A well-built and properly used rim on construction equipment can outlast a lot of parts on your machine and keep your wheels lasting longer, too. But your rims are also under high pressure and continued strain which can lead to cracks, bends, breaks, and other failures. Luckily, there’s often a number of great resources to find your replacement rim -- you just might wonder what to watch for when searching a good used rim -- and, if so, we’ve put together these short tips to help in your search.

Ensure the Rim Is Not Bent

Rims on large construction equipment are routinely exposed to heavy loads and high-impact working conditions that can lead to bends in the rim. A good used rim should be free of bends to ensure the machine they’ll be working on operates as intended and to avoid leading to increased wear on tires. 

Look for Cracks or Deep Dings in the Rim

Even though there might be cosmetic issues in a used rim that make it clear the rim isn’t new, most often these will not affect the performance of the rim. Cracks or deep dings in the rim, however, are clear signs the rim is either failing or could be prone to fail. In addition to dings along the outside of the rim’s frame, you should watch for imperfections in bolt holes and tire contacting locations that could impact how the tire will be mounted and connected to the machine.

Request Pictures of the Rim

If you’re buying the rim online, your seller should gladly offer images to show the condition of the wheel rim and to help ensure you are in agreement about what you are purchasing. A picture is worth a thousand words in ensuring the used rim has been inspected and determined to be in good working order.

Buy From a Reputable Dealer of Replacement Rims

The rims on your machine are a critic al component to keeping the machine working properly and safely. Buying from a seller with a reputation for selling quality used rims isn’t just about ensuring you’re getting a good product, however. Inspecting and properly measuring a used rim takes precision and knowledge, and often inexperienced sellers simply won’t have the skills to ensure the rim will fit your needs.

Match the Rim to Your Machine

When it comes to ensuring the rim will work on your machine, generally, you’ll have two paths to your search. The first route is to search by the make, model, and serial number of your machine. However, because often rims work across a number of machines, searching by the exact dimensions will result in a wider range of available rims.

At H&R, we support searching by make and model and by dimensions. And, if you’re unsure about your dimensions, our quick How to Measure Wheel Rims guide is a one-stop explainer to make sure you get them right.

A good, used replacement rim for your construction machine can offer a great balance of performance and price and, hopefully, this guide has made it clearer for your search. Of course, if you have questions or need help in your search, our Parts Specialists are here to help and with our extended search capabilities they’re your resource for locating parts in our inventory and in our extensive parts network. Just give them a call.