Thread: widow makers
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Old 09-04-2007, 10:04 AM
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bobj49f2
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Jim,

Welcome to the board and the world of big trucks. You don't have many choices, they are few. First thing to do is do a search of this board to find all the information about the Widow Maker rims and alternatives. Some people have been successful at finding places that sell used rims.

Rickson Wheel, http://ricksontruck.com/contact.html, at one time contemplating making a run of new 19.5" rims for the vintage RV market. Stockton Wheel, http://www.stocktonwheel.com/, sometimes have some used ones but not often. Some people had luck with Les Schwab,http://lesschwab1.reachlocal.net/default.asp .

You don't have many alternatives. You could try to find a set of 19.5" one piece from a RV from the mid '70s to '80s with a Dodge chassis. This is the type I have on my F-4. There are also 22.5" Ford rims made for these trucks, I had a set on my F-4, they are harder to find than the 19.5". You could also use multi-part rims with the outer snap ring. Most truck tire shops still work on these, you'd be hard pressed to find someone who will work on the Widow Makers. The mult-part rims came on Internationals, Dodges and Studebakers, also earlier Fords-pre-'48.