Now that I'm fixing up my rig, I'd like to get some new tires and rims. I plan to tow it with my 1965 Ford Galaxie 500 which has 15 inch rims. Is it possible to put 15 inch rims on my little Tote n' Tarry? I'd like to paint the car to match the trailer and add hubcaps to the trailer to match my old Ford. Can the wheel wells be cut out, or are we stuck with 13 or 14 inch wheels? Does anyone know of a company that makes cool looking rims for our little tikes?
Thanks in advance for your ideas/help!
Full Version: Tires and Wheels
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I doubt that you'll get a much taller wheel in the well without changing out the axle or at least taking the current one off and putting a spacer between the frame and axle. I've got 15" wheels on my Scamp (with axle change) running Corvette Rallye wheels with Ford bolt pattern (5x4-1/2)....like you, I want the wheels on my trailer to match the tug.
If you can't find exactly what you want locally, give Stockton Wheel a call...they'll make you exactly what you want.
Stockton Wheel. Just remember, everything comes with a price!
If you can't find exactly what you want locally, give Stockton Wheel a call...they'll make you exactly what you want.
Stockton Wheel. Just remember, everything comes with a price!
Lower-profile tires can be used to keep overall tire diameter down while increasing wheel size, as long as load capacity is maintained (tough, since shorter sidewalls mean less load capacity, despite the larger wheel). Since ST (Special Trailer) tires are generally only available in tall aspect ratios (75 and higher), and LT (light truck) tires are not available this small (in overall diameter), the choices are commercial truck/van/trailer and passenger car tires.
For small commercial tires in low profiles, I suggest checking out Continental's Vanco series, Michelin's Agilis, or Nokian's NRC 2; those are the ones I have found with possible sizes for my Boler B1700 (a 17' trailer which uses larger tires than a typical 13' egg).
For passenger car tires, remember to de-rate the tire's load capacity by 10% for trailer service, and look for Extra Load (XL) tires to handle higher pressures and keep capacity up.
If increasing overall tire diameter significantly, remember that this will reduce the effectiveness of the brakes, unless they are larger as well.
For small commercial tires in low profiles, I suggest checking out Continental's Vanco series, Michelin's Agilis, or Nokian's NRC 2; those are the ones I have found with possible sizes for my Boler B1700 (a 17' trailer which uses larger tires than a typical 13' egg).
For passenger car tires, remember to de-rate the tire's load capacity by 10% for trailer service, and look for Extra Load (XL) tires to handle higher pressures and keep capacity up.
If increasing overall tire diameter significantly, remember that this will reduce the effectiveness of the brakes, unless they are larger as well.
Bear in mind that you guys may be mixing hub-centric wheels on lug-centric hubs (depending on whether the wheels are after-market or vehicle manf) so you might want to consult a really knowledgeable tire shop (and Dexter engineering) about this -- Dexter or the wheel manf might make a spacer ring to mate the wheel to the hub -- There's more to the wheel than just the lug numbers and spacing (altho Dexter does use 5 on 4.5", like Chrysler and Ford), like the hub and the offset -- Also, wheels made for passenger vehicles might not be spec'd for the higher pressures used on trailer tires.
Hub-centric Rings
Hub-centric Wheel Adapter
Hub-centric Rings
Hub-centric Wheel Adapter
Those are good points, Pete. One of the advantages of using passenger tires is that they rarely require high inflation pressures (even an XL tire is typically 50 PSI, like a load range C ST/LT/commercial tire), so just about any automotive wheel will handle the pressure.
I had a look at the Stockton wheels, and noticed that while load capacity per wheel is not high by truck or trailer standards for the size, the single 15x7 wheel I checked would still handle the entire weight of a typical 13' egg... that's one effect of going from a small and heavily loaded trailer wheel and tire to a larger and thus more lightly loaded (for its size) combination.
I had a look at the Stockton wheels, and noticed that while load capacity per wheel is not high by truck or trailer standards for the size, the single 15x7 wheel I checked would still handle the entire weight of a typical 13' egg... that's one effect of going from a small and heavily loaded trailer wheel and tire to a larger and thus more lightly loaded (for its size) combination.
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