Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I'm ordering the Dexter Torflex axle for my 5x10 Comet. The 4x10 original plans call for "#9 idler (no brakes), SPECIAL SHORT SPINDLE, no brake flange, grease lubrication, 5 on 4.5 bolt pattern hubs with the 6.5” diameter hub surface for a 15” wheel, ½-20 wheel studs, 22.5 degree down start angle, 3” high bracket, standard orientation of that bracket, side mount hangers, 60” hubface to hubface and 47” outside bracket to outside bracket." blah, blah, blah

For the 5x10, am I OK just adding 12" to the hubface and outside to outside measurements? ie 59" outside to outside and 72" hubface to hubface?

That will work fine, are you ordering the wheels with the axle? As long as you have a zero offset wheel that should give you 1 1/2" to 2" of clearance between your tire and trailer side wall. If you aren't ordering wheels from them it is usually best to have the wheels you are going to use with tires mounted so you can check the offset and make sure you have at least an inch between the trailer wall and tire sidewall.
Your brackets can be anywhere from an inch wider to an inch narrower than the outside measurement of your frame.

The 22.5 degee down angle should be about right. I went 10 degrees up, which makes my trailer a bit low, but then I am pulling it with a VW new Beetle that sits very low to the ground, and wanted the trailer to sit low also. I had to stack my tongue to gain 2" of tongue height, with 22.5 degrees down your tongue should be about right.

My trailer is 57" wide and I went 72" hub face to hub face. Seems about right for my wheels, but I'm not sure of the offset (I think they are 5.5" wide though). I can measure the clearance and offset in the morning if you want, just let me know.

...22.5% down will make your trailer sit pretty high, we went with a 0% angle and it gave us 13" of ground clearance with 205/70/15 tires
madjack

With 175/75-14 tires and a 22.5 down angle my trailer sits around 12.5in off the ground. My tear also has a skirt so the frame is probably another inch higher than that.

Thanks for the quick responses, this board rocks!!!

With the 10 degree up axel I have 12 1/2" of clearance to the bottom of my frame, using 14" 185/75 tires. The box isn't mounted on the frame yet, which should cause it to settle an inch or two I would guess.

I think my wheels have a 3/4" offset (they measure 4 1/2" from the hub flange face to the edge of the rim on the inside, and 2" from the hub flange face to the edge of the rim on the outside). The rim is stamped that it is 14 x 5, but I am not sure where they measure the width. It is off of a 1980's Toyota pick-up. With these rims, I have 2 3/4" clearance from the edge of the trailer to the edge of the rim. Clearance at the tire is 2 1/4".

If you get a zero offset wheel, you may be a little tight on clearance. My tires stick out about 1/2" from the rim. You might measure the actual wheels you plan to use if possible, and add 1/2" for the tire bulge, just to make sure that you have enough room. I gave myself a little "wiggle" room in case I wanted to used different wheels, which I am thinking about.

Of course, you could also just go with a wheel that has a little offset, if your hub faces are too close to the trailer side.

I'm committed now. Went with the Dexter Torkflex with 59" outside to outside, 72" hubface to hubface, and 10 deg down as opposed 22.5 to lower the height slightly. I'm guessing a 6 week lead time on delivery to Alaska. That's good...I'll get a couple paychecks to go searching for jack stands, coupler, tongue jack, safety chains, wheels, etc.