FMTV wheels (peashooter)

I know, I'm pretty late to the game here. I'm wanting to run 395s and have acquired a very reasonably priced pair of LMTV wheels (still looking for the rest). I have seen the threads where "peashooter" had made some adapters that bolted to the perimeter studs to allow someone to run these on a 2.5 ton 6x8.75 lug truck. I know he doesn't make them anymore. I'm hoping that he'll see this and respond. I've seen the pictures and drawings, but is there a file floating around out there for the adapters that I can take to a local shop to have cut? Can I purchase the file from peashooter? MRAP wheels are much more expensive and I don't like the adapter as much. With the right cut and using the perimeter bolts makes for a cleaner look. This is what I'm going for, so the LMTV wheels are a better option for me.

Can anyone help? Thanks in advance. Also, I searched and can't seem to find the file. I did save the PDF, but it doesn't seem to have all of the dimensions.....or am I just too dumb to understand what's on the PDF??

Something to start with......

gringeltaube said:

Something to start with......
View attachment 933143

Click to expand...

Thank you! You guys are awesome! The wheels are actually going on an old Ford truck. That's why I want the cleaner look and opted for the LMTV modification over the MRAP. This also gives me alittle better backpacking for my application.

I think I'm just going to order my other two wheels. Got the first two locally for $10 each. A wife got tired of looking at her husband's spare wheels, so she sold them for him. I did ask if he wanted more for them, but he said he would honor her price.

Thanks again!!!

SuperV said:

I did ask if he wanted more for them, but he said he would honor her price.

Click to expand...

I feel sorry for that guy...

The wheels are actually going on an old Ford truck.

Click to expand...

In that case you may not need those plates chamfered on both sides.

Something to keep in mind:
The studs are now being pressed into the adapter plate and their knurled/splined neck is only about 7mm long.


Being that the studs are only Ø5/8" (15.9mm) but the 20 (splined)holes left in the inner half are almost Ø18mm and the holes in the outer section even larger than that (± 19mm), there is nothing left to ensure that all three parts are kept centered, during assembly. So I strongly recommend adding a pair of Ø1/2" dowel pins, diametrically opposite to each other.



Let me know if you - or your machinist - need any more details.

I will still have the lug holes chamfered on both sides. That way they can be rotated.

I did just notice, based on your explanation that your plates are different than the ones that I had originally saw posted by peashooter. His mounted to the face if I remember right, probably because they were universal.

Just know that I literally just picked up these wheels on Monday after work. I know that they have an internal rubber seal, but I'm not sure how that works. Could you mount the plate between the front and rear section and use two seals? Is that possible or been tried before? Again, I've not taken the wheels apart yet, so don't know exactly how the seal fits in the halves. This would make the wheels slightly wider, but wouldn't really affect anything given how wide the tires are that go in them.

So I just watched a video of changing a LMTV tire. It almost looks like I could increase the diameter of the adapter and have a groove cut around the face to run the stock seal and then a secondary seal on the adapter. The secondary seal would seal between the adapter and the face plate. Or could you simply run a a thin layer sealer (RTV or the like) between the adapter and the front face? Am I reinventing the wheel, literally, or are these bad ideas? Has this been tried before?

Sure, you could mount the same plate on the front face, as well and still use the stock seal in its original position. Your backspace would go up to a bit over 10 inches, which sometimes is desired to keep the wheels from sticking out too far.
Now, why in between both halves|? First, you would need a different beadlock , about 1/2" wider than stock. 2nd, new O-rings are expensive enough, so why would someone want to go with two of them, per wheel? RTV sealant to replace the second, outer seal would work eventually. But I wouldn't rely too much on it.

I'm just trying to figure out options and you all are in the know. I'm just dabbling in your world.

My thought is that if I mounted the adapter in the middle, the wheels would have a cleaner look. Sealing the adapter to the inside of the front plate would be easier than cutting a groove for another seal. It could also be removed as one unit that way.
The issue is that I would have to decide before having the adapters machined. You have the diameter of the adapters at 19.01" and the seal looks to be just under 20". The adapter would need to match the sealing diameter.

Mounting the adapter to the front side, would make for clean look on the front wheels, but not as clean look on the back wheels, since they would be flipped on the rear (dually truck running as super single). I could mount the adapter on the front for the front wheels and on the back for the back wheels. But this would make the wheels unable to be rotated.

Lastly, if I went with mounting the adapters between the 2 halves of the wheel......are bead locks required for a truck that at best would see minor off road trails without airing down? I'm not building an off road vehicle. I found this route for wheel options because no one makes wheels with tire options that produce remotely the correct drive ratios. I also opted for this route over the A1 wheels because I wanted to get away from bias ply tires.

I kno

SuperV said:

The adapter would need to match the sealing diameter.

Click to expand...

Precisely, it would have to be 19.70"

Sealing the adapter to the inside of the front plate would be easier than cutting a groove for another seal. It could also be removed as one unit that way.

Click to expand...

Even if both surfaces were machined to perfect flat, there's always some residual tension left, so once you start loosening the nuts that seal will break, in more than one spot eventually. Meaning that parts have to be cleaned and resealed every time.

...are bead locks required for a truck that at best would see minor off road trails without airing down?

Click to expand...

Not really; many people are running 395s without beadlocks and/or runflats. It is just more risky in case of a blowout at higher speed, because the tire beads will pop off of their seats making it very difficult to keep control of the vehicle before it finally stopped.

One last stupid question. I went to talk with the machine shop and of course they said that they could cut the adapter plates. Why .43-5" steel? I've seen the the MRAP adapters that are 3/8". Also, 3/8" is still thicker than the stock wheel.

I was just debating about making them out of 3/8" steel after looking at the stock wheel thickness and the availability 1/2" steel in my are. Would the 3/8" be fine or is .43 an absolute must?

SuperV said:

Why .43-5" steel? I've seen the the MRAP adapters that are 3/8". Also, 3/8" is still thicker than the stock wheel.

Click to expand...

3/8" will work - for a pavement queen.....

Just consider this: The stock M35 wheel disk measures almost 1/2" in the center and it is stamped, not just a flat plate - which makes it even stronger. And it was designed for tires much smaller than 46inches.

Now if you are referring to the center of the stock FMTV wheel, yes it is less than 3/8". But the material is also stamped; then there are 4 more nuts to better distribute the load, and the hub it is attached to is about 30% larger in diameter, compared to the Deuce. So, the smaller distance from wheel nut to rim means less leverage and flexing.

For peace of mind I always went with 1/2" steel. Material cost may be a bit more but cutting and machining is more or less the same - and should be in your case, too.

I'm just having trouble finding some .5 steel plate. The machine shop at my work is going to cut it and will cost me nothing. But when I call the local steel places, they don't carry .5 plate. Honestly, they didn't have 3/8 either and we're going to have to order it. Maybe they can order 1/2 as well......they just didn't off that as a solution.