Since there have been no updates on the shipment of my tires and front wheels from Stella Models in Hong Kong, they suggested that I initiate a dispute via PayPal. On Friday I did just that and then ordered the same tires/wheels from Semi Joe. For the same overall cost I got it delivered in record time!! Great customer service and I'll remember that for sure.
All wheels/tires are made by Lesu. Pretty happy with them overall, except for a couple things.
- Maybe I'm just used to crawlers, but these tires are hard! But that's probably okay because I plan on making this rig heavy and also plan to haul heavy loads with it. Those stiff sidewalls will be needed at some point!
- The recess for the hex is too deep and needed a spacer so it wouldn't rub the knuckle.
- I wish it provided a narrower track width because the fronts stick out more than I'd prefer.
- The front tires could be a smidge wider. Visually, the just don't look that much wider than the rears. Not a big deal, though.
Here's the rears all mounted up.
Fronts mounted up.
Sorry for the crappy lighting, but I'm pleasantly surprised that the ride height looks pretty good. The front is only a bit higher than the rear, which is surprising given the front TLT axle. Once I add some weight in the form of electronics, battery, speaker, etc. then it may actually sit level! Schwing!
So I started mock up of the front fenders. Overall, I'm pretty happy with this positioning. Keep in mind the axle swings rearward under compression. I'll need to add some styrene under the hood sides, but I'll get to that later. For now I'm just interested in fender placement.
Again, sorry for the lighting, but here you can see just how far they stick out. It's not particularly awful given most heavy hauler or all wheel drive trucks' front ends are often fairly wide, but I'd hoped for better.
And can someone tell me what I did wrong with the install of my 5th wheel? Why is it angling the wrong direction?
