I just spoke with Erika at Dexstar and when I gave her the date of manufacture on the sticker of my wheels she didn’t hesitate to say that yes, there were problems then and she would send me two new wheels. The date on my sticker is 07/12/17.
I'm a mile from the coast here also. Put some alloys on my Casita a few years ago that I bought from E-Trailer and they have held up well and I keep the covered when not in use. Might wait until I need new tires. I like the bling, but the ones that Escape offers are nothing special. If you have a pic of what you got, I'd love to see.
Old vs. New. My new ones are 6 spoke, not 8 as shown; that is a 16" wheel.
Got 4 Raceline Stylus wheels at Discount Tire, which here is called America's Tire. $440 OTD after $40 rebate.
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"We gotta get as far away as we can!"
- Russell Casse, Independence Day
I have the aluminum rims as well. They are starting to corrode a bit. I wonder if it would be cost effective to have them powder coated. Problem would be that the trailer would have to be blocked up while it was done.
I finally sold my 1999 F-250 this past Summer. After 20 years, the original aluminum alloy rims still shined as bright as the day I bought the truck. Perhaps alloy rims are yet another example of, "They just don't make 'em like they used to."
CalTrans does use a salt solution (not NaCl) on the state highways and many counties/cities do too. It is not as universally used as in the upper tier of the USA or east coast.
Wow, thanks, I didn't realize it. thought they had stopped a while ago. Not salt, but a brine solution, and only on two highways as per story. I wonder if it is really only two? Article seems current.
I finally sold my 1999 F-250 this past Summer. After 20 years, the original aluminum alloy rims still shined as bright as the day I bought the truck. Perhaps alloy rims are yet another example of, "They just don't make 'em like they used to."
And that might be true because ours are on a 1992 F-250 and still look good . See you bought a 2016 Ford with a 5.0 engine . If I was replacing that would be our replacement too ! Pat
I went with the steel wheels on our 2019 17B. I've had alloys on many of my past vehicles over the years.
One source of trouble I found were the wheel weights. If they were the stick on type, no problems. The type that are installed with a hammer on the edge of the rims will cut through the clear coat and start a battery with dissimilar metals and a salt solution. Before long the rims has corrosion and when it gets into the bead area the tire slowly looses air.
I try to avoid wheel weights like that and use steel wheels for winter driving.
Bob