Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

First of all I want to thank Mike S., Steve Cox and all the other wonderful people on this board. Your comments and answers inspire others. I came over from the strip built kayak side of life and have fallen in love with the TD world. What a wonderful and supportive community!

Ok, my questions:

1. I have a 4'X8' HF trailer with the 12" wheels. My question is: Can I simply find 14" Rims that match the bolt/circle pattern and mount them instead of the stock 12" rims? Do I need to upgrade the hubs or the bearings or can I bolt on the larger rims without a lot of mods?

2. Does anyone quick reference for make/model rims that fit the 4 bolt HF trailers?

Lastly, I know there maybe information similar to what I am asking already on this forum. I still have dial-up so doing a lot of searching takes about 4 days. It is quicker for me to just ask my questions. Sorry if there is a lot of duplicate questions. Thanks.

Peace,

Ty in Michigan

Hey Ty,

Are you in SE Michigan?

Here's a bolt circle reference:
http://tnttt.com/viewto ... ircle#2244

And at the moment I can't remember the BC on the HF trailer, and before I do, someone else will remember and chime in...

Have fun!

Mike...

Edit... the 4 bolt HF wheels are 4 on a 100mm B.C.
http://tnttt.com/viewto ... cle#179440

Don't know about the 5 bolt wheels.... yet

Ty, the first thing to keep in mind is the fact that the stock HF tires are very narrow and going to a substantially wider tire can cause clearance problems between tire and frame...this can be alleviated with an adapter/spacer...the second thing to consider is the quality of the hub/bearing in question is minimal and may not hold upto the added stresses...while this has been done before, I would be leary of the conversion...this is just a personal opinion on the conversion, as always with such things, YourMileagMayVary...........
madjack

Yeah, the Slavic translation of HF = cheap junk... lol Anyway... thanks for your comments but it leads to another question then:

Is my logic correct that I can get a different hub/bearing/rim setup as long as the inside diameter of the hub/bearings is the same as the axle spindle? I too am leary about putting too much faith in the HF hubs and bearings. I have been looking at better quality marine grade hubs that would give me a 5 bolt (and therefore better selection of rims,etc.) and just putting those on the existing HF axle spindles.

To Mike, I live over in SW Michigan. I am just north of the RV capital building center of the world. It is a blessing because I go to RV Surplus (they have a great website that some have mentioned on here) but I get to visit them in person. Talk about going into the store for one thing and coming out with new and exciting things to put in the TD. One thing I love about TDs is that they truly can be designed and executed depending on ones preference and choice.

I will be posting photos soon of the build in progress. Again, thanks for all the advice.

Ty in Michigan

Ty, I have no idea if you can get a suitable replacement hub(I have my doubts)...even if you can, you are still faced with the problem of the hub face being to close to the frame rails to give sufficient clearance between tire/wheel and frame/body...IF I had an HF frame and wanted to use it with bigger tire/wheels, I would just get an entire replacement axle, with the proper clearances to start with...probably around 100 bucks(cheap for the peace of mind)........
madjack

The 1740 pound HF trailers came with a 5 bolt hub with a standard 4 1/2 inch bolt circle - It's a one inch axle I believe, so maybe the hubs will interchange?

Actually, the 1740 trailer is a better one to start with anyway - Regularly $399 but frequently on sale for $299 and then if you use a 15% off coupon, you have a pretty good foundation for about $255. You also get the larger, higher rated 5.30 X 12 tires with the 1740

I've got some 13 inch alumunum wheels with real trailer tires on them (stolen off my Little Guy) on my 1740 - I did have to use a spacer/adapter to get clearance with the trailer body though

Don

mikeschn wrote:... the 4 bolt HF wheels are 4 on a 100mm B.C.
http://tnttt.com/viewto ... cle#179440

As I mentioned in that discussion, I find the idea of 4-on-100mm trailer hubs surprising... and in that discussion I didn't see any confirmation that 4-on-100mm wheels actually properly fit the Harbor Freight hub. I would still guess (and it is only a guess) that 4-on-4" is more likely.

SteveT (Sonetpro) - are you out there listening, and did you confirm the hub pattern?

FWIW, I agree with Jack ... just get a whole new axle & hub assembly, one that has bearings/races with a NAPA part # (most American-made trailer axles do), and one with hub-face measurements that will allow you to run your chosen wheel/tire combo.

I have no personal experience with HF trailer equipment, but I've heard the horror stories of folks who have bearing failures and can't get replacement parts [b]anywhere[b] (not even HF!) ... but on the flip side, I'm also aware of folks who have had their HF trailer equipment for 10-15 years and havn't experienced any problems (of course, they are the ones who do routine and diligent maintenance ...).

Good Luck with what ever path you choose! As always ...

CHEERS!

Grant

teardropty wrote:...Is my logic correct that I can get a different hub/bearing/rim setup as long as the inside diameter of the hub/bearings is the same as the axle spindle? I too am leary about putting too much faith in the HF hubs and bearings. I have been looking at better quality marine grade hubs that would give me a 5 bolt (and therefore better selection of rims,etc.) and just putting those on the existing HF axle spindles.

The spacing between the bearings (distance along the spindle) and width of the bearings (again, distance along the spindle) would also need to match for a different hub to fit.

I'm agree with the idea of changing the whole axle... in addition to getting the right width, maybe there is some use for the original (instead of having a couple of wasted hubs left over), and for minimal extra cost the whole axle could be better, and known to fit together properly.

I appreciate the advice. It seems like a full axle/hub replacement may be the way to go. Ok, now this leads to that question:

What manufacturer WOULD you suggest?
Is Reliable Axle sold by Northern Tools ok to use or am I likely buying more foreign junk?
Is there a manufacturer that someone would recommend?

Thanks.

DEXTER(first recommendation)...or for mail order
http://www.trailerpart.com/2ktrailerAxle.htm
...or whatever you can find locally to save on shipping...as far as Reliable goes, I have never heard anything good about them...also, with Reliable, you get what they got...with the other 2 I listed, you can get them custom sized.....
madjack

I used a Dexter axle on my trailer. I mounted FORD Explorer 14" rims on the hubs. The bolt pattern was the same ,but the center hole was slightly smaller. I enlarged it with a rotory rasp on a drill. The aluminum cut away quickly and it only took a few minutes and turned out uniform. Keep this in mind when looking at rims. Bolt patern AND center hole size.
Good luck, William

Thanks for the info. I am taking apart the hub this weekend and measuring everything with a caliper to get a better idea what the sizes of the spindle, bearing (inner and outer) and hub are. If I find a supplier for the bearings and seals (other than HF) I will post the information on here so others can get them also. Hope everyone has a great holiday!

Just remember HF bearings are metric, the bearing # is 30205, ( for the 1750#) seals 30x25x7mm. Hope this helps. I tried to get a better set for mine, the salesdude tripped on them until I told him they were metric. He only had one pair.

madprinter wrote:I used a Dexter axle on my trailer. I mounted FORD Explorer 14" rims on the hubs. The bolt pattern was the same ,but the center hole was slightly smaller. I enlarged it with a rotory rasp on a drill. The aluminum cut away quickly and it only took a few minutes and turned out uniform. Keep this in mind when looking at rims. Bolt patern AND center hole size.
Good luck, William

Good point.

I have not heard of anyone having a centre hole clearance problem with Ranger (=Explorer) wheels on a Dexter hub; however, I have heard that there are a few different centre hole sizes in Ranger wheels. My guess is that those wheels were from a two-wheel-drive Explorer, and thus did not have the big centre hole necessary to clear the driven front hub hardware of a 4x4.