I've been saving money for a long time now in order to purchase some 19.5 x 6 wheels for a project of mine that has an F350 rear end and F450 front end.

Heres the schedule of events:

November2013: Wife orders 4 wheels for Christmas
Dec/January2014: Told by Rickson Wheels that the materials to build the wheels were on back order may take up to six weeks to get the material

May 2nd: Rickson says Have materials, wanted to know if I was still interested, Ordered all 6 wheels
May 22nd: Payment made and cleared to Rickson
June 30th: Rickson Says they have material, Received payment. Should ship in 1-2 weeks

Now: No answers from rickson, neither from their contact line posted on the internet or the cell phone number from the individual that my wife was dealing with.


All of the above being said, I'm a patient man, know that materials can be on backorder. Wasn't in any rush 6 months ago to get the wheels, however am kind of at a stalemate with my project until I get them.

Should I go ahead and contest the charges on the credit card? Should I try waiting it out a little while longer?

Are there any other companies that sell a 19.5 x 6 inch wheel with the 8 lug on 170mm bolt pattern? I can't seem to find any, would rather the 6 inch width but if it comes down to it I guess I'm gonna have to go with the 6.75 inch width from another vendor.

Scott

 

That is out of bounds. Payment should only be made when the material is ready to ship. Not two weeks before, or with shipping delay by what, four months after payment? I'd be calling the president of the company, not some cell phone.

Brian

 

Yeah I would try and talk to someone with some administrative power if they would answer any number....

Hard to talk to president when nobody answers...
What you think? Go ahead and dispute the charges now?
I really wanted those specific wheels though, maybe somebody else will know where I can get the 19.5 x6s

 

I would cancel the order, and contact the card company about reversing the charges. Lots of chatter on Google about issues with Rickson, they seem to do this stuff all the time.

Brian

 

call card company and request charge back due to non response. be prepaired to provide proof of contact attempts.

 

Update:

Dan Richter, President of Rickson Truck Wheels August 4th:
"We are very sorry [blah blah blah] we moved into a new facility and are working night and day shifts to get everyone's orders out, Your wheels will be shipped at the end of this week or at the beginning of next depending upon the powder coaters."

Today: No shipping tracking number, again no person at rickson will pick up the phone, they refuse to respond in email so that I can have something in writing.

I'm waiting on my wife to get home so we can call the credit card company today as the card is under her name


Just wanting to keep this updated so other people can search the web and know what they are getting themselves into


Edit: Dan Richter returned call, again apologetic but states the wheels were produced and are at the powder coaters, states that the wheels should be shipped on Tuesday...
We'll see...not getting my hopes up though

 

This maybe counter to what it is that youv'e determined your need is but...when you chose alloy cast over steel your'e choosing beauty over functional.

Alloy wheels may have the look that most want...as for practical they fall short. Alloy wheels are rigid, steel wheels flex, a good thing. Ideally you don't want the tire doing all of the work and that's what happens when theyr'e mounted on alloy. Resulting, especially on a tapered bead tire. The bead to sidewall transition area is a critical area and subject to lots of stress when using a alloy wheel.

 

I am getting steel wheels, 19.5 x 6" steel dualies, to go on an f350 rearend and f450 front end, all under a 1931 ford AA.

This is the reason why I have the luxury of being so patient. This is gonna be a ten year project, but kind of at a standstill waiting on these wheels to fine tune geometries. Hopefully after I get the wheels I'll have the driveline all hooked up in 3-4 months

 

Great reply OP...the whole vehicle buying public for many years have been unaware of the details as far as the whole alloy thing is concerned. Your tires will thank you for it. If you had a Porsche 911 or the like alloy would be a good fit and so on.......