Trailer question

[SteveH]

The hubs are not the problem as you can get 14 and 15" wheels for trailers with even the 4 lug center, it is the offset problem. The axle is designed (vers the width of the frame) for the small wheels which are very narrow. You could just cut the axel and add a section to the middle to make it wider and then you could use the larger 14 or 15" wheels, which would be the cheapest way to go if you have welding capabilities.

[cracker39]

Sorry, I didn't consider the wheel offset. In the beginning, Vegabond said he was trying to stay away from welding. The offset could be taken care of by wheel spacers. This link is one example:

http://wwwrsphysse.anu.edu.au/~amh110/wheel_spacers.htm

But, this adds to the cost. By the time new springs and spacers and possibly hubs are bought, it might be just as cheap to go with the torsion axle and try to sell the original. Mine will cost about $162 or $172 with the EZ lube hubs. That's without shipping as I will drive over to Redneck Trailers in Tampa and get it, along with my door.

[SteveH]

Dale,

Yes, you could use spacers, but the spacers will have to be much thicker than 8mm as your link has. The wheels that come with the HF trailer are really small and thin. Personally, I would not use spacers as this offsets the load out of the center of the bearings in the hubs and therefore puts excessive load on the outside bearing as well as transfering excessive load to the outside of the spindle...especially if you put enough spacer in there to make a 14 or 15" wheel/tire combo fit.

like my Mother-in-law used to say, "you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear".

[madjack]

...another BIG problem with spacers is that usually require longer studs, not only do they put more pressure on the outer bearing but also on the studs which can cause them to fail CATASTOPHICALLY (don't ask how I know this)
madjack

[cracker39]

Well, what's a guy gonna do????

It's the age old question...Can we get there from here???

[SteveH]

Yes, but it's not cheap and easy. Like I said earlier, I think the cheapest as well as easiest is to put a section in the middle of the axle. If welding or contracting welding is out of the question, then the axle needs to be replaced.

[Gerdo]

Madjack

Do tell!

" which can cause them to fail CATASTOPHICALLY (don't ask how I know this)"

[toypusher]

.......which can cause them to fail CATASTOPHICALLY (don't ask how I know this)
madjack

Ya know, this ain't the military and the "DON'T ASK - DON'T TELL" rule does not apply

[Vegabond9]

Yes, yes. I do believe Madjack is holding out on us. Sounds like a story I would only want to hear about and not experience. Sounds like a gather round the campfire type of thing..... (sound of Werewolf in distance)

[Gerdo]

He wouldn't have made the comment if he didn't want us to ask!

[madjack]

...it was a dark and windy night, no moon was showing as we sat around the fire, listening to the coyotes howl when suddenly...opps wrong story

...it was the dark of the night on the 5th of June in a Kenworth haulin'...no that's not it either

...6mos earlier; a friend had bought a homemade utility trailer made from an old boat trailer...it had 12" wheels.
He wanted to put larger tires on it...after aquiring some wheels/tires he found that the tires touched the frame, so he got some .5 in spacers and longer studs and mounted them up.
(now the good part) We were going out to his camp to clean up and build a small entrance deck. On the trailer, we had a riding mower, a sheet of 3/4 ply and about a dozen 2x4's.
As we were passing a small store we heard a sound like a pistol shot. At the same time the trailer started fishtailing violently actually tumbling the mower off the side and flingiing the ply and 2x4's out of the trailer. Finally we got stopped and off the road.
As we were looking at the mess and shaking our pants legs to empty them an old black man walked up from the store...he was almost white from color loss. He said "mister I was buying gas and sure 'nuf thought I done been shot, as I looked up I saw yo tire comin' at me but it bounced and went around behind the sto"
Upon further investigation we discovered that the 4 studs had cracked almost all the way thru previously and had finally failed(curbside of trailer)
WE gathered up the wood, drug up all the mower parts and rounded up the tire before a trooper came by and stopped, he is the one that pointed out the fact that the sheared studs had combo of corrosion and new metal on the faces of the sheared studs, reasoning that we had probably lost 1, then another and finally an instant shearing of the remaining stud(s), which was the sound we heard, He also advised us to check the other side. 2 of those studs twisted off with the lug wrench when we checked them and the other 2 were cracked.
We left all our stuff on the side of the road, returned home and got the original wheels, stopped at an auto parts and got new studs, went back and put everything back together and continued on our trip a whole lot wiser...my friend still has that trailer.
The moral for US was...the hell with spacers and check your lugs regularly

So there ya go, a long story but ya asked for it

madjack

[cracker39]

...it was a dark and windy night, no moon was showing as we sat around the fire, listening to the coyotes howl when suddenly...opps wrong story

...it was the dark of the night on the 5th of June in a Kenworth haulin'...no that's not it either

Don't think I'd heard that first story, but the 2nd sounds like an opening line from a C. W. McCall song...

[jay]

in high school i reversed the wheels on my '58 VW beetle to make it look cool.

never made it through senior year!

...the bug that is...

[cracker39]

In the late 60s, I put a set of 6.5"x14" Corbvette Rallye wheels with wide tires on my 63VW with wheel adapters. The engine was souped up so it performed well with the heavier tires on it.

[Vegabond9]

This thread is turning into "True Confessions". ha ha...... Don't get me started with my stories. Some of which are just plain embarrassing. I'm the type that learns the very hard way.

Lets see..... what catagories would I mention.....

Trying to ride my KLR650 (street legal dirtbike) in snow and ice....

Scuba diving in 11 inches of water...

Sinking a rowboat with a machine gun.

Arresting a transvestite parking violater.

Stealing a rookies patrol car

I better stop here before I get arrested. Now I'm striving to lead a peaceful yet active life of camping, digital photography, bike riding ect...