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OTB-Bombi! Let the Jury Begin
- Thread starter OTB
- Start date
I can let you know. I have a local guy who hooked me up with some tracks, so I will be giving him first crack at that stuff.
Yes, trying to locate a 10 inch rim with that 4.5 inch wide tire is extremely hard. Of course you can buy those tires from Alpine guide, which are super great, it's just that they are very expensive. Around $600 a piece for the solid rubber ones.
The other problem was my original Torsion axles we're starting to wear out and needed to be replaced. Those are getting extremely hard to locate as well and again, very expensive.
With what I was going to need to have replaced I was looking at the same cost to update the Torsion axles to modern flexaride axles and a 4.80 x 12 Tire. This also gave me the option to have an isolated hub. In the event I needed to change a tire, I would not be exposing seals and bearings to the elements.
The other benefit is I'm able to go to any tractor supplies store and buy a spare tire for around 80 bucks.
I bought nine tires for this update that were 6 ply 4.80 by 12 in with 5 on 4.5 lugs for just under $800.
I'm also able to increase the total weight of the bombi from approximately 4,000 lb to 6200 lb by doing this Axel update
The only real problem with this build is I have to lengthen the frame by approximately 8 inches and add new cross members. This was not a huge deal for me because I had to start from scratch. For someone who has a machine that is in decent shape they are going to have to do some cutting and chopping to make things fit. I am trying to keep track of all measurements so I can post all that info too.
HillBilt
Active member
I'm assuming you're lengthening the frame because of the bigger rubber? longer track will be sweet regardless.
Thinking out loud here.. I bet on a stock frame setup with those axles if you could run a spacer off the drive sprocket to match the wheel width and then run the wider track belting on both sides and offset the cleats side to side every second cleat and run a wider track
Brother! You are preaching to the choir on that one! For about 3 days I looked at those Drive axles to find a way to lengthen them out. I tried to think of everything under the sun try to figure out how to extend those axles out an inch and 3/4 so that I could accommodate the new axles. If a guy could figure that out without having to do a bunch of major fabrication work, that would be the shit! You would still run into the trouble of the size of tires though. That is the reason why I am lengthening the frame it's because the new tires are about two and a quarter inches taller than the original tires. I even thought about your comment as far as offsetting the cleats every other one. I think the problem I would run into is I'm running the metal cleats that have the bevel in the exact center of the fleet so to offset them would cause me to gouge out my drive sprocket.I'm assuming you're lengthening the frame because of the bigger rubber? longer track will be sweet regardless.
Thinking out loud here.. I bet on a stock frame setup with those axles if you could run a spacer off the drive sprocket to match the wheel width and then run the wider track belting on both sides and offset the cleats side to side every second cleat and run a wider track
HillBilt
Active member
Gotcha, didn't realize the steel cleats had that. The aluminum ones could be run on anywhere along the edge.
Without taking a real good look at the hub, I would think you could build a spacer for the sprocket much like an automotive wheel spacer and just get longer studs or stud the spacer. I could be wrong though. Definitely worth as try as the alpine guide wheels are way overpriced.
Great discussion
Thanks buddy! Yeah, you just have to see how those sprockets are designed and driving mechanism. It's hard to explain it in writing but it pretty much sandwiches the rubber Sprocket in between. I'm sure somebody else can look at it and would be able to show me within 30 seconds that it's completely possible to put some kind of spacer in there, but I'm kind of a dumb dumb! Lol!Gotcha, didn't realize the steel cleats had that. The aluminum ones could be run on anywhere along the edge.
Without taking a real good look at the hub, I would think you could build a spacer for the sprocket much like an automotive wheel spacer and just get longer studs or stud the spacer. I could be wrong though. Definitely worth as try as the alpine guide wheels are way overpriced.
Great discussion
Well, I got the frame extended and everything put in place and Tack welded. Now I just have to finish welding everything together and wait for the new axles to come in so I can keep marching forward. I'm pretty sure those axles are sitting off the coast of California!
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Well, it has been a while since I posted anything on here and I'm sure some guys are wondering if I dropped off the map or not. I ended up taking on a few other projects that took up all of my time. Ended up buying a 1948 cat road greater that needed quite a bit of work and also a complete downstairs remodel of a bedroom / bathroom / laundry room. Needless to say there's not enough time in the day! Anyways, I got some tack welding done today and ended up dry fitting all of my new axles and tires to make sure that the gaps were all still correct and the alignment was on. I have to say, so far I think I may have got it! More to come!
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Snowy Rivers
Well-known member
Tires and wheels for these cats are a tough go....
I made the ones for my 2100
5x5-1/2 is a standard bolt pattern for the big machine....Nobody makes a 12" wheel with that bolt circle.
5 x 4-1/2 is all that's out there
I bought a bunch of 12" steel trailer wheels. Cut the centers out and then designed my own centers....Had them water jet cut....Finish machined the OD so they would just tap into the rims.
Had to make a jig to locate the centers to get the correct offset..
Used a 60 degree countersink so standard 1/2-20- nuts work
These are 12" x 4" wheels.....originals are 12" x 3"
No worries ....I found some metric 10 ply tires....
I had some extra centers cut just in case.....And I had one center that has the lug holes all done to use as a drill jig.....
I have 4 of the alloy wheels to use on the front and rear axles......Gonna foam those..
A pain to make the wheels ...but the cost of all new alloys was not in the budget.......
