Big Bend non SAS - three part question, any known drop in replacement beadlocks, do i need them?

[Ohhellothere]

I am a noob. I havent done off roading but im planning to learn and go this summer both mountain and some beaching. I have the stock BB non SAS wheels and tires. i should be fine if i air down when i need to but im toying with the idea of replacing my wheels, tires with something beadlock. Q1 - am i a fool going out on the stock wheels? Q2 - will i be fine and stop getting distracted by the ooo shiny. Q3 - if there is strong recommendation is there a recommendation of which are good baby's first beadlock that dont break the bank nor add a ton of on-road noise? appreciate the help i get lost and confused when it comes to wheels and tires

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[mC.242]

Depending on what you are doing - the stock wheels could be fine. I have 33" AT's on mine and have done some easy-moderate trails with no issues. The stock Dueller's are garbage. Great for street but not going to do the job off-road other than flat dirt hardpack. I don't think beadlocks are needed unless you plan to build a rock-crawling rig though. You can air down ATs into the high teens without bead-locks. My advice is to take it easy off-road, start with mild trails, and go with other experienced folks to see what you really need to do in terms of mods. I had a lot of plans for mods that I never did just because I realized they weren't needed for what I was doing. My BB is stock in terms of suspension/etc. other than tires.

 

[indio22]

I am a noob. I havent done off roading but im planning to learn and go this summer both mountain and some beaching. I have the stock BB non SAS wheels and tires. i should be fine if i air down when i need to but im toying with the idea of replacing my wheels, tires with something beadlock. Q1 - am i a fool going out on the stock wheels? Q2 - will i be fine and stop getting distracted by the ooo shiny. Q3 - if there is strong recommendation is there a recommendation of which are good baby's first beadlock that dont break the bank nor add a ton of on-road noise? appreciate the help i get lost and confused when it comes to wheels and tires

You do not need beadlock for that stuff. It would be way overkill.

 

[Jdyount]

You have a non-SAS BB so you're like 47 upgrades away from beadlocks. It would be an absolute complete waste of money to put beadlocks on your Bronco without upgrading the front axle, adding lockers, and getting lower gears. 1000%.

Beadlocks are only required if you're hard-core rock crawling. I run 37" MTs (on my Badlands SAS with aftermarket coilovers) and do a LOT of wheeling and rock crawling but I don't have beadlocks.

IMO, the beadlock convo runs hand-in-hand with stickies. If you're ready to really up your game and hard core rock crawl running bias-ply sticky tires (with like 5 psi) then yes, you should have beadlocks. I could probably add beadlocks but wouldn't be taking full advantage running radials. Would they help, sure, but not worth the investment vs other upgrades.

 

[Snacktime]

Beadlocks are for hard core wheelers running huge tires at super low pressure. You will not need them with a bronco as you need tire height more than traction due to the belly height.

 

[Jdyount]

Beadlocks are for hard core wheelers running huge tires at super low pressure. You will not need them with a bronco as you need tire height more than traction due to the belly height.

Depends on what type of rock crawling you're doing. IFS is going to struggle with big boulder style terrain, yes, but there are lots of other situations where stickies and beadlocks would work awesome on a Bronco. You can also address the belly height with a suspension lift.

The biggest issue is the rack which should be getting solved soon with aftermarket racks.

 

[MNBigfoot]

Real sliders, full skid plates, air compressor........... Wheel it for a year, then ask yourself again, if you think you need them.

 

[thesocalexplorer]

I was running the stock Duellers for the first 12k miles on my BB. They might not look the best, but they were decent in mild to moderate desert & mountain trails (haven't done much rock crawling myself). I've personally aired them down to about 18PSI whenever I would go off road. I've since upgraded to 33" KO2s.

 

[OregonMike]

I'm a noob with a Big Bend non-Sas, too. FWIW I'd say it depends what you're planning to do off-road. If it's bumpy dirt Forest Service roads and shin-deep or packed-but-not-icy snow, I can tell you from experience you'll be fine with the stock wheels and tires (you may get some dude in a lifted-to-the-sky Jeep sitting on 40s and armored up for the apocalypse giving you shit about "highway tires", however ). I did some easy trails at a local OHV area and had no problems. Skipped the giant rutty mudholes there, though.

My thought generally is that I'll go and play in the places where I think my BB will handle it, and if I really need to make any changes, I'll do it after I decide if I want to do more challenging stuff. I put bigger tires on recently, but that was part of the plan from the beginning. Mostly because I wanted something a little more aggressive that also would perform better in the snow.

 

[Ohhellothere]

Thank you all for your advice. I will be sticking with what i got until it no worky then swap tires and rejoice that i did not waste money. again thank you all. happy trails

 

[Oldhippie]

Short answer: if ya don’t know if ya need beadlocks…ya don’t.
carry a can of starting fluid with ya if ya are worried about losing a bead…

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