Fred replied:

Ron - some thoughts - split rims are easier for puncture repairs as a tyre can be removed with two tyre levers and a bit of practice. In my experience, split rims and hence tubed tyres are much more susceptible to punctures. Pressures can be reduced to 25lbs. Friend travelled the Simpson with 25lbs in cruiser split rims. He also had a flat tyre on the Cordillo Downs road and replaced the tube without any trouble.
Personal preference after 7 years of split rims and about 10 punctures, then 13 years of tubeless and 1 puncture is definitely tubeless.

les replied:

Hi Ron, I've been running split rims for over 20yrs, My present 4x4 a 98 Hilux single cab has done over 30,000 kms off road on splits with Dunlop 8 ply roadgrippers, not one punture, tyre pressure is important I run mine at 45psi, I think alot of people go for looks rather than what will suit them in the tough stuff, I have spent alot of time in the mining areas of West Aust. and all mining company vehicles I know use splits rims, and I can tell you they get a hard time, To repair or change a tyre takes a very short time (about 2 cans),
I live in Vic now and do alot of off roading in the alps and I am very happy with my set up. great in the mud and on rocky trails, never had any sidewall damage which is a problem with wide tyres.
It all comes down to what you want your 4x4 to do..hope this helps Ron..

pathfinder replied:

avoid split rims and tubed tyres Ron, despite the advice from some old timers who may like their practicality for extended trips. There are a number of disadvantages to tubed tyres including heat build up (friction between tube and tyre) which reduces tyre life and increases risk of blowout, and extra rolling resistance. Unless you're away from civilisation for an extended period of time, I would go for tubeless (on steel rather than alloy rims: steel bends; alloy cracks) and just carry two spares. If you're keen, you can get tyrepliers and tyre plugs for tubeless tyres.

Daryl Parcell replied:

Dear Ron
My experience in the comparence between split rims and tubeless rims is that you will get far less punctures with tubeless rims against spilt rims.
For the first 5 years of owning my Series 80 cruiser I ran split rims with 7.50 x 16 tyres and had many high speed blowouts when running the tyres at 40 psi ( a cumfortable pressure to drive on ) and numerous punctures when driving off road. Since Changing to tubeless rims with 235x16 tyres 5 years ago I have had no tyre problems. It is also not really advisable to fit a tube to tubeless tyre for the long term and all tyres manufactured these days are designed tubeless regardless of which rim they are fitted to.
As for the ease of repairing the punctures on the side of the road, my experience is that with suitable tyre changing tools I would much rather tackle a tubeless tyre repair eg fitting a tube, than fitting a tube to a tyre fitted to split rim. Anyone who tells you that it is easier to work on a split rim certainly hasn't done much tyre changing on the side of the road.
It is also much safer to run at a lower pressure on sand with tubeless (15 psi) than pressure in a split rim (20--25 psi ).
I hope this gives you a better insight to the argument of split rims against tubeless rims.

Daryl
Ipswich 4x4 Club