simply jack up the truck and take the lugs off? Should I chain the wheel together if it were to separate/explode?

Thanks for the advice

I believe the only concern is when inflating them after mounting or repair. Just taking on and off the vehicle shouldn’t be a concern. If you are concerned. Chain wrapped around the wheel in several places should ease your mind.🛠

If the wheels have been run for a while, no problem. Once the wheel sections are firmly locked together they're as safe as any other wheel. Wear, rust, and/or any other damage to the very narrow locking area is what makes these wheels so dangerous, as they are prone to separate explosively while the tires are being inflated. One precaution that should be observed on any multi-piece wheel- - - - -if the tire pressure is more than a few pounds low, don't try to add air. Never, ever try to air up one that's gone flat. The pressure on the bead rings is what keeps everything locked together and even a good condition wheel can separate if it's re-pressurized after the locking parts get out of alignment.
Jerry

Thanks guys.

I've been very cautious with these wheels.

After driving the truck home, I did air up one tire already from 35 psi to 40 psi. But before doing so, I chained the wheel together, had a screw on inflator hose to remotely inflate away from the tire, and wore my motorcycle helmet if anything were to fly off.

Perhaps its a little redundant but better safe than sorry. I will be taking the same precautions until I can find tubeless wheels.

Are your wheels 6-lug? If so, find a junk yard with old school bus' and start looking.

We had a BIG truck junk yard 1-1/2 hours north of me that had a HUGH wheel pile in the early 2000's and when the scrap price went sky high around 2006 they all went to China...sad day for us collectors.

Mike B

Those tires are almost flat if you're running pressures in the 40's. Check the sidewalls- - - -they should specify 80-100 PSI or so. 40 is barely enough to keep the wheel sections locked together securely.
Jerry

Hotrod Lincoln, tires say 80 psi max. Guess I could bump them up a bit

Use the safety chain and chicken hose method, and hide behind something sturdy before attempting to raise the pressure. You have no idea what condition those locking lips are in. The rule of thumb we always used for adding pressure to an inflated tire was NOT to do it if the pressure was 10% or more low (8 PSI on those 80 pound tires). The safe way would be to deflate, disassemble, clean and inspect the mating surfaces, and then decide whether or not to re-inflate or scrap the rims. The tricky part would be finding a tire shop willing to do that if you don't have the tools and/or experience to do it yourself.

The force exerted by the sidewalls on that locking lip is measured in the tens of TONS- - - -the name "widowmaker" was not conferred lightly on that design of wheel.
Jerry

As a side note the DOT outlawed those rims decades ago, so most if not all tire shops won't touch them for insurance reasons.

The TV show "60 Minutes" did a story on them years ago and they put a failed tire/rim under a VW Bug and when it failed it lifted the Bug 10' in the air!

Be Safe!

Mike B

Some info on multi piece wheels here
https://www.kentool.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/3421-wheel-chart-booklet.pdf

https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/945/1103/289438/

I'm no expert (and we have some here) but there is difference in split-rim and split-ring wheels. Ag shops in my part of the world work on split-ring wheels all the time. I have the original wheels for my '51, 3600 which have the split retaining ring safely stored away. The only reason I changed to newer wheels is concern that while traveling, a shop with only younger employees would think the truck had split rim wheels and refuse to fix a flat. Most folks these days make that mistake.

The guy who used to supply my truck shop with tires came out second best in an encounter with a RH-5 wheel. There was nothing left from the eyebrows up and his right arm was gone at the elbow. He had a closed-casket funeral. He refused to use a safety cage and his bad habits finally caught up to him.
Jerry

Have two tire shops near me that do the two piece and lock ring wheels that bring any questionable ones in for sandblasting the locking areas. Exposes any pitting or damage. Both have cages for the tire/wheel when airing them up and the tubing of the cages have quite a few battle scars. If the latching area of the split wheel is clean and if the lock ring will lay tight against a flat surface there is little danger. The lock ring will have a little coil to it but if stepping on the ends flattens it all is good. A large percentage of older farm and construction equipment use these wheels so check in a rural area for a shop to work on them.

Evan what you say is true for the majority of multi piece wheels out there.
You’re not speaking of the Firestone RH5 design I hope? Even in reasonably good shape it can be difficult to be sure they stay together.

My 1959 3800 had a set of 18" tube type tires with some really spooky sectional rims. One bead was a full circle ring with a couple of relieved areas that had to be pried over the main wheel assembly, bending it pretty severely in the process. Then it could be driven sideways with a hammer to remove it. Reinstallation was a reverse of the removal procedure. The ring had to be centered perfectly during inflation so it could lock into place. Even a little wear or damage to that ring made the wheel worthless and/or dangerous.
Jerry