Price Comparison: Airhawk 29-10 vs. Bushwheel

[iceman]

i second Buds post.. got 29's on my M4 and have for the past 3 years.. but before them I flew all over Idaho back country in my tripacer with 600 6's all around and 800's on my M4...lost 10 MPH with the 29's and the 45 lbs is correct..I must admit that the 600 6's were marginal some places I landed and after hitting a few chuck holes I searched for the maule and lived with the 800's for a few years.... since I'm living and flying out of pavement i can say the 29's haven't worn any faster than the 800's as far as I can tell but they sure are a savior on the rough dirt..where they really shine is in the sand in Utah and Nevada.. anyway think of it this way... a 29 will turn one full turn for every 1and a half turns of a 800... so how can they wear out faster...

[andy]

Well, I did it. Ordered the 31" bushwheels and another set of Cleveland 40-75-D wheels from Airframes Alaska. I'll be eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch for the rest of my life, but hopefully it will be worth it. I'll keep the Goodyear 8.50x6.00 tires on my current 40-75-D wheels and swap them as needed to minimize the wear on the bushwheels at my hard surface airport runways. Shipping isn't cheap from Chugiak! I know that you Alaska folks will say "Welcome to our world when ABI was in the lower 48!"

I think the 8.50s would be okay on most of the Idaho back country air strips but bushwheels on the Maule will make me feel better. Some of them were pretty rough when I was there in 2012 and that was in a Super Cub with 31" bushwheels. Guess I'll find out in August.

I'm blaming Kirk and Gary for making me buy the bushwheels so I can keep up with them.

[Rezrider]

It's only money!

[pilot]

Honestly, the bigger tires can only help ease the stress on your gear. How much is it worth to avoid folding up a leg or two?

[gbarrier]

Hey man, don't blame me. I'm still running the 8.50s. Andy,you keep hanging more stuff on that 180 and you won't be able to keep up with anyone but it sure is a pretty airplane. And horsepower doesn't make a Maule go more faster, just more upper.

If you're going to be swapping wheels be sure you have a couple of these clips.

[captnkirk]

Andy just don't mention kitchen upgrades. Remember this is all done in the interest of safety if anyone asks that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

[andy]

Good alternative to cotter pins, Gary. Where'd you get the clips and axle nut?

[andy]

That's okay, Kirk. I timed it to coincide with my wife's $5000 cruise on the Danube River. No kitchen upgrades needed.

[maules.com]

The axle nuts are a design of David Maule and are the cats meow compared to any others.
Some axle threads may need to be chased to accept the new nuts.

[gbarrier]

Andy, those spring clips are a current Maule part. The number is 4141A. If you have the parts CD it is drawing 4141A Rev. A. I actually got mine from Airframes Alaska one holiday week when no one at Maule was answering the phone. A cheap pair of long bent needle nose pliers pops them in and out in about two seconds. I don't have the upgraded nuts but I think that would be very slick on the Maule. It would probably be worth chasing the threads once to make them fit properly.

That pic was probably of the Champ as we used the springs there first when we installed the 8.50 tundra tires and thought we may be going back and forth between those and the 6.00s. Not shown in the pic I also used the Cleveland hub caps (I think P/N 058-00300) instead of wheel covers to leave the valve exposed for easy checking and airing on low pressure tires. Of course you are exposed to damage to the valve that way.

[captnkirk]

Andy sounds like a bargain then. So far just some shelves in the pantry and a couple of dinners out.😀

[xcflyn]

Can I ask a dumb question here- sorry ! But I have a M4 210c , and I sure would like to run a ABW tail wheel and (heres the dumb question) , a pair of 29:11:10's for mains. What exactly do I need to legitimately install those ? As in, can I buy the wheels and tires from say ??????? , install them, and be legal beagle with no inspection ? I bet there is an answer out there somewhere but I didn't see it. My local Shop didn't have an exact answer for me and said to do some research. Here I am researching the lazy way by asking questions