Spare Tire Size

[swoody126]

5-lug x 4.5" bolt circle has been a common trailer pattern for a long time

boat and utility trailers have used it almost exclusively

many boat trailer manufacturers are now using the same pattern w/ fancy(charging the customer $$$) aluminium wheels

those aluminium wheels are not uncommon in our area on CraigsList

using an off sized spare is only an issue if your trailer drags w/ the smaller wheel installed OR the tire isn't rated for highway speeds

yes the bearings will run faster butt if you keep your bearing maintenance up to date/par there should be no issue there

the ony time when running different sized tire/wheel combinations is really important is on the TV drive axle and even then for a short distance at slow speeds it doesn't usually cause any problems unless your TV has a Limited slip differential

some types of race cars mount substantially different sizes on the same axle w/o problems

for the average trailer tower the OP's ponderment shouldn't be an issue

just find a wheel/tire combination w/ the correct bolt patter and the largest diameter that will fit between the frame rails and mount it under the body

piece o' cake

sw

[tony.latham]

Please check the date code of your spare tire.

You don't understand physics. Here's the deal; If you have a spare--with air--you can't have a flat. It's physically impossible. Einstein called it his Theory of General Relativity.

He never had any flats. Not that I heard of anywho.

Tony

[Tom&Shelly]

Please check the date code of your spare tire.

You don't understand physics. Here's the deal; If you have a spare--with air--you can't have a flat. It's physically impossible. Einstein called it his Theory of General Relativity.

He never had any flats. Not that I heard of anywho.

Tony

1. Ever notice all of Einstein's thought experiments involved trains?

B. He never drove in New Mexico!

Tom

[Shadow Catcher]

I bought an adapter to be able to use the TV spare

[working on it]

...You don't understand physics. Here's the deal; If you have a spare--with air--you can't have a flat. It's physically impossible. Einstein called it his Theory of General Relativity....

* OK, I guess in the normal universe those physical laws apply. Somehow, I leapt into another realm, past even special relativity, maybe into pure quantum physics....

* In an eight day period, driving to work several years ago in my HHR Panel, I had 1) TWO flats (one coming and the other going), and 2) TWO MORE, a week later (one going into the parking lot at work, and the second leaving the tire place across the street (on a brand new tire)). What're the odds on that?

* I immediately got four more wheels (with tires) from a friend upgrading his HHR to better wheels, kept the usual spare under the rear floor, and mounted two of the new tires/wheels on brackets on each side of the panel van. Two tires are in the shed. With all these spares, I never had another flat (knock on wood) in the HHR.

* P.S. I also had two blowouts on my race car trailer one trip, and started carrying three spares for it, too.

[featherliteCT1]

working on it,

I chuckled a bit when I recalled how many padlocks you said you have for your rig. Sounds like your ratio of extra spare tires may be proportional to the number of padlocks you have ...LOL! Seriously, I appreciate your attitude of better safe than sorry.