Alaska bush wheel alternative, shaved UTV tires and beadlocks?

Westward_Flyer

Westward_Flyer

Well-known member
Hey all!

I came across a company called STOL Wheelz (stolwheelz.com) and figured I’d share since weight and cost savings are always worth investigating in my opinion.

Basic idea: instead of the usual Alaskan bushwheels, they CNC machine a billet aluminum hub that bolts to the axle and runs a 4x110 bolt pattern — same as a lot of UTV wheels. So you end up on actual UTV/side-by-side wheels and tires (Sandcraft dune tires shaved for weight 31”-35”) instead of traditional bush tires. They’re claiming ~25 lbs saved per set versus a conventional 35” bushwheel setup, plus real cost savings since UTV tires are cheap to replace compared to $3K bushwheels.

Weight savings with the bead lock wheels are a little less, but this seems to satisfy the low pressure, tubeless/valve stem issue with bushwheel alternatives.

They have some interesting brake options too, I’d be interested to know what you guys think about their Brembo package, which is automotive/UTV-derived compared to Beringer.

The company is small, it all started out of an experimental Super Cub project in MN.

Anyone run something like this, or a similar UTV-wheel hub setup? Curious about axle loads, brake compatibility or anything else worth checking before considering this for a model 5.

Of note I’ll be starting a bearhawk 5 build in 2-3 years and am based in Alaska, hope to fly it all over the back country near gross much of the time.
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I ran into these a while ago. My first thought was they seem like an option worth considering. I worry about the unknowns such as, how many landings would you get from them? My UTV tires at home are rugged but how would they hold up if I cut off 100% of the tread? What’s the torque rating on the wheel? Can it handle the high energy demands of an aviation setup? My Polaris doesn’t weight anything near 3,000 pounds and I’m not slamming on the breaks doing 50 in it either. They are about $900 for a set of replacements vs $5,000 for ABW’s which seems like a bargain. I’ve thought about it prior to this post and came to the conclusion that I didn’t want to be the guinea pig running an unknown wheel and tire setup. I also didn’t want to be locked into only running large tires or being subject to trying to create my on polished tires if something happened to the manufacturer. I wouldn’t look down on anyone who thought to give it a try though. Seems intriguing.
 
There are several companies selling the adapters. Definietly doable for a Patrol or Companian. Not sure about the 4 or 5 but I am interested.
 
Shane Madson with Mad Custom Cubs here in Alberta puts out something like that. Has the rims turned down at a machine shop and shaves off some UTV tires. Lighter planes.
 
Cheaper, lighter. The cheapest brakes in the world are on 3rd world Japanese scooters and motorbikes. Pads are 3 dollars, rotors and calipers are something like 10 bucks each. They are the most produced brakes on planet earth for 30+ years. I love the ATV tire/wheel thing. I am just not sure how heavy you can go. ATV's arent heavy, but they are made to do mostly stupid stunts to entertain their owners. The minimal use they will get on an airplane, they should last forever. But maybe not a BH 4 or 5.
 
I just looked up the Gross vehicle weight of the bigger 4 seat UTV's. They are up to 3750 lbs. But many live extremely tough lives.
 
A person flying the STOL demo at airventure brought this up with me during a visit under his wing in New Holstein. (Supercub.or gathering) He is building a Javron to replace his Smith Cub and is selling his Grove wheels and brakes and going with a UTV/shaved tire product. He's from the U.P (of Michigan) and they ride those things hard up there. So he feel like the strength is there for his Cub.
 
jaredyates said:
Acme Aero has an interesting option on display at Airventure.



Also see this: https://bearhawk.tips/7000
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thank you Jared, your post in bearhawk tips was very timely, I’m glad to see some of the more experienced bearhawk minds have been noticing this trend and showing some interest. Excited to see how it plays out, luckily I have some time to decide.

any more info on that acme aero solution? I couldn’t find anything on their website.
 
I definitely understand the hesitation and share it myself. I will say, I think there is a big difference between the mass market, smaller UTVs, and these custom wheels made for the larger higher powered UTVs that do serious high horsepower off-road stuff like the sand rails, I imagine they handle some very high energy loads regularly.
 
My understanding is that the product in the photos was on display to solicit feedback. More of a "tell us what you think about this" vs "it's time for you to order this". But I have to wonder, I doubt you get custom-branded tires by ordering three sets. They must be pretty far along in the process. These guys are a very short hop from our home airport and all of my indications so far have been that they are pretty sharp folks who know their stuff.
 
Westward_Flyer said:
thank you Jared, your post in bearhawk tips was very timely, I’m glad to see some of the more experienced bearhawk minds have been noticing this trend and showing some interest. Excited to see how it plays out, luckily I have some time to decide.

any more info on that acme aero solution? I couldn’t find anything on their website.
Click to expand...

Full disclosure and in "put up or shut up" mode, I will say that this Airventure I was shopping for tires to replace my worn out 6-ply 850s. I opted for the 4-ply smooth 850s, at a price of just under $1100 for 2 tires and 2 tubes from VSE (formerly Desser). Here are some of the reasons.

I too want to see more data and acceptance for the UTV conversions before I commit. I have unanswered questions about the structural aspects, such as whether the UTV wheels are moving the center of the tire outboard, and whether that's a problem for the stock gear legs. I'm not wanting to get into aftermarket gear legs or shocks. This may be a non-issue, but I haven't asked yet.

As long as I'm offering transition training, I want to maintain a middle of the road, mostly stock configuration with regard to wheels, tires, VGs, etc. I keep hoping someone else will be come the transition training provider, and if that happens I might venture out a little more on mods. I'm perceiving a pretty broad consensus about VGs being the best thing since sliced bread. I guess maybe they can also be used to slice bread.

If I was building a new plane and didn't already own a nice set of Cleveland wheels with new brake disks and pads, that would change the wheel purchase calculations. But for now I'm sticking with the "old way", at least for another tire life cycle.
 
That hasn't happened yet, it's more so the left-right sliding at the beginning, plus just the sheer volume of landings. 10x per hour for 2, 3, or more hours. Tire selection is a big part of the sight picture and ground handling, and that's 90% of what we are working on with transition training.
 
I think you will be happy with the Desser smooth 8:50s. After over two hundred landings with them, I see very little wear. I started out with them at 25 psi which was too much, now run them at 15 psi with no evidence of slippage.
 
I got a little over 5 hours in a 65 hp Champ for my TW rating, and 3 hours with Jared. I probably got 3 or 4 times the TO/landings with Jared than I did in the Champ.

I left completely comfortable to fly my 4 a short bit later. Highly recommended for pilots not comfortable with TW's, or GA aircraft. That 8 hours was my first piston time in 42 years.
 
Acme Aero wheels, tires and brakes are available to purchase from them now. I believe the number for everything is in the 9400 range but you’d have to call them to find out.

Acme shocks are available from Bearhawk as a bolt in replacement for the Patrol and Five, call/email Bearhawk for info and orders.
 
rodsmith said:
I think you will be happy with the Desser smooth 8:50s. After over two hundred landings with them, I see very little wear. I started out with them at 25 psi which was too much, now run them at 15 psi with no evidence of slippage.
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I ran the GY 26’s (really only 24” diameter) and I had to be careful at anything under 15 psi as the stem would start to show some angle (slippage) that I did have to correct once.
 
Update with more data, looks like they have quite a robust load capacity, and are super affordable. Currently in the field on Helios and maules.
 

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rodsmith said:
I think you will be happy with the Desser smooth 8:50s. After over two hundred landings with them, I see very little wear. I started out with them at 25 psi which was too much, now run them at 15 psi with no evidence of slippage.
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I have been running them successfully at 15 psi as well.
 
jaredyates said:
Acme Aero has an interesting option on display at Airventure.

View attachment 101907
View attachment 101908
Also see this: https://bearhawk.tips/7000
Click to expand...
Unless I see someone demonstrate otherwise, these tires look entirely unacceptable for landings on gravel, sand, rocks, etc. Nice grass strips would be fine.
They're going to put more rocks into your prop, the bottom on the wing and the horizontal. There is a reason we go with no tread. It's not because we enjoy hydroplaning.
 
zkelley2 said:
Unless I see someone demonstrate otherwise, these tires look entirely unacceptable for landings on gravel, sand, rocks, etc. Nice grass strips would be fine.
They're going to put more rocks into your prop, the bottom on the wing and the horizontal. There is a reason we go with no tread. It's not because we enjoy hydroplaning.
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Agreed, the truly buff tires from stolwheelz look more appropriate to me. And only 400 bucks
 
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