I have used recentered hummer beadlocks on the street.  I want to say they are the only street legal version unless a company came up with one.

 

Yea I would check out the laws cause as far as I know, beadlocks are illegal in VA... no matter what kind.

 

I believe one of the 4x4 rags had an article about this, for the most part there were very few laws in any states banning beadlocks.  there are very few if any beadlock wheels that are DOT approved

 

I assume the military hummer beadlocks are dot approved since they use them on the freeways and highways, but I could be wrong.

 

Prolly not if someplace has altered/recentered them though.....

Frank

 

cops wouldn't know the difference

 

HMMWV dual beadlock rims are DOT approved and all I have seen do have a DOT stamp. Modification by recentering obviously does away with this but like Sam said, few will be able to tell. Hutchinson ( http://www.hutchinsoninc.com/ ) also make DOT approved beadlock rims but you will pay out the nose for them.

http://www.hutchinsoninc.com/pdf/Beadlock.pdf

Also, I can find no law in the Virginia Code that outlaws or even mentions beadlock wheels.

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+TOC

 

Ahhh yes, I was thinkin DOT rated not "against the law". My screw up.

 

It's a common mistake to make.  Even the cops around here make it.  A few have told people that their rig won't pass inspection or that their rig is illegal due to the beadlock rims but there is nothing prohibting them specifically.  I was told one person got a ticket for them and went to court and was fined for improper equipment because he argued that there was nothing wrong with them but I can't verify that myself.  It's one of those grey areas that you can sometimes get by with and other times they are out to get you.  It all depends on the cop and the judge.

 

Please don't take this the wrong way, but I wish people would stop casually throwing around terms such as "street legal" "DOT approved" and "illegal" w/o atleast providing some reference and making sure the info is correct, not 3rd had info.

We need to find this info and dispel or prove these and other myths including the damn heim joint myth.

Same non sense used to happen with clear tail lights during inspection.

 

Please don't take this the wrong way, but I wish people would stop casually throwing around terms such as "street legal" "DOT approved" and "illegal" w/o atleast providing some reference and making sure the info is correct, not 3rd had info.

We need to find this info and dispel or prove these and other myths including the damn heim joint myth.

Same non sense used to happen with clear tail lights during inspection.

The issues come from "back in the day", when street racers used to use sheet metal screws to keep the tires from spinning on the rims, and called them "beadlocks". Many states did have laws against them. I know pa dropped a lot of the miscellaneous little stuff was dropped in the 80's when they rewrote the vehicle code.

Now pa, still has some ambiguity in the law. Sheetmetal screws I think would fall under this excerpt from the Pa. code.
(b) Tire conditions. The tires shall not bear a marking or condition which may render the tire unsafe for highway use. But the next mechanic might not feel that the screws would render the tires "unsafe".

I have never heard of any laws prohibiting The newer style beadlocks, or the hummer style.

But I could assure anyone that if they had a set of non DOT approved, or "Off Road use only" rims, and they were involved in an accident caused by the rims, (Even remotely) they may be facing some serious legal issues.

 

I assume the military hummer beadlocks are dot approved since they use them on the freeways and highways, but I could be wrong.

The military does not fall under the DOT. Remember, the Hummer, and the old M151 Jeep, and many other military vehicles do not meet dot requirements, and cannot be sold to civilians.

 

For the record, HMMWV beadlocks do have the DOT stamp on the outer ring:

 

For the record, HMMWV beadlocks do have the DOT stamp on the outer ring:

And for the record, the military does not care. Its just as easy that a U.S. vehicle could end up with a rim made by another NATO country.

When we came back from Desert Storm, we had tires and rims from all over the world, and we ran them until they were worn out.

 

The military does not fall under the DOT. Remember, the Hummer, and the old M151 Jeep, and many other military vehicles do not meet dot requirements, and cannot be sold to civilians.

Anybody with a few thousand dollars can buy their very own M998 (or used to), used to see a lot for sale, not so much anymore. Seen em for as little as $5,000.

I know about those kind of beadlocks, remember seeing the adds. Actually i think they still sell them. Basically a steel template with drill holes placed over the rim. You drill through rim AND tire and thread in the screws to keep drag slicks from spinning on the rim.

None the less, i want to see a law stating multi piece rims are illegal, or what specifically defines a "bead lock"