Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Anyone thinking of putting on larger tires on a hf frame may want to check the wheel/frame clearance. I just tried and found out not only did it give only about 1/4" clearance, but they also rub on the hanger bolts for the springs. ( it came with 12",5.30, I tried 15",205 75) I guess I will have to try 14"s or 13"s ( I hate the look of the 12")

Or find a wheel with a different offset.

YeaI looked at my boat trailer, it worse, How will the offset effect the bearings?, My son suggested I reverse the tire( inside out) I tried it and it fits (clears bolts by 1/4+") Do you think this is safe?, I'm not worried about looks, I was going to dress up the rims anyway.

satch wrote:..... My son suggested I reverse the tire( inside out) I tried it and it fits (clears bolts by 1/4+") Do you think this is safe?....

NO, look at the holes for the lug nuts, they are tapered. If you put them on backwards you will break the wheel in short order!

I looked at that, there is a slight tapper, not much, I just wanted an opinion on it, thanks for the info.I will just have to look around

Just get some negative offset wheels. That is what I had to do on mine.
deep dish rims are neg offset.

http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/infoWheelOffsets.dos

I have a Red Trailer but scrapped the wheels & axle that came with it. Bought a torsion axle and 14" trailer wheels and tires. It tows like a dream and the wheels look much better.

satch wrote:YeaI looked at my boat trailer, it worse, How will the offset effect the bearings?

We discussed this recently - I think you should be OK to increase the offset if you're not using a big percentage of the trailer's capacity (say a 1000-1200lb teardrop on a 1800lb HF frame), but you should make sure the bearings are perfect, always carry spares and tools to fit them and expect to replace the bearings fairly often (every few years?).

If you are using most of the trailer's capacity, then offsetting the wheels is likely to leave you with very short-lived bearings. If they only last a thousand miles a set, it would be a decision you might come to regret.

Andrew

angib wrote:

satch wrote:YeaI looked at my boat trailer, it worse, How will the offset effect the bearings?

We discussed this recently - I think you should be OK to increase the offset if you're not using a big percentage of the trailer's capacity (say a 1000-1200lb teardrop on a 1800lb HF frame), but you should make sure the bearings are perfect, always carry spares and tools to fit them and expect to replace the bearings fairly often (every few years?).

If you are using most of the trailer's capacity, then offsetting the wheels is likely to leave you with very short-lived bearings. If they only last a thousand miles a set, it would be a decision you might come to regret.

Andrew

I not sure how much it will weigh, I'm sure it will be close to 1000# with the frame extention ( I extended from 4' to 5', like Jim Marshall did, the exention carriage is made of 2"X 2" angle, at 3/16" thick) I'm sure that added a bit to the overall weight. I just think it looks funny wiyh the 12"s it came with.

I upped the tire size to 15" on a HF frame by changing the entire running gear. Thats a little drastic but it worked.



Some time ago somebody posted a chart that told you what wheel fit what hub....BUT there were clearance problems, hole issues and so on... as you found.

If I were to do it again without changing the running gear I would pull the trailer to a tire/wheel joint, look for the "Oldest guy there" and ask him what to use. A lot of these guys can tell ya just by looking at it.

Happy Trails

Len

Thanks for the imput guys, I will cross this bridge later, I just finished the floor and now I need to figure on the walls, I just wanted to get an idea on where everything was going to be positioned (wheels were one). I guess this is all the part of building a "drop"!!!

Satch
I also did not like the 12" rims on my black VegasTeardrop that I built so I made some changes




Here's a couple of pics of my bigger tires.
You can also go to my website there I explain what I did in reguards to my tire delema, I do have whole section showing my build.
Here is a direct link to the page reguarding the tire.

http://vegasteardrop.com/td_const_p9.html

Good luck on your build be sure to post some picks.
WE ALL LIKE PICS so bring them on.

The Sin City Teardropper.
Ken F.
( www.VegasTeardrop.com )