Are beadlock wheels a necessity or just expensive truck bling? On this episode, Matt walks us through some of the benefits and drawbacks of beadlock wheels to help you decide if they’re the right wheels to run on your rig.

First it’s best to understand exactly what a beadlock wheel is and how it works. Beadlock wheels have a separate ring on the outer face of the wheel that is held on with hardware. The tire is placed over the drum of the wheel, and the ring is then set on top of the bead of the tire. Once the bolts that hold the ring to the drum are tightened, the tire bead is sandwiched between the ring and the drum, preventing the tire from debeading if there is a sudden loss of pressure or if the tire is being stretched over from running on low pressure.

Since beadlock wheels typically benefit those who run very low pressure in their tires, it’s a popular option for those who primarily drive on rock crawling trails where the tires are aired down below 15 psi. They’re also beneficial for off-road racing applications, and on vehicles that drive through wet or snowy terrain, preventing the wheel from spinning within the tire.

But those benefits come with drawbacks as well. For starters, beadlock wheels are incredibly difficult to install. A set of 5 wheels could take all day to mount. Not to mention, they are not DOT legal for street use, which means most tire shops have policies against installing beadlock wheels. Additionally, beadlock wheels require more maintenance than regular wheels to ensure the ring hardware is always properly torqued down, preventing leaks and potential catastrophic failure. Lastly, beadlock wheels are typically more expensive than standard wheels.

So are beadlock wheels worth the hype? That depends on what you’ll be doing with your rig. If you primarily off-road your vehicle, towing to and from the trail, and don’t mind doing the work yourself, beadlock wheels could be a game changer for your rig. If you do mostly street driving with some off-roading, and rarely ever air down below 15 psi, a traditional non-beadlock wheel will do the job just fine.

0:00 | Are Beadlock Wheels Worth the Hype?
0:58 | How do Beadlock Wheels Work?
3:09 | Benefits of Beadlock Wheels
4:44 | Reasons to Not Run Beadlocks
6:39 | Are Beadlock Wheels Better?

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