Check the hand holes on steel wheels
Most steel truck and trailer wheels have a ring of openings in the disc, the flat face between the hub and the rim. They are called hand holes, and they reduce weight and allow access to the valve. They are also where a steel wheel most often begins to crack.
The metal around a hand hole is under stress every time the wheel turns under load. Over a long service life, especially on wheels that run heavy or have been overloaded, fine cracks can start at the edge of a hole and grow outward. They are easy to miss, because they are thin and usually hidden under dirt, road film or old paint.
A wheel cracked at the hand holes may look perfectly serviceable from a few feet away. It should not be run.
How to look
With the wheel clean, look closely at the edge of each hand hole, and between neighboring holes, for fine lines running outward. Rust staining that bleeds from a thin line is a common giveaway. A flashlight held at a low angle helps.
Do it when the tire is off, or when the truck is in for other work. Wheels that carried heavy loads, such as grain trailers at harvest, are the ones to check most carefully.
What refurbishing covers
Cleaning back to sound metal, inspection, and refinishing so the wheel is protected for more service. The inspection comes first and decides whether a wheel can be refurbished at all.
A crack ends the wheel and it is replaced.
The tires on those wheels can be balanced here with tire and wheel balancing, and equipment rims are part of OTR services. The national wheel refurbishing page covers the process.
Other stores nearby
De Soto and Paducah, KY also refurbish wheels.
About this store
The Jackson store runs seventeen services and is managed by Mike Rhymer.
See the national wheel refurbishing page for all 42 locations.