Beadlocks: are they legal?

BUCKETOBOLTS

BUCKETOBOLTS

Member
Joined
May 4, 2005
Location
Faith, NC
I thought I'd stir the pot a little. I happened upon this subject on the ClassicBroncos.com site. It seems there is no cut and dry answer to the question. One guy posted a section of the Utah state inspection the had an addendum at the bottom that said spacifically that beadlock wouldn't pass inspection. The same section listed wheel spacers illegal, then in the next sentece said wheel adaptors are legal. And after digging in the state statutes noone can find where the wheels are "illegal" for highway use. I'm glad I don't live in Utah! I've found no such information in the NC laws stating what wheels are legal and not.
 
I used to be an inspector myself. I personally wouldn't hassal anyone over them. Besides in 2 more years my '72 won't even have to be safety inspected anymore. :D
 
the way i understand it to be:
all wheels have to be d.o.t. approved and therefore stamped with a # on the wheel. most beadlocks are not dot approved but there are some. dennis vaders sells hutchinson beadlock wheels for a fair price and they are very nice and very legal. as for checking them for dmv annual inspection, no they wont be checked, but you can bet your sweet ass that the unfriendly dmv officer on the highway can still write you a ticket for havin' them. remember the state inspection is for safety and emmisions of the vehicle, not legality. i too am a licensed inspector and have had the same conversation with a dmv cop about my beadlocks.
if you choose to run them on the road keep them tightened up.
 
Well my Allied's have a sticker on them that say "FOR OFFROAD USE ONLY" but I drive my rig alot on the road and havent had a problem yet *knock on wood*. Most cops would just see them as "street locks" if they even knew what they were.
 
farmboy said:
Well my Allied's have a sticker on them that say "FOR OFFROAD USE ONLY" but I drive my rig alot on the road and havent had a problem yet *knock on wood*. Most cops would just see them as "street locks" if they even knew what they were.
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I believe that to be true in most cases. Most city and county cops could care less about your rims. Its the black and silver car with the "Motor Carrier" enforcement on the side that you have to worry about.
 
True. Its probabally left up to the inspector's discretion. I once did a SOA on a YJ and removed the rear trac bar thingy whatever and an inspector failed the vehicle's inspection. But, took it down the road about a mile and got it inspected w/no hassles. The inspector that passed the vehicle even laughed about the other one who failed it and called him a dumbass, etc. LOL. anyway, I wouldn't worry about it. I mean, how big is the fine/etc. and how worried are the Motor Carrier cops gonna be when they have other bigger fish to fry?

Rob
 
they' re not illegal. dot is not a law making body. just because they don't approve something, doesn't make it illegal. how many other parts are on a vehicle, from the factory, that aren't dot approved? i have yet to see anywhere a written law stating beadlocks are illegal, or that anything not dot approved is illegal.
 
RufusTheRam said:
they' re not illegal. dot is not a law making body. just because they don't approve something, doesn't make it illegal. how many other parts are on a vehicle, from the factory, that aren't dot approved?
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Umm, zero. Let me qualify this as: zero parts that the DOT has mandated guidelines about. Everywhere you look, there are indicators to show that the parts are certified by the manufacturer of that part, to follow the guidelines set forth by DOT.

i have yet to see anywhere a written law stating beadlocks are illegal, or that anything not dot approved is illegal.
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It just falls under the blanket "If it's not in this list as good, then it's bad" wording that is usually in the beginning of any paragraph of any law written...

But honestly, who cares. Especially now with the streetlocks.. Just be a good boy and keep tabs on the torque of the bolts.
 
DOT certification only means that somoene/company has verified or tested that thier product(s) meet those guildlines or requirments, very similer to a helmet rating.

A product might very well meet the requierement. But with out product verification etc. you are now left proving the product was safe for your application.

This is as simple as Grade 5 grade 8 markings vs ungraded hardware.

FWIW: my H1 rims are clear stamped DOT approved. But im sure my rewelding the center plates voids that :)
 
Anyone been hassled for running Beadlocks?

My friend was stopped last Saturday in his 2500 Ram on HWY 52 just north of Norwood. They were hualing his dads tractor, four wheeler, and seed to plant on their hunting clubs land. Seems he just swapped tages when he bought the truck last summer. Since it was a half ton the tag was only for like 6k lbs. The "Motor Carrier" officer put him on scales, double checked his trailer registation and tag, and even sampled his fuel. The officer didn't ticket him for the 70mph in a 55mph, but did give him a ticket for being 7k over weight for his tag. Moral is that if he had not been hauling @ss in a hurry he would have never been stopped. By him speeding just opened the door for a fine.
 
FWIW -

Last fall I took the time to actually pick up the phone and CALL DOT/DMV and the Hwy Patrol and ASK about bead locks.

The ultra short version was:

DMV doesn't really care about our light vehicles. We don't fall into the commercial GVW area they bother with.

Hwy Patrol has better things to worry about and the Major I spoke to said he "couldn't imagine one of my officers writing a ticket for them" - He continued to say he couldn't really figure out what if any ticket they COULD write even if they wanted to.

BUT - IMO if they are looking for an any-excuse-will do reason to pull you, they probably could us them. But - "Didn't look like he had on a seat belt" or crossed the yellow line, or bla bla could be used too.

And if you are ever in an accident, the lawyers will go after ANY thing they can. Which could include pretty much ANY non factory mods you have. Beadlocks would only be one of them.
 
They could pull you for anything they wanted, but choose not to, usually. The license plate holder/trim piece that you can get (usually from the dealer w/their name on it) is actually illegal and is a reason to pull you over. Reason? It covers parts of the tag. Stupid? Probabally. But its one more thing they "could" get you for, same as bead locks. Like someone said before, they have bigger problems to mess with.

I doubt any law enforcement officer would be able to tell if you had bead locks on your rig as you're doing 55mph down the road.


Rob
 
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