Alcoa Aluminum Wheels

We knew when we ordered our PC that we were going to eventually change out the front and outer rear dual steel wheels with aluminum wheels.  Since we had problems with the rear outer dual valve stems turning on the rims which caused them to slowly loose air from the start, we decided to go ahead and replace them right away to eliminate the problem. 

Based on discussions on the forum and our own research, we ended up going with Alcoa Dura Bright aluminum wheels from the website, buytruckwheels.com.  We chose the Dura Bright wheels over the standard “polished” aluminum wheels that they offer, so we don’t have to constantly polish them to make them look like new.  The Dura Bright wheels have been treated to retain their bright polished look indefinitely.  We had non Dura Bright aluminum wheels on a previous RV and the wheels required regular polishing with a compound to keep them looking like new.  We also replaced the valve stem extensions that came with our unit to straight 3” extensions.

If anyone is interested, here is the link to the wheels that we purchased:
https://buytruckwheels.com/collections/ford-e450-e350/products/ford-e350-e450-16-alcoa-durabright-wheel-package

We love the change and we lost a total of 68 lbs, by going to aluminum wheels (without having to go on a diet  ).

Here are some pictures of our PC with the new wheels.

Very nice - I think we picked up our 2910D the week after you.  I have a few questions:

1.  Did you replace the inner wheel as well (I know, maybe a dumb question and it appears you didn't based on the description, still, had to ask)

2.  What did you tire shop charge to make the swap?

3.  Are all the weights on the inside?

4.  Did you have to make any changes to the factory tires?

Thanks in advance!

Thanks for the compliment.  As to your questions;
1. We did not replace the inner duals because the factory studs are not long enough to do so because of the thickness of the aluminum wheels' hubs.
2. The tire shop charged $15 per wheel to remove the tires from the steel rims and mount and spin balance the aluminum rims.  I removed the rims from the RV and took them into the tire shop because I wanted to make sure the new rims were properly reinstalled and torqued to specs.
3. On the rear wheels they had to also put a weight on the outside of each wheel to properly balance them.  They said that none of wheels required much correction compared to what steel wheels normally require.
4. No changes had to be made to the factory tires.

The Alcoa rims come with valve stems already installed.  We did not replace the Ford lug nuts as the center caps and lug nut covers that come with the package work great with them.

Gary

Thanks Gary!!

I am jealous Free2RV.  You beat me to it.  I had planned on swapping out my OEM steels (4 of them) for Alcoas this past spring, but limited funds this year pushed the project off to next year.  New tires will go on at the same time.  I am hoping to recover some cost by selling my 4 old rims and tires on Craigslist in hopes that a local landscape company will be interested in them.  Everyone of them seem to run on bald tires and rusted-up DRW wheels.

Did the prices jump by $200 recently?  I thought the Alcoa package was running just under $1100.

ADDING:  I found them sold at the same company CLICK HERE for $1100.  Yours for $1300 state "Durabright" finish.  I wonder if the difference is in the degree of polishing or in the protective coating, or both.

Ron,

The non-Dura Bright "polished" aluminum rim package at buytruckwheels.com is still $1099.  We paid $1299 for the Dura Bright rims when we purchased them at the very end of July.  I noticed just last week that they are now $1399.  Obviously they have gone up in price by $100, possibly because of the recent tariffs on aluminum and steel, just my guess.  Personally, if I were in the market for the rims, I would call them and ask about the increase in price and see if they might give you the old price if you were to order them immediately.  It never hurts to try.  Their price includes very fast Fed Ex shipping.  I ordered them in the morning on a Friday and we had them here by noon on Saturday.  They told me during an online chat with them that they thought it might take two days, but it ended up taking about 26 hours!

As for the difference in price now being $300, I would not hesitate paying that difference knowing how much easier the Dura Bright rims are to maintain over the "polished" rims.  That's not to say that the "polished" rims can't be made to shine like they are when new, but it will take regular polishing to make them look that way, and if you don't polish them, they become dull looking.  With the Dura Bright rims, you wash them with the same soap you use to wash your RV and wipe them dry and they shine like new.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Gary

Gary, you convinced me to upgrade to the Dura-Bright finish.

I just got off the phone with Buy Truck Wheels.  Their posted internet price cannot deviate.  As you mentioned, he told me the price of aluminum is on the rise so he cannot assure the price will be the same next year.  Still, I will wait until ready to buy new tires early summer next year.  Maybe waiting will cost more yet but get me USA aluminum instead of Chinese aluminum.  I would like that.  Recently we had a favorite aluminum cooking pot at home that developed a hole from impure aluminum....made in China.

We have just over 38,000 miles on our 2007 2350 with original Michelin tires.  I had developing issues with my upgraded Koni front shocks which messed up the front tire threads in recent years.  I really should have changed the tires (at least the fronts) this year when I replaced the Koni with 4 new Bilstein shocks.  The front tires have been running "loud".