How to safely change split ring/rim wheels

[Oz]

It would be greatly appreciated if any of you know or can come up with links to info and/or videos of the procedure and share them.  I've started a new topic to post it on.


Please feel free to comment with any and all advice, cautions, and recommendations as well!


   

[Elandan2]

Here is a link to a publication with pictures describing both split ring and split rim wheels and how to service them safely.


https://www.osha.gov/Publications/wheel/wheel-chart-booklet.pdf


Rick

[DRMousseau]

WoW!!! This is something I sorta wish didn't exist. BUT, some folks DO HAVE these on their RVs,... and some don't know it, others do and may know little about them. And it's kinda like a child with a sharp knife!!!

The inherent nature of split-ring rims, like a sharpe knife, poses a unique hazard that many might not be aware of, or know how to properly handle... until someone is seriously injured!! Daddy said I should never allow a sharp knive to leave my hand, unless the the edge was sheathed and protected from injury to others,.... split-ring ring rims should be handled with the SAME consideration! And Dad taught me a few rules for them too! The why isn't so immediatly important,..... as long you abide by "The Rules".

NEVER add air pressure, if you can see the split-ring!!!!
This is important because the split-ring of most FRONT wheels usually faces outward and are fully exposed! I use a 10' extention air hose I carry with me, that can be secured to valve stem and allows me to stand in front of the vehicle, or far to the side away from wheel assembly before adding air!

NEVER add air pressure to a "loose" or "free" split-ring rim assembly!!!
Such wheel assemblies should mounted on a vehicle or otherwise secured and/or restrained by safety cages or heavy chain before adding air pressure. Use an extention air hose of adaquite length to add air pressure from a position of safety.

NEVER hit or strike inflated wheel assemblies!!!!
Handle "loose" or "free" assemblies under pressure with care and caution! Never bounce or allow wheel assemblies to drop or fall over. Split-rim wheel assemblies WERE NOT designed or intended to be loosely handled under full working pressure!!!! Storing inflated spare wheel assemblies poses a hazard. Inflated wheel assemblies should be relieved of all air pressure, before servicing/removing from vehicle.

AND NEVER attempt to remove lock-ring from assembly without removing valve stem core and and insuring air stem is clear and tire is fully deflated!!

Split-ring rims were designed to allow tire repair/replacement by anyone with proper hand-tools and minimal skills. But without an understanding or awareness of their inherent dangers and hazards one can be seriously injured and many have even lost their life. Sometimes, when doing nothing more than adjusting tire pressures before a family journey!!!

Tires on such rims often have TWICE the air pressure than those mounted on common and safer one piece rims found on everyday automobiles!!! It is TWICE as important to be extra safe when handling split-ring rims and wheels.

[MotorPro]

In a safety cage.....other wise do not mess with them.....I have seen the ring go through a cinder block wall

[FastGlassman69]

Saw a guy lose the better part of his arm at a truckstop in
Florida when I was a kid, don't know what ever happened with him! And have seen tire guys filling them while having one foot inside the rim while they filled them, idiots! I never changed one of them on my trucks till I got trucks with tubeless tires! Bobby

[DRMousseau]

Safety cages are a "recent, modern, OSHA safety requirement" for these rims,... and with good reason! But safe practices BEFORE OSHA, required the common sense of safe handling that even OSHA still overlooks today.

Handling these loose tire/rim assemblies when fully inflated IS HAZARDOUS!!! If a tire is bounced or falls over carelessly, the Split Retaining Ring MAY be dangerously dislodged!!! Proper use of a Safety Cage DOES NOT PREVENT THIS HAZARD!!!

Rear Dual Assemblies have the Split-rings facing each other when mounted and installed on the vehicle. With all lugnuts secured, then and ONLY THEN, should these assemblies be brought to full inflation pressure! This practice prevents the handling of loose fully inflated wheel assemblies, and retains the assembly when inflating. It had been a common safety practice to securely mount front assemblies (or any assembly in which the retaining ring is exposed and unrestrained), securely on the vehicle WITH a heavy, suitable retaining chain laced thru the rim and around tire and retaining ring/rim assembly, in addition to all lugnuts, before fully inflating tire/tube of front wheel assemblies. Again, preventing the handling of loose, fully inflated assemblies.

AT ALL TIMES,... these assemblies should be brought to full inflation pressures from a safe distance using an air-line of suitable length to provide you a safe position away from assemblies while inflating. This is now also an OSHA requirement.

I cringe at the sight of a fully inflated Split-ring "Spare". Often carried mounted on the back of an RV, or worse yet,... on the roof where it must be brought to the ground in some manner I KNOW is unsafe!!! I also shudder with a sickening uneasiness when I see others adjusting tire pressure on these while standing directly in front of them!!!  For this reason, I DO HAVE and carry ONLY a spare mounted and fully inflated, on a ONE-PIECE RIM!!! These are the only safe assemblies that can be handled when fully inflated. There IS a reason that commercial trucks carry spares, chained in a retaining rack UNDER the trailer or tractor!

If you don't know how or why you should handle a sharp knife safely,... then they should be kept safely out of your reach! The same applies to Split-retaining Ring assemblies! Safety Cages promote a false sense of personal safety that is often negated by careless handling AFTER removing fully inflated assemblies from them!!!


If trained professionals are mounting my tires and rim assemblies together and installing them on my vehicle under OSHA rules and regulations,... so be it! I will personally, continue to rely on safe procedures established long before OSHA and before most tire professionals were born. It's nice being old enough to retire!

[Rickf1985]

I have been reading this and the other similar post for a while now and I was not going to say anything but the ways the split ring wheels are being portrayed is that they WILL kill you if you look at them sideways! This is simply not true. Yes, I have seen some gruesome accidents including a father and son death with one wheel explosion when I was in the emergency squad. The key thing here is paying attention to what you are doing. The ring locks into a groove in the wheel and is held there by the bead of the tire. Once the tire is partially inflated and the bead is over the ring and the ring is correctly seated in the groove then at that point the tire is safe. Fully pressurizing the tire is completely safe but should be done in a cage to be sure. While still in the cage after inflating you can visually see if the ring is seated, if it is then it is not coming out. Unless the groove was worn or the ring was worn, both of which should have been checked before even assembling. Once that bead is seated over the installed ring it cannot come out of the groove. If it could then every time a truck hit a pot hole the wheel would fly apart, it just does not happen. These can be done at home using common sense if you have the tools and knowledge. Wrap a chain around the assembly, ring side up and use a regulated air hose the holds by the thread grooves. You can push it on and angle it and it stays there and to take it off you can flip the hose from a distance if need be and it pops off. I had to do many of these when I worked for a heavy towing service. I never had a ring let go. They only did that for one of two reasons, worn rings or wheels which should be seen right away or the ring was not fully seated in the groove which is the total fault of the person doing the job. The ring does not just fall into to place, you have to hammer it in with a soft, heavy hammer. Again, correct tools and knowledge.

[Oz]

There is a complete tech article on changing tires on split rim wheels in the Member Area - Mechanics 101 section.  Last one on the list on the right side.