Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Has anyone looked into aftermarket or even stock automotive car/truck rims to give your CT that unique look?
There isn't a big selection of rims for our trailers and what is available are kind of boring.It would be cool if a nice set of polished aluminum American Racing wheels or Cragar's could be used on our trailers. Anyway I thought I would throw this out there and see what y'all think.

As long as the bolt pattern matches and the offset works, there is no reason you can't use an after market wheel. The offset is critical.

Woodbutcher wrote:As long as the bolt pattern matches and the offset works, there is no reason you can't use an after market wheel. The offset is critical.

I had a15” car wheel as a spare on my utility trailer. As Woodbutcher stated, as long as spacing and number of lugs are the same then it should work. Wheel offset should be considered but more than likely not an issue unless some crazy type of wheel is used.

Tas wrote:

Woodbutcher wrote:As long as the bolt pattern matches and the offset works, there is no reason you can't use an after market wheel. The offset is critical.

I had a15” car wheel as a spare on my utility trailer. As Woodbutcher stated, as long as spacing and number of lugs are the same then it should work. Wheel offset should be considered but more than likely not an issue unless some crazy type of wheel is used.

Yea the offset would be the key I think the bolt pattern could have commonality with many car wheels. I need to find out the CT
bolt pattern and start looking for some wheels. From what I've seen of CT wheels they are a shallow offset so I will have to keep that in mind.
Thanks for your comments!

Spindle size may matter.

Howdy All;

Just a Q & A page from the Dexter axle people;
http://www.dexterpartsonline.com/page/398255222
Scroll down a ways and off-set is mentioned.

If your axles are Lippert well, I looked but couldn't find
any information for "off-set" . But, I don't find everything
all the time, maybe someone else can.???

hank

I used custom steel wheels with baby moons on my teardrop. The critical items are: (1) wheel center diameter - it must be large enough to clear the outer bearing end and grease cap of your wheel hub, (2) offset/backspacing, and bolt pattern.

Offset and backspacing are not the same. Offset references the the distance from the center line of the wheel. Trailer wheels usually have 0" offset. So a 6" wide rim with 0" offset will the mounting surface/flange of the wheel in the center of the wheel width. Automotive wheels usually reference backspacing. Backspacing measures the distance from the inside surface of the rim to the mounting flange. With backspacing you have to consider the thickness of the wheel where the bead seats. Assuming the wheel thickness is 1/4", a 6" wide wheel with a backspacing of 3-1/4" (1/4" wheel thickness + one-half wheel width) will place the mounting surface at the middle of the wheel.

In the above example, a 6" wheel with 0" offset or 3-1/4" backspace place the mounting surface at the same location.

Note that most "stock" or aftermarket automotive replacement wheels have positive offset. If you tried mounting these on your trailer, there is a high likelihood there will be interference by the inside surface of the tire and/or wheel. I mention this so you don't pick up some automotive wheels on Craigslist and expect them to work.

https://www.wheelfire.com/blog/whats-the-difference-between-offset-and-backspacing/

My 2 cents worth.

Wheels on the Dodge had the same bolt pattern but I had to use spacers to get the off-set over the bearings right and to not have them rub the inside of the trailer also.
I have sold the Dodge but I did buy a extra wheel with the same size tire for a spare.

No one is mentioning hub centric versus lug centric wheels. Is that something people worry about?

"As opposed to hub-centric wheels, lug-centric wheels are centered on the mounting surface using the lug holes. Most aftermarket wheels are lug-centric because this allows the manufacturer to make the wheels with larger hub bore diameters so that the wheel can fit a wider array of vehicles."

McDave

Now my head is spinning.....a little. A lot of good info though. It never is that simple is it.

Tas, Howdy;

Tas wrote:Now my head is spinning.....a little. A lot of good info though. It never is that simple is it.

Well, that's how they get what ya call "Experts" and the rest of us are
what ya call "guess-perts".

hank

I’ve run vehicle wheels on my trailers. Your standard 3,500 lb trailer axle typically runs a 5x4.5 lug pattern and that’s a very common wheel lug nut spacing, so options are plentiful.

As others mentioned, there’s several thing to take into account:

- Offset/Backspacing
- Wheel bore size big enough to fit hun through
- wheels need to be lug-centric not hub-centric
- you’ll need to research both the thread size/pitch as well as the lug nut shape (conical, flat, acorn) and match all three of those to the axles wheel stud and your wheels of choice. Then purchase lug nuts that match.
- Ofcourse overall tire diameter, width and wheel/suspension travel if upsizing from stock trailer tires.

It’s a bit of a chore, but not impossible. Just find your axle lug pattern and measure what backspacing/offset clearance you have. Find out what wheels fit those measurements (specifically lug pattern and width) and to from there.