Wheel
From Skoolie.net Wiki
Rims vs. Split Rims
With regard to the mounting of tires, there are two types of wheels: rims and split rims. Rims take tubeless radial tires. Split rims take tires with inner tubes. Rims are welcome at tire repair centers, and it is easy to mount tires on them. Split rims are hard to get serviced because they require special mounting equipment and there are serious dangers with their potential "explosively" to come apart as tires are mounted. Split rims seem to have the reputation of a loosely packed cannon. Most of what I have read recommends replacing split rims with rims, if not immediately, then as soon as it is time to replace tires.
How can one tell which kind of wheel is on a bus? I have seen tire sizes referred to as 9.5Rx20 or 10.5Rx22. The smaller number is the tire width. The larger number indicates the wheel diameter. The "R" indicates a Radial tire. Is it safe to assume that a bus described as having tires with an R in the tire description has rims (NOT split rims) since split rims do not work with radial tires?
Are split rims and rims ever mixed on the used busses that are sold? That does not seem to be a wise thing to do, from my limited experience with mixing radials and bias-ply tires on automobiles.
Spoked Wheels vs. Disk Wheels
Once past the rim style, there seem to be two kinds of wheels, spoked wheels and disk wheels. Each kind uses a different hub design. In order to switch from one kind to the other the axle has to have a different hub and brake system installed, and changing hubs is not really economically practical. I have read that spoked wheels are more difficult to change than disk wheels because it is harder to accurately center the spokes within the wheel. Disk wheels seem to be the more desireable wheels with regard to ease of service, but it seems that manufacturers widely started using them only fairly recently. Most of the schoolbusses that I have seen have spoke wheels, at least on the front, but I haven't been able to tell what the back wheels are.
There are two types of disk wheels, hub centered and stud centered. The hub centered wheels are more like car wheels in that they are centered on the axle by the hole that fits over the hub assembly. The stud centered wheels fit over the hub, but are centered on the axle by the studs that attach the wheel to the hub instead of by the hub itself.
I have heard people use the terms "Daytons" and "Budds" when talking about wheel styles, and the terms seem to refer to whether the wheels are disk or spoke wheels, but it is not clear to me which is which.
What are "Daytons" and what are "Budds"?
If the front wheels on a bus are spoked wheels, are the back wheels spoked as well?
How hard is it to change a spoked wheel as opposed to a disk wheel? Is the difference worth worrying about...that is, is it as big a difference in terms of service and repair as the difference between split rims and rims?
If one had a flat tire out in the boondocks, would it be possible to change a spoked wheel on your own?
Number of Wheels
How many wheels do busses need? Obviously this must vary from bus to bus, and is probably dependant on the size of the bus and its loaded weight. Some busses I have seen have 4 wheels, 2 front and 2 back. Some have 6 wheels, 2 front and 4 back (dual wheels). It appears that the longer/larger busses have dual wheels in the back.
How can one tell whether a bus has dual wheels in the back from a written advertisement that has no picture. Is there some standard to go by?
Wheel Size
I have seen wheel sizes from 16 inches to 24 inches mentioned.
What are the common wheel sizes for busses?
What are the advantages to each? (I have seen it recommended that a partial "fix" for an undesireably high geared rear end is to increase the wheel size.
Is it possible to change wheel sizes on a bus?
Is it EASY to change wheel sizes on a bus?
Say one found a bus that met his requirements with regard to size, engine, transmission, rear end, but it had smaller/larger wheels than he wanted.
Is changing wheel sizes on a bus as easy as changing wheel sizes on a car?
Could 20 inch wheels simply be replaced with 24 inch wheels?
I know that changing wheel sizes can raise issues of clearance within the wheel wells and with the steering gear, but are there some common "universal" changes that can be made?
Is it necessary to have the same sized wheels on the front and rear of the bus? Is it desireable to have the same sized wheels on the front and rear?
Tire Sizes
With cars, there is some latitude in the width of tires that a given wheel can handle.
What size tires can be put on what size wheels?
Can a bus with 9.5 inch wheels take a 10.5 inch tire?
Is it possible to increase the tire width on dual wheels without running into clearance issues between the tires?
