Wheel size

[ferbal]

Before starting my build I have decided to give my trailer a little love. I figure I should pull the axle off and give everything a good once over so I know I am building on a solid foundation. Since I have the wheels off I was considering going down from a 13 inch to a 12 inch. I was thinking having the trailer a bit closer to the ground would be nice and it would help with a fender clearance issue I may run into. Any reason why going down a size would be a bad idea?


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[Sparksalot]

Remount the fenders if you need to. I did an axle flip to get mine lower. Unless your tear is very light, the 12" tires will be at or over their load rating as well. Lastly, the bearings will spin just that much faster with the smaller tires.

[jondbar628]

Sparksalot has a point, But tire size isn't necessarily a good indicator of load range. There are a lot of old heavy pop-ups out there with 12" tires. I think the key here is your intended usage. If you're planning on running 70-80 MPH on I-10 in west Texas, you definetely need bigger tires for the lower RPM & lower resultant bearing heat. Same if you plan to go off-road. But if you're itinerary is the Smokies or Blue Ridge Mtns., for example, the smaller tires would probably be fine, with the lower speeds & cooler temps. Just my 2 cents......jd One caveat here - Most small trailer tires today are made in china, regardless of the name on the tire, (check out the recent Goodyear recall fiasco) so it's a real crapshoot whether you get good ones or not.

[kramergwt]

The smaller the diameter the faster the wheel spins. I went from 12” to 15”. Used it for the first time yesterday and it was noticeable in the the side mirror. But, I hauled a good size load from CT to Austin, TX doing regular driving speeds on the 12” wheels and never had a problem. I actually like a little more ground clearance for under-floor storage, my water tank and battery.


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[gudmund]

here's a bit of a comparison of "RPM" - (revolutions per mile) of a few common sizes of tires used on trailers and my own vehicles.
155/80x12 used on my old GEO Metros years ago = 927 RPM's
185/75x13 common trailer size = 843 RPM's
205/75x14 common trailer size (mine) = 773 RPM's
205/75x15 common trailer size = 744 RPM's
225/70x16 my 2012 GMC Canyon = 710 RPM's

this is math done by me and it may be off +/- a few rev's one way or the other due to different tire manufactories, but this does show what kind of differences there can be in using different sizes of tires

[swoody126]

according to E-Trailer's chart you would be lowering the frame less than 2"

closer to 1.5"

and you would be placing the axle an equal amount closer to the ground which isn't critical for those who NEVER get off pavement

you would be giving up a realistic amount of CUSH/SUSPENSION by going down since the 12's run @ 60psi while the 13's run at about 32-35psi and have a broader cross section to absorb terrain irregularities

on today's highways n byways which are not maintained so well i feel stepping down woudn't be the wisest choice though many on this forum wont agree

i feel my toys are worthy of the best suspension i can provide/afford them(currently switching trailers under a wooden boat for just this reasoning)

sw

[tony.latham]

If you plan much off-highway adventuring, smaller diameter tires are not the direction to go.





Think washboards, potholes, rocks, and washouts.

Tony

[Staryder61]

Tony wrote

Think washboards, potholes, rocks, and washouts.

Tony

Which is why I went with 14" on ours,,

Tony, did you have a gremlin take that mirror picture? Or were you picturing and driving?

[tony.latham]

Tony wrote

Think washboards, potholes, rocks, and washouts.

Tony

Which is why I went with 14" on ours,,

Tony, did you have a gremlin take that mirror picture? Or were you picturing and driving?

I think my wife was driving and I needed a break but it was taken from the passenger side. It was a rough road but well worth the hour and a half on it.





I need to go back there...

Tony

[KennethW]

Be aware that there is almost NO 12' radial tires.

[gudmund]

NO?? 12 inch radials ?? ALL the 12 inch ones I ever bought were radials (for my first 2 GEO Metro's that used 12 inchers - all the others since have used 13 inch redials - have had 5+ of them)

[KennethW]

The Metro is may be the last to use 12" tires and as you know they even moved to 13" tires in the last years. Just try to find 12' radial tires at a tire shop. They will have to order it. Not what you want when you are on the road.

[gudmund]

not just 12's - 13/14 and 15's, selection of options for vehicles using these are getting less plentiful for any vehicle that still uses them. Still out there, but being their use on new vehicles is not there any longer, eventually they probably will end up like the 12's also.

[ferbal]

Thanks for all the great info. Now you all got me thinking I might want to go bigger...