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Has anyone upgraded their trailer wheels/tires?

Last post 08-28-2008, 9:59 PM by Tony Turnlund. 7 replies.
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  •  08-21-2008, 4:37 PM 53326

    Has anyone upgraded their trailer wheels/tires?

    My trailer has four 14" wheels with load range C tires on it. Two of the tires look as though they should be replaced soon, so I am looking to upgrade to a 16" or 17" wheel so I can put higher load range tires on it for extra piece of mind. Has anyone done this and have any recommendations on doing it?

     

    I am thinking I may find a nice looking aluminum wheel such as a Pro Comp wheel that will look nice and then find a tire to go along with it. Pro Comp has a few different styles which are nice on sale right now for buy 3 get one free. I have seen a lot of S/T, A/T, and some TA tires on boat trailers and am wondering if these are suitable (reliable) for use on boat trailers? If I buy new wheels can someone recommend a good set of tires to look into?

    Anyone have any thoughts or ideas? What have you upgraded to?

  •  08-22-2008, 11:16 AM 53369 in reply to 53326

    Re: Has anyone upgraded their trailer wheels/tires?

    S/T is the trailer rating for a tire.  I am betting though that you won't find many sizes available.  You could go to a load range D in a 225 75 R 15 tire size which will get you up to a 15" rim.  From there, its finding a rim with the proper backspacing etc. 


    Un-Civil-ized 2002 230BR, MX6.2 BIII on a Prestige Trailer. Moonstone/Amethyst with silver diamond graphics
  •  08-23-2008, 6:44 AM 53411 in reply to 53369

    Re: Has anyone upgraded their trailer wheels/tires?

    Tim, you're gonna run into problems with the rims and space for them (rubbing) if you try to upsize. The main problem with going to the 15" size is the rims are a 6 bolt pattern verses the 5 bolt on your 14 inchers.
    "Toy Story"

    Y2K 266BR
    454 Mag B-3
  •  08-25-2008, 9:18 AM 53480 in reply to 53411

    Re: Has anyone upgraded their trailer wheels/tires?

    I upgraded my rims but stayed with the 14" rims so I didn't have to worry about bolt pattern.  I have an Ez-Loader trailer and got the rims direct from them. 
    Glenn Jones
    2007 - 240LS, Onyx/Moonstone ,6.2L/B3,
    Razor Graphics,Xtreme Tower ,Corsa Exhaust.
    Deluxe Social Swim Platform,

    Calgary,Alberta,Canada
  •  08-27-2008, 1:14 PM 53652 in reply to 53326

    Re: Has anyone upgraded their trailer wheels/tires?

    Tim,

     

    You can go to a 15" rim that features a 5 on 4.5" Ford bolt pattern, consistant with your 14" rims, but Tony's' advice is sound about space. Unless your axles' swing arms can be adjusted, you may be reducing your space between the top of the tire and the underside of the fenders enough to create illicit contact.

    You also need to watch the space between your fenders' inner coverings (Fender pads) and the sidewalls of the bigger tires.

    We spent about 13 months trying to marry up all of our suspension and frame components, to accomodate 17" tires and rims. That will make your head spin.

    Once we found a couple of 17" rims, with the correct offset, that feature the same lug stud pattern, in quantities sufficient for product demands; we had to narrow our frame and axles 2", find a wider fender, and raise the boat on the trailer about 1.5", in order to use the 17s and stay within the USDOT maxium width requirements of 102". 

    The USDOT max of 102" caused the 20" low profile tire and rim combos offered by our west coast competitor, to pushed the boats up 4 - 6" higher on the trailer, making them virtually useless on most any ramp that did not feature a fair degree of steepness. The tow boat market was a good niche for this style, but only if you stayed away from the north central markets that typically feature shallow ramps.

     

     


    Goober says, "Hey!" Andy!! WoooHooo!!
  •  08-27-2008, 9:50 PM 53673 in reply to 53652

    Re: Has anyone upgraded their trailer wheels/tires?

    Hmmm, you learn something new every day...I didn't think a 15" rim with the 5 bolt pattern was available. All of the places I checked only had 6 bolt patterns available in that diameter.

    BTW Byron, I HATE illicit contact!!!  

     


    "Toy Story"

    Y2K 266BR
    454 Mag B-3
  •  08-28-2008, 8:32 AM 53682 in reply to 53673

    Re: Has anyone upgraded their trailer wheels/tires?

    I am the same way. I mean....when you pay for the real thing and get only illicit, you feel cheated, somehow, huh?
    Goober says, "Hey!" Andy!! WoooHooo!!
  •  08-28-2008, 9:59 PM 53732 in reply to 53682

    Re: Has anyone upgraded their trailer wheels/tires?

    Stick out tongue
    "Toy Story"

    Y2K 266BR
    454 Mag B-3
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