Location: Scottsdale, Aridzona (24.251.160.88) | ENOUGH !
The 1000+ FMCs were sold with 17" split rims of the same type that is used in hundreds of thousands of US ARMY trucks. Have you ever heard of Army personnel getting killed, maimed, dismembered, crushed, crippled, hurt by exploding rims on their trucks ? We won WW II in Europe and the Pacific with the M-1 Garrand Rifle, the P-51 Mustang, and the deuce and a half ton 6 wheel drive US ARMY TRUCK with split ring rims. The US Army is not going to put up with a rim design that might kill you and certainly is not going to carry around some steel cage every place their Trucks operate. There is a wheel type of split rim that does require special procedures for changing and filling the tire with air . . . but the FMC 17" Stock Factory Rim AIN"T THAT DESIGN ! I have read every single entry on this FMC Web Site, and every single entry on the other FMC Yahoo Web Site . . . and not one FMC 17" Stock Rim has ever hurt anyone . . . which encompasses thousands of miles of FMC travel hither and yon.
Yes, 17" 8 ply radials with a suitable LOAD RATING are few to pick from. But there are tubes now made for Radial tires, and I assume the inner liner as well. The FMC Service Manual Section 8.3 shows pictures of changing the tire on a stock FMC 17" rim. Of course CAR/Pickup Truck tire shops won't have anything to do with those rims . . . but real TRUCK TIRE SHOPS have no issue with those rims. Perhaps if you are handy with tire spoons and a big tire hammer you can change tire, tube, liner yourself.
Certainly if 19.5" steel or aluminum wheels with the right 5 lug 8" bolt circle are available and you can afford a set . . . GET THEM. But understand the difference between HUB Centered and LUG Centered wheels and the different types of LUG NUTS and stud lengths that may be required. No one knows the source of the few FMCs that have 22.5" rims (6 lug ?, 10 lug ?) . . . or they ain't tellin', so do not expect those to suddenly appear, besides you would have to change the hub/drum/disc to match.
Understand the FMC is a 44 YEAR OLD vehicle . . . often called AN ANTIQUE . . . that with certain care and feeding . . . is still running around hither and yon . . . but you can't get a new one or pull into a Factory Service Center when you hear a squeak.
Roll ON ! Lou #120
Edited by hemi354az 2017-04-16 11:19 PM
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