Wheel Rim Size

[Baz]

I am building my frame and an ready to order my axle. The question I have is I found a good deal on some rims, 15x6 with 5 on 4.5 bolt pattern. Are these ok?

[azmotoman]

Those are Mopar and/or Ford Ranger rims. While 15" keeps the bearings cooler (fewer revolutions), tires may be a bit pricier if you stick to the ST rated trailer tires. I bought 2 tires for our woody (205/75/14) yesterday for $69/M&B $10 apiece in Mesa at a local trailer supply, mom-n-pop type shop. If you can find similar pricing for a true trailer rated tire in that 15x4.5, then go for it. Be careful to allow for spring sag and fender height as you continue.

[emiller]

That is a good choice of rim size.

[aggie79]

I don't want to over-complicate this, but you may want to think about:

1. Checking the backspacing of the wheel to be sure it clears the torsion arm (if you are using a torsion axle) and to see how it would affect clearance between the sidewall (if your wheels are outboard of the sidewalls.)

2. The wheel has a large enough opening to clear the axle hub.

This is speaking from experience. The (reasonably priced) wheels I initially wanted to use would not fit over the axle hub and, if they had, they would not clear the sidewalls.

Tom

[azmotoman]

This might also help in you planning:

[dh]

This post looks really familiar

Didn't we just do this a few weeks back?

If I remember Baz, the whole backspace and torsion arm clearance issue was discussed.

EDIT

Oh, I see the OP was back on July 21, looks like it got bumped or something. Here is the original thread:

http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=38835

Must have been a double thread or something.

[Larry C]

I'm also about to buy my axle and wheels. I will be using a Dexter 8 torsion axle. What I am not sure about is how do I know if the wheel will clear the axle arm without trying them?

Do I look for a wheel offset that keeps the axle arm outside of the rim edge?
What about brakes, do they require a different wheel? Also, how to determine tire width for body clearance?

Is there a tutorial that helps one determine axle, wheels, and tires when all that is known is frame width?
This is Andrew's drawing from another post:




Larry C

[teardrop_focus]

The wheel diameter measurement arrows in this pic may be misleading... but only slightly.

Careful w/ the rim dia measurement if choosing tires based on what one might pull from a junkyard.

The wheel dia (and tire dia) should be measured from where the tire's sidewall bead sits IN the the wheel rim lip - not the outermost lip-to-lip of the wheel bead.

[teardrop_focus]

Larry C

This is Andrew's drawing from another post:

The diagram here in Larry C's post is more accurate in regards to wheel/tire diameter...

I'm also about to buy my axle and wheels. I will be using a Dexter 8 torsion axle. What I am not sure about is how do I know if the wheel will clear the axle arm without trying them?

Do I look for a wheel offset that keeps the axle arm outside of the rim edge?
What about brakes, do they require a different wheel? Also, how to determine tire width for body clearance?

Most torsion axle trailing arms have a 4-5 inch center-to-center distance... add the thickness of the material on either side of these centers and you wind up with approx 6.5-7 inches. You'll have no problems w/ a 16 in wheel. I see 15" and 14" wheels fitted to torsion axles all the time, but did not study the backspace/trailing arm relationships... People like Grant Whipp of Lil Bear, or Gabe at So Cal Teardrops or madjack; people who have fitted wheels to several Dexter installations would know.

Converting later to the commonly-available Dexter Axle electric brakes' backing plates and brake drum/hubs is usually not an issue because "coaster" hubs are manufactured w/ the same hub face placement as the electric brake drum's hubface.

Is there a tutorial that helps one determine axle, wheels, and tires when all that is known is frame width?

You'd need to know body width also... then apply the info posted above.

I planned my first-time effort using 2" as the distance between the tire and trailer body. I had to plan the axle's hub-to-hub distance after I determined body width and wheel offset.

[Alphacarina]

The backspacing issue is easy to solve with a pair of billet aluminum wheel spacers - They bolt to the trailer axle with the studs you usually bolt your wheel on with and they have a new set of studs for you to mount your tires. $50 to $75 on eBay. I'm using 15 by 6 automobile wheels with a 5 by 4.5 bolt pattern (Mazda) which match my FWD car so I needed a spacer. The 1 1/2 inch spacer effectively turns my 40mm offset wheels into zero offset wheels, so the bearings in the hubs are centered in the wheel . . . . like they ought to be. I've towed 1300 or 1400 pounds 11,000 miles in the past 3 years using these spacers. You can buy the spacers in 1 inch, 1.5 inches and 2 inches to suit your needs

For a lightweight trailer with 13, 14 or 15 inch wheels, you don't really need ST rated trailer tires - You can safely use any automotive tire and run it at 28 to 30 psi just like you do on your car. I replace the tires on my car when they still have a bit of tread left and since I have 8 identical wheels for my car, the new tires go on the other set of 4 wheels and the old car tires become my trailer tires - Effectively giving me free (and matching) trailer tires. Another 'plus' is that the same spare which works on your car also works on your trailer . . . . and if you should have *2* flats at the same time, you can take the wheels/tires off the trailer so you can drive to town and get the flats fixed . . . . while the wife stays behind to guard the trailer

Don