Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

My trailer has these cheesy wheels and tires on it. I will be going to 14" most likely and raising it up for off road use. Any suggestions as to a good place to get the wheels and tires? I know some offer free shipping. I'll probably make the fenders from 1/8 Aluminum Tread plate. I think the off roaders look better with Jeep style fenders. Any comments or suggestions welcome.

My Wheels

I went to craigslist and found the rims when i started this project. They matched my jeep and so i got the same size tire. if your bolt pattern will let you go with same size rims and tires as your TV.

Yeah, I thought about that too. Would be nice to be able to use the spare from the TV also.

Use the same size wheel and tire as your TV if at all possible. Ours has 14" rims and you are greatly limited as to tires you can find. I also decided on using pasenger tires NOT made in China (all the ST tires I could find are). an adapter is available if all else fails.
(using a 17" doughnut from the TV).

If you go up to 14" wheels, the tire and wheel will be wider, so you run the risk of the inside face of the tire rubbing on the frame or the trailer sidewall.

You can overcome this by mounting the wheel further outboard, either by choosing an offset wheel (your current trailer wheels will have the hub bolting flange on the centreline) or by using wheel spacers. But be aware that this will put an eccentric load on the wheel bearings and so their life will be shortened.

If your trailer is much lighter than the axle's capacity, or you don't tow it thousands of miles a year, this may just shorten the bearings' life from 50 years to 10 years, so may be no problem.

I got mine on EBay. Summit Racing has a HUGE selection and free shipping too. I'd look there.

I got a pair these. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001KJ ... UTF8&psc=1 They look good and the price was right. !5 inchers for the hills.

I also went with truck tires. They cost more but are tougher.

TL

I'm not sure what capacity your axle is but several folks on the forum (as best I can recall, Cliffmeister for one) have bent 2000# axles on the road.

If yer planning on going off road you might consider a 3500# axle. Also brakes are a good idea.

Cheers,

Gus

There is a very large selection of trailer wheels and tires available. You can be creative and choose your own custom combination of wheels and tires if you want to. Several places sell fenders including steel or aluminum jeep style fenders. Often mounting and shipping are "free." The combinations you can make up are almost unlimited. Have fun. Several of the stores are trailer parts "super stores" you could use for many other parts to build a teardrop camper.


trailerandtruckparts.com http://www.trailerandtruckparts.com/14-inch-Wheels_c_57.html over 50 14" wheels to choose from
http://www.trailerandtruckparts.com/14-inch-Tires_c_170.html 14" radial or bias with many tires to choose from...you can choose your own wheel and tire combination

recstuff.com http://recstuff.com/14-Inch-Trailer-Tire-And-Wheel-Assemblies.aspx
http://recstuff.com/14-Inch-Trailer-Wheels.aspx wide selection of wheels
http://recstuff.com/14-Inch-Trailer-Tires.aspx radial or bias tires
http://recstuff.com/singleaxletrailerfenders.aspx jeep style fenders

southwestwheel.com http://www.southwestwheel.com/store/c-922-fourteen-inch-five-lug-wheel-tire.aspx good store for axles too

easternmarine.com http://www.easternmarine.com/em_store/trailertires/ Their Trailer Parts Superstore has jeep fenders and many other trailer parts too

etrailer.com http://www.etrailer.com/dept-pg-Tires_and_Wheels-sf-Tire_with_Wheel-pc-14_Inch.aspx etrailer has so many parts its a superstore too
http://www.etrailer.com/dept-pg-Trailer_Fenders-pt-14_Inch_Wheels.aspx jeep style fenders

summitracing.com http://www.summitracing.com/search/department/wheels-tires/part-type/wheels

eamarquardt wrote:I'm not sure what capacity your axle is but several folks on the forum (as best I can recall, Cliffmeister for one) have bent 2000# axles on the road.

If yer planning on going off road you might consider a 3500# axle. Also brakes are a good idea.

Cheers,

Gus

I'm surprised to hear they bent a 2000# axle on a 800# trailer. I guess it's possible with some of these Chinese made trailers, or if someone has a teardrop that weighs over 2000#. I'm sticking with my axle, I think it's a 2000# also. One reason I got the Northern Tool trailer was to save some money. I guess if it bends, I'll go from there. I'm hoping my trailer is well under 2000.

MontanaTeardrops wrote:

eamarquardt wrote:I'm not sure what capacity your axle is but several folks on the forum (as best I can recall, Cliffmeister for one) have bent 2000# axles on the road.

If yer planning on going off road you might consider a 3500# axle. Also brakes are a good idea.

Cheers,

Gus

I'm surprised to hear they bent a 2000# axle on a 800# trailer. I guess it's possible with some of these Chinese made trailers, or if someone has a teardrop that weighs over 2000#. I'm sticking with my axle, I think it's a 2000# also. One reason I got the Northern Tool trailer was to save some money. I guess if it bends, I'll go from there. I'm hoping my trailer is well under 2000.

Yup, you'll probably be just fine off road with a 2000# axle on a trailer you hope is under 2000#. But, should it fail when yer off the beaten path more than a bit, you might just wish you weren't quite so cost conscious. Being broken down on the side of the road (or well off the beaten path) is just about the last place I enjoy being.

Cheers,

Gus

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