13 or 14 tires??

[Laura03]

We are considering on getting 14" tires for a scamp vs. the normal 13" they come with. Does anybody know if there will be any great differance?
They are sold with 13's normally so I am guessing that there should not be any problems going down the road.

Rich

[Donna D.]

For a brand-new trailer, or new axle, or old trailer with an old axle?

[Laura03]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

For a brand-new trailer, or new axle, or old trailer with an old axle?

This would be a new scamp trailer. We are just wondering if there is any benefit to the 14 " tires as opposed to the 13"

[Bruce Thomas]

given the same type of tire and load rating etc, a bigger tire will normally run cooler and the bearings will spin slower...think of a roller skate wheel on your trailer and how fast it would be spinning at highway speeds...the other extreme would be look how slow the tractor trailer wheels seem as they roll by at 70mph....so less friction and slower speeds...unless you select smaller sidewalls vs original (70series vs 60 say) you'll raise the trailer slightly also.

[Greg H]

70 and 60 series is old school width.

[Tom Trostel]

IMHO, the best reason to use 14" tires is the availablity of superior tires that are not sold is 13" sizes. Both Maxxis UE 168 and Kumho Radial 857 are examples of this.

[dallon]

Hi this is my first post. I just read this and wanted to know if it is a bad idea to put 14" tires on a CJ, (my is a '72 and baby blue might one day soon be white dont konw yet.) a know that they are easyer to find then the 13". I also need to know if i should just put a new axel under it to make it ride higher.

[Borden]

Weight of trailer and axle limit would be good to know: may change rating needed and max load of trailer St185r13 80D 1480 lbs for total of 2960 for 2 tires or ST205r14 75C rated is 1760 at 50 lbs for 3520 lbs total on 2 tires. Both are radial see r if they fit would spin slower reduce heat and raise trailer a bit, maybe less stable on turns due to extra height but not sure?

Our boler originally came with 14" B rated tires that are 1500 at 50 lbs max or 3000 max for two and a 3500 lb axle so the upgrade was only tire rating. They had pressure to be set at 30 lbs that would lower the amount per tire giving about 2500 max load. Was enough but the extra 1000 lbs to reach limit is always good to have for inspections; even if we will never load to more than the original tire limit.

[Andy B]

Originally Posted by Greg H

70 and 60 series is old school width.

70 and 60 series refers to height not width. The 165 or 185 type number refers to width.

[Greg H]

Originally Posted by Andy B

70 and 60 series refers to height not width. The 165 or 185 type number refers to width.

Wrong, I said old school, like a G 70/15 or a L 60/15 or how about a N 50/15?

[Mike Magee]

14s will give you greater carrying capacity... more margin of safety, less chance of a blowout IMO. If buying new and both are available, I'd pick the 14s hands down.

[Loren G. Hedahl]

Of course it isn't just the tires. The wheels will also need to be replaced to match the larger 14 inch tires.

There is also fender clearance to consider with the larger wheels/tires.

I agree that the larger wheels/tires will give you a greater margin of safety with their added weight capacity rating. Some years ago there were 13 inch tires with greater cross section area and greater weight ratings available. When we bought our Scamp I replaced the cracked B78-13 tires with 205-70 x 13s. When these developed problems a few years ago the largest tire I could get was a 185-75 x 13.

So this summer I upgraded to 14 inch wheels and tires.

[reeves99]

Originally Posted by Laura03

We are considering on getting 14" tires for a scamp vs. the normal 13" they come with. Does anybody know if there will be any great differance?
They are sold with 13's normally so I am guessing that there should not be any problems going down the road.

Rich

Hey Rich,
We had the same choice to make. I decided to stay with the 13's to keep the trailer lower for wind resistance and to keep the centre of gravity lower for added safety. And, I put some (perhaps blind) faith in the designers--surely they know what they are doing As to how they will perform? Well, I'll report back in a couple of years...
Phil

[Gattopuin64]

Originally Posted by Laura03

We are considering on getting 14" tires for a scamp vs. the normal 13" they come with. Does anybody know if there will be any great differance?
They are sold with 13's normally so I am guessing that there should not be any problems going down the road.

Rich

I am looking at 14-in tires for my 16;ft SD Scamp. Did you have any problems when you went to th bigger size

Gattopuin

[Donna D.]

Hi Harry, welcome to FiberglassRV. You don't have the year of your Scamp in your profile. Prior to changing the worn-out axle on my trailer, there was no way I would have been able to get any larger tires on it than the 13". Older trailers often have axles that have "settled."

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Greg H

70 and 60 series is old school width.

60 & 70 is aspect ratio, not width, the number refers to the height of the sidewall. AFAIK it is still used on new tires.
The first number (like 185) is the section width, which is actually the width of the tire, (not always the tread width)

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Laura03

We are considering on getting 14" tires for a scamp vs. the normal 13" they come with. Does anybody know if there will be any great differance?
They are sold with 13's normally so I am guessing that there should not be any problems going down the road.

Rich

Just as an example... A 205/75R 14 is actually only a little bit taller than a 185/80R 13 (roughly 3/4" radius difference) The latter fits a new Scamp 13 very well and is available in a "C" class tire.
The difference is roughly 30 revs per mile approximately 780 & 810 respectively

[JohnF]

I just ordered a new 13' scamp and asked if 14" tires were possible and was tolld definitively no. Which trailer size are you ordering?

[honda03842]

I've mentioned it on another thread but I've read more of the (partial) articles now. There are many good tips in this series of article snip-its. I would love to read the whole articles and will subscribe so I can read more. There are numerous little bits of important thoughts in these articles, particularly for the new RVer.

A number mention tires, particularly tow vehicle tires and their effect on towability.

RV Lifestyle - Hitch Hints & Wagon Masters

[Gattopuin64]

I have ordered 205/80R14 tires to replace my OEM Scamp 13-inch tires. Should have them by Wednesday or thursday. The tire guys say that they will work without any mods. Will keep U all posted.