Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Hi all,
Im in the middle of my build and am just curious what size tires and wheels people have on thier tears. Could be fun to see all the diferent sizes and what they look like .

Dano

Off-road trailer.
15x8 inch Jeep wheels with 30x9.5" Mud Terrain Tires.

I have those stupid little short fat things... 20.5 x 8 x 10, on the trailer I'm starting on now. They look like golf cart tires.

My first build is stock 12" harbor freight chinese tires, that haven't exploded with about 3000 miles on them.

Im starting a new tear. Im going with those 40 ford type or Kit type fenders.
I think I will go with something like a 185/75/14 but not sure yet.
I want tall but Id like the tire to fit in the fender enough.

Keep them coming

Dano

You might just find yourself short on wheel to fill the opening. On those fenders, I've done 205 75 R 15's in them....It's up to you how you want it to look, but a 14 might not have enough "fill" for it. Nothing beats good curb appearance. A small wheel/tire combo in a nice fender, just looks funky to me. Just my opinion. Doug

Doug I agree,
Now Im going to spill the beans. I got two smoothies from a place at a good price. They are 15x6. The back space is 3-5/8. I bought two 205/75/15 tires from Americas tire. Had them mounted and they wont fit. Returned them. I think 205s are the skinniest 15 s you can get. So now Im screwed. My last tear had 4" back space and that was very close.
Just frustrated I guess.

Dano

So you have the Kit fenders? Are they the 9" wide or the 11's? And where don't they fit, inside or outsidet? The fender width makes a difference for the 205's. I didn't have a lot of clearance from the outside, but the wheel tucked inside the fender on 11's and had plenty of room. The tire should fit inside the fender, not be hanging out on the outer ridge of it. I've put the 11's over 6x15 Nascar type wheels (Jeromes trailer) and American Torque thrust mags (Deans trailer) and made them fit fine. I had the wheel/tire combo done up before hand and then fit the fender to what I needed. If your axle hub to hub dimension is too wide..then you may need to go to a smaller wheel as it's gonna be on the outer edge of the fender, or get some offset rims...All of mine were 0 offset's. I'd think you can come up with some sort of combo that would fit in the 15's. Doug

Thanks Doug,
I browed a friends 11" I think they are RW Johnsons but only 10" inside. My axle is 72 hub to hub and wheel off set is 3 5/8. I bought 205 75 15 brought them home and then put the fender up to the wall. Too tight. My last tear I did the same thing . same tires but had a 4" off set and it was tight but fit. The extra 3/8 must make a dif.
Guy at tire store said thats the skinniet tire in a 15" So Im thinking about going 14 because they offer more opptions.

"Nothing beats good curb appearance. A small wheel/tire combo in a nice fender, just looks funky to me. Just my opinion"

I agree.
Dano

I really like the vintage look of tall skinny tires. My 2008 homebuilt currently has 16" wheels with 6:00 by 16 tires on it. Fills up the fenderwells very nicely. I think you can still get 195 or 185 tires for 15" wheels. They would be modern radial replacements for old VW Bug tires.

Jerome

Hi Jerome
, Yea I like that look too.
The guy at american tire said the skinniest 15" tire they have or make is 205,s. Thats why I thought Id do a 14" wheel because I could then go 185. 195. or 205 14 and only loose 1".
Dan

Hi Dan,

Sorry to hear about your wheel/tire/fender dilemna. I ran into one myself.

On my teardrop, I used P-235/75R15 tires on 15" x 7" wheels and a pair of Grant's 11" fenders. The wheels and tires do a pretty good job of filling out the fenders.

About my dilemna, I knew I was going to want red smoothies with trim rings and baby moons. After everything was mocked up, I found out that there were no "stock" wheels to fit, so I went with the custom wheel route to get an offset that wasn't available. It was expensive but not as much as you might think. That might be an option.

Charley has the same rims that are on my Jeep. THe spare on my Jeep will work just fine if needed. the tires are 31 X 10.50R15 same as on my Jeep.

I thought the middle two numbers were the width example the 70 in 205/70/15, can never remember what the numbers mean.
I wanted to replace the wheels on my old homebuilt car trailer, was an old ford pickup bolt pattern, and 0 offset, local tire shop quoted me a price for custom rims of over $100 a wheel. Called Jegs or Summit(whichever one has the free shipping), the wheels (steel spokes) were drop shipped from the manufacturer as they were custom built, for the catalog price, came out to $25-50 a wheel. They came unpainted so it did cost me $10 more to have them painted at work.

I just checked tire rack, 195/70R15, available. I have 195 15 on my teardrop.

I also have 7.00-15's on my car hauler; they are very durable but heavy. Too heavy for a TD (unsprung weight). How about the old VW sized 165R-15? I use them as front tires on my Chevelle drag car sometimes. But for the ultimate skinny tire, how about a Moroso Drag Special 29x15 (as seen in my avatar) on a 15x3 wheel? One ply, very light, but great for extra roll-out at the strip...sorry, I forgot what forum this is for a moment. Seriously, the 165R-15 can be found anywhere, and is light enough for TD use.