Air Bags and Alcoa wheels and other parts

[thomas g. warner]

Manny maybe you did not get firestone bags. How do you know they were?

Might be a coincidence but I just received my new Alcoa rims from Gateway.
When checking prices I specifically asked if their price included the
correct alcoa swivel nuts, center piece and covers and was told they were.

The parts I received today were Alcoa wheels part # 160231 which were
correct. The nuts are not here yet so cannot tell if they are correct or
not, probably lost in the snow storm somewhere. The center piece is an 8.5"
in diameter thin disk and covers everything out past the wheel studs, and
has a series of holes spaced to fit over the studs. The nuts apparently
hold it down against the wheel. That cover was made in china of some shiny
material. The nut covers have no name of number on them but do not appear
to be alcoa, since they have no springs inside them.

Anyone else run into this problem? I don't know about anyone else but I
expect to receive the parts that I thought I was getting and do not want
chinese parts on my coach suspension or other critical parts.

>During my rear brake project, I purchased an air bag from Gateway and after
>installation, the diameter was smaller than the other side.
>I called Bob at Gateway and asked if he was getting different air bags. He
>said that he was still getting the from Firestone. Anyway, after I lowered the
>coach and really inflated the rear bags, they were about the same diameter.
>I was just hoping there was another source for air bags.
>
>Manny 73 Custom/ex-Glacier
>
>
Tom & Marg Warner
Vernon Center NY
1976 palmbeach

 

[zachary zehnacker]

Tom,

Believe it or not, those center plates may actually be from Alcoa though
probably not made by Alcoa. I think the big problem is the hub centered
wheels for the GMC. Many Alcoas (and many other aftermarket wheels) use
center caps that install through the center hole from the back of the
wheel. Because the GMC wheel is hub centered, this is not possible. Our
trailer Alcoas have much nicer center caps, but they go in the center hole.
They are polished aluminum and have the Alcoa logo stuck on them. We got
our GMC Alcoas from Don Wirth, and it looks like we got the same caps as
you (stainless steel made in china center caps). Ours came with center
logos which could be installed on the center plates that seem to match
another Alcoa logo we have seen. It has a C and A on it or something like
that. We have seen the same logo on some other Alcoa products, so we do
think it is an Alcoa logo but can't say for sure. We did not put the logos
on since they weren't the common Alcoa logo.

For what it is worth, these center plates have required very little
maintenance. The polished stainless is very nice. They have never needed
polish, and we just clean them and put some wax on them when we wax the
wheels. The only semi-hard part is lining them up when installing the
wheels. There is enough play between the holes and the studs that you have
to be careful when you tighten down the lugs to insure that the plate is
centered. Other than that, we have had no problems with them. We do like
the look of the smaller covers better, however, and we are now looking into
getting the new smaller centers or perhaps the new aluminum ones Alex Sirum
has. Even the new small ones from Alcoa are held down by the lug nuts (not
sure about the Sirum ones). They just catch the edge of the nuts, however,
instead of being under the nuts completely like the large plates.

One other thing you might want to consider is getting a couple of extra lug
nut covers. We lost a couple pretty early on. We now check them all
during our walkaround inspections when we get gas. We haven't lost any
since we started doing this, but having a couple of spares just in case
would make losing one much less of a hassle. The Alcoas on our trailer
have much nicer chrome plastic covers that screw onto the lug nuts and
would be very difficult to lose. They are cone lug nuts though. I find it
somewhat amusing that Alcoa says we "need" the special large swivel nuts
for the GMC. Our trailer has wheels with similar loading (probably more
side loads when we drag the three axles around turns) and uses fairly thin
cone lugs nuts. These nuts probably weigh less than half of what the
swivel lug nuts weigh just to give you an idea of the difference. I guess
the swivel is really needed just to protect the GMC wheels from getting
scratched.

Zak

>Manny maybe you did not get firestone bags. How do you know they were?
>
>Might be a coincidence but I just received my new Alcoa rims from Gateway.
>When checking prices I specifically asked if their price included the
>correct alcoa swivel nuts, center piece and covers and was told they were.
>
>The parts I received today were Alcoa wheels part # 160231 which were
>correct. The nuts are not here yet so cannot tell if they are correct or
>not, probably lost in the snow storm somewhere. The center piece is an 8.5"
>in diameter thin disk and covers everything out past the wheel studs, and
>has a series of holes spaced to fit over the studs. The nuts apparently
>hold it down against the wheel. That cover was made in china of some shiny
>material. The nut covers have no name of number on them but do not appear
>to be alcoa, since they have no springs inside them.
>
>Anyone else run into this problem? I don't know about anyone else but I
>expect to receive the parts that I thought I was getting and do not want
>chinese parts on my coach suspension or other critical parts.
>
>Tom & Marg Warner
>Vernon Center NY
>1976 palmbeach
>
>

 

[thomas g. warner]

ZAK the center covers that I received are one solid piece of what looks like
stainless steel with no logo. ON back is a gold sticker made in china. GMC
Motorhome.com has good pictures of the Alcoas and all accessories with Alcoa
part numbers.

Also the nut covers are not the hug-a-lug cover that alcoa sells. They are
supposed to have a spring inside to stop them from coming off.

I have noticed that the covers are available at most large truck repair
facilities.

thanks for the help

>Tom,
>
>Believe it or not, those center plates may actually be from Alcoa though
>probably not made by Alcoa. I think the big problem is the hub centered
>wheels for the GMC. Many Alcoas (and many other aftermarket wheels) use
>center caps that install through the center hole from the back of the
>wheel. Because the GMC wheel is hub centered, this is not possible. Our
>trailer Alcoas have much nicer center caps, but they go in the center hole.
> They are polished aluminum and have the Alcoa logo stuck on them. We got
>our GMC Alcoas from Don Wirth, and it looks like we got the same caps as
>you (stainless steel made in china center caps). Ours came with center
>logos which could be installed on the center plates that seem to match
>another Alcoa logo we have seen. It has a C and A on it or something like
>that. We have seen the same logo on some other Alcoa products, so we do
>think it is an Alcoa logo but can't say for sure. We did not put the logos
>on since they weren't the common Alcoa logo.
>
>For what it is worth, these center plates have required very little
>maintenance. The polished stainless is very nice. They have never needed
>polish, and we just clean them and put some wax on them when we wax the
>wheels. The only semi-hard part is lining them up when installing the
>wheels. There is enough play between the holes and the studs that you have
>to be careful when you tighten down the lugs to insure that the plate is
>centered. Other than that, we have had no problems with them. We do like
>the look of the smaller covers better, however, and we are now looking into
>getting the new smaller centers or perhaps the new aluminum ones Alex Sirum
>has. Even the new small ones from Alcoa are held down by the lug nuts (not
>sure about the Sirum ones). They just catch the edge of the nuts, however,
>instead of being under the nuts completely like the large plates.
>
>One other thing you might want to consider is getting a couple of extra lug
>nut covers. We lost a couple pretty early on. We now check them all
>during our walkaround inspections when we get gas. We haven't lost any
>since we started doing this, but having a couple of spares just in case
>would make losing one much less of a hassle. The Alcoas on our trailer
>have much nicer chrome plastic covers that screw onto the lug nuts and
>would be very difficult to lose. They are cone lug nuts though. I find it
>somewhat amusing that Alcoa says we "need" the special large swivel nuts
>for the GMC. Our trailer has wheels with similar loading (probably more
>side loads when we drag the three axles around turns) and uses fairly thin
>cone lugs nuts. These nuts probably weigh less than half of what the
>swivel lug nuts weigh just to give you an idea of the difference. I guess
>the swivel is really needed just to protect the GMC wheels from getting
>scratched.
>
>Zak
>
>

>>Manny maybe you did not get firestone bags. How do you know they were?
>>
>>Might be a coincidence but I just received my new Alcoa rims from Gateway.
>>When checking prices I specifically asked if their price included the
>>correct alcoa swivel nuts, center piece and covers and was told they were.
>>
>>The parts I received today were Alcoa wheels part # 160231 which were
>>correct. The nuts are not here yet so cannot tell if they are correct or
>>not, probably lost in the snow storm somewhere. The center piece is an 8.5"
>>in diameter thin disk and covers everything out past the wheel studs, and
>>has a series of holes spaced to fit over the studs. The nuts apparently
>>hold it down against the wheel. That cover was made in china of some shiny
>>material. The nut covers have no name of number on them but do not appear
>>to be alcoa, since they have no springs inside them.
>>
>>Anyone else run into this problem? I don't know about anyone else but I
>>expect to receive the parts that I thought I was getting and do not want
>>chinese parts on my coach suspension or other critical parts.
>>
>>Tom & Marg Warner
>>Vernon Center NY
>>1976 palmbeach
>>
>>
>
>
Tom & Marg Warner
Vernon Center NY
1976 palmbeach