Aluminum Rims in Canada? - Fiberglass RV
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Old 08-31-2009, 09:41 PM   #1
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Trailer: Bigfoot 17 ft (15B17G)
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Hi again,

Axle swap is coming along nicely and now its time for new 15" rims. I'd like to go with a decent set of aluminum rims such as those found at Ricks Tire, however those are in the US.

Are there any Canadian places to get nice aluminum rims that DON'T cost an arm & leg ? I tried locally and the want $260/rim for the same $85rims at Ricks?

Where are Candajuns buying their rims?

Thanks, D
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Old 08-31-2009, 09:57 PM   #2
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d'ya mean like these?
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Old 08-31-2009, 10:25 PM   #3
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d'ya mean like these?
yep, right along those lines. Need to be compatible with 50-60lbs pressure though
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Old 08-31-2009, 10:30 PM   #4
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Canadian Tire sells a nice rim similar to Dougs
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77 Trillium 4500
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Old 08-31-2009, 10:45 PM   #5
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I found mine at a junk yard. There not super nice but I like them. $20 bucks each with tires.... They actually only had three too.
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Old 09-01-2009, 08:21 PM   #6
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I found mine at a junk yard. There not super nice but I like them. $20 bucks each with tires.... They actually only had three too.
I bought mine from a guy that was selling aftermarket rims off his ford ranger (mid 90s). The bolt pattern is the same.
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Old 09-02-2009, 12:09 AM   #7
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Trailer: 2000 Bigfoot 17 ft (15B17CB)
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yep, right along those lines. Need to be compatible with 50-60lbs pressure though
I could not find any aluminum trailer rims in Canada at a decent price so I just ordered from the U.S.

You are wise not to use automotive aluminum wheels, they are simply not designed for the tire pressures required and often have not nearly enough load capacity for trailer use. The smaller and lighter fiberglass trailers may be able to get away with automotive wheels, but a Bigfoot 17 is much too heavy for any aluminum automotive wheel. Finding a automotive wheel with same offset as trailer wheels can also be a problem.

I went with HiSpec Series03 aluminum trailer wheels, 15" X 6" 6 bolt rated at 2830lbs and 60psi on a 5200 lb straight axle. Any wheel and tire combination rated for greater than 2000 lbs should be fine for a 17 Bigfoot as some can approach 4000 lbs when loaded up. Personally, I am not too fond of running at the limit, and the old 3500lb axle and 14" wheel tire combination was less than adequate in my opinion.

Steve.
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Old 09-02-2009, 03:42 AM   #8
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Steve I guess I don't understand your comments on weight. I just googled a 2009 Ford Escape with 16 inch wheels and it's 4700 pounds then add a full tank of gas to bring that up to 5000 lbs then add four adults at 200 lbs that teeters on 6000 lbs...a 3400-4000 lb trailer on 15 inch wheels seems reasonable....

Please help me understand the weight issue.
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Old 09-02-2009, 08:29 AM   #9
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I saw some nice ones at Princess Auto here in Winnipeg. I think they were 189 with tire on. shame I just replaced mine with the white trailer type.
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Old 09-02-2009, 05:48 PM   #10
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Trailer: Bigfoot 17 ft (15B17G)
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I could not find any aluminum trailer rims in Canada at a decent price so I just ordered from the U.S.

You are wise not to use automotive aluminum wheels, they are simply not designed for the tire pressures required and often have not nearly enough load capacity for trailer use. The smaller and lighter fiberglass trailers may be able to get away with automotive wheels, but a Bigfoot 17 is much too heavy for any aluminum automotive wheel. Finding a automotive wheel with same offset as trailer wheels can also be a problem.

I went with HiSpec Series03 aluminum trailer wheels, 15" X 6" 6 bolt rated at 2830lbs and 60psi on a 5200 lb straight axle. Any wheel and tire combination rated for greater than 2000 lbs should be fine for a 17 Bigfoot as some can approach 4000 lbs when loaded up. Personally, I am not too fond of running at the limit, and the old 3500lb axle and 14" wheel tire combination was less than adequate in my opinion.

Steve.
That is looking like the route I'm going. Who did you order the HiSpecs through?
Kal Tire now has a trailer rim, but not in stock....Ricks Tire (Idaho) has decent prices as well as the Kumho 857s, may go with that setup?

Many car rims don't have the correct offset, some are not not rated for more than 40-50 PSI, where as trailer rims are designed for higher pressure. Just my .02$

Dave
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Old 09-02-2009, 05:54 PM   #11
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Trailer: Bigfoot 17 ft (15B17G)
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Steve I guess I don't understand your comments on weight. I just googled a 2009 Ford Escape with 16 inch wheels and it's 4700 pounds then add a full tank of gas to bring that up to 5000 lbs then add four adults at 200 lbs that teeters on 6000 lbs...a 3400-4000 lb trailer on 15 inch wheels seems reasonable....

Please help me understand the weight issue.
I'm guessing the rating of the 16" rims is much higher. The ones I saw were:

16" [at] ~3200 lbs/rim
15" [at] ~2500 lbs/rim
14" [at] ~1900 lbs/rim

You are also sharing the weight over 4 tires on an Escape whereas the 17ft Bigfoot is only 2 wheels to distribute the weight.
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Old 09-02-2009, 07:15 PM   #12
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Trailer: Bigfoot Rear Queen 25 ft
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I'm guessing the rating of the 16" rims is much higher. The ones I saw were:

16" [at] ~3200 lbs/rim
15" [at] ~2500 lbs/rim
14" [at] ~1900 lbs/rim

You are also sharing the weight over 4 tires on an Escape whereas the 17ft Bigfoot is only 2 wheels to distribute the weight.
OK, I guess that makes sense...thanks for the insight..but at 2500 per rim that's still way enough for a 17 isn't it?
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Old 09-02-2009, 07:47 PM   #13
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Trailer: 2000 Bigfoot 17 ft (15B17CB)
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Steve I guess I don't understand your comments on weight. I just googled a 2009 Ford Escape with 16 inch wheels and it's 4700 pounds then add a full tank of gas to bring that up to 5000 lbs then add four adults at 200 lbs that teeters on 6000 lbs...a 3400-4000 lb trailer on 15 inch wheels seems reasonable....

Please help me understand the weight issue.
Hi Mike,
The example you mentioned only has 6000 lbs on 4 wheels, or roughly 1500lbs per wheel. A 4000lb Bigfoot will load it's 2 wheels at closer to 1850lbs each wheel when weight transfer from the WD hitch is factored in. If you start to search for aluminum automotive wheels with a compatible bolt pattern, you will find few or none with this load rating. You can of course, find some automotive rims and many truck rims that can handle this load, but they will have very different bolt patterns and offsets than the common trailer standards.
The other problem is that trailer tires with a high enough load rating will require up to 60lbs pressure, again most automotive rims are not designed or rated for this high a pressure.

This is of little concern to most other smaller fiberglass trailer owners, whose loaded trailers are less than 3000lbs. They are free to safely use pretty much any suitable sized rim that will bolt up.

The last time I actually weighed my Bigfoot at the end of a trip, it showed 3600lbs on the axle with an near empty water tank. Fully filled and loaded up, I am sure it would scale at 3900-4000lbs at the axle, which would imply a total weight of 4200 - 4300lbs as the tow vehicle is supporting some of the tongue weight. This also means each wheel would be supporting close to 2000lbs, assuming the load is centered (unlikely), and was the reason I upgraded my axle/suspension, wheels and tires.
I'm sure my unit is on the heavy side for a 17 Bigfoot, as it is well optioned out including an air conditioner, which adds another 120lbs or so. Even so, I doubt it is much more than 300lbs heavier than an average loaded 17 Bigfoot weight. I think the 80's 17 footers are somewhat lighter than average as their refrigerators were smaller and many came without an oven, awning or the extra fiberglass cowling over the propane tanks and spare tire. Options like Fantastic fans, day/night shades and skylights didn't even exist for the early models either, all which add to the total for newer models.
Bigfoot themselves even seemed to acknowledge the increasing gross weights in 2004, when they switched from 14 to 15 inch rims before abandoning the 17 for the new 2005 17.5 with a 4400lb GVW

Steve.
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Old 09-02-2009, 10:30 PM   #14
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Trailer: 2000 Bigfoot 17 ft (15B17CB)
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That is looking like the route I'm going. Who did you order the HiSpecs through?
Kal Tire now has a trailer rim, but not in stock....Ricks Tire (Idaho) has decent prices as well as the Kumho 857s, may go with that setup?

Dave
I believe I ordered them from rjays.com, as they had good prices at the time and offered a choice of shipping methods to Canada.
The Kumho 857s have a good reputation, and would be a very good choice for 14" rims since they are load range D with excellent load capacity in the 205/R14 size. I think the HiSpec 14" trailer wheels are rated for 1900lbs, which should be OK. I went with 15" wheels, but I also installed a new straight axle which was a bit narrower than the original to ensure the 225/R15 tires would fit nicely inside the fender skirts.

Steve.
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Old 09-04-2009, 02:04 PM   #15
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Tires and rims are always half price in the US buy them there and bring them over the border yourself.

Dave
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