Does this wheel fit a Trillium?

[Phil H.]

Hi,

In another thread, someone had mentioned that old Ford Ranger (or possibly Ford Courier - the small pickup made by Ford in the 1970's) wheels would fit a Trillium. These are 14"x6" Ford Ranger wheels used in the late 80's or early 90's. Has anyone put these on their Trillium or have a picture of a Trillium with these wheels on them? I may be able to get three of these at a very good price but it's a 4 hour drive to get them (ie not easy to try and see if they fit).

[Darwin Maring]

I was told by a junkyard guy that most vehicle rims will not fit a trailer because of the size of the center hole is not big enough.

It would be best to just try one on.

[Doug Mager]

I believe I was 'in' on that thread

Here's a pic of our (now sold) 1997 Mazduh B4000 with our Trillium. On the front of the truck are the stock 'mag' style wheels the truck came with. On the back are 'stock' (steel) regular Mazduh rims mounted with 'snowies'.

BOTH are interchangable DORF to HUDZAM and Mazduh to Ford. The rims you have shown are just a different style thats all... The rims mounted on the trailer ARE American Racing Torque Thrust rims designed for a MazDA/ Ranger P.U.


....IF the price is right, Go For It!!!! While you're mounting them to the rubber, have them balanced while they are at at. Most tire shops will balk at balancing trailer rims, saying its a waste because "no one rides back there anyway", but I believe it will/does make a difference in towing....

[Ed Harris]

These are Ranger original cheap wheels I found at a junkyard in Atlanta. They went right on the 1300.

[Paul and Libby Smith]

Hi I have the exact same ranger wheels on my scamp, the inside outer had to be filed a bit, but they work great. If you file them down, make sure you put them on without nuts and see if they
wobble on the axle, if they do ,file some more until they are flat on the brake drum. good luck Paul

[Pete Dumbleton]

A note of caution here -- Trailer hubs are generally set up for LUG-centric mounting, where the centering is done by the lug nuts, their angles and the wheel hole being large enough to allow the hub to not touch. The center of rotation is the center of the lug-stud pattern, not necessarily the center of the wheel hole. I presume your Trill has this kind of hub/wheel.

Automotive wheels are generally set up for HUB-centric mounting, where the wheel center hole fits tightly to the hub, and the center of rotation is the center of the hole. The lugs-studs merely keep the wheel on the hub.

There are different balancing methods for each kind -- Which will you use on with a hub-centered wheel to be mounted on a lug-centered hub?

Likely, the stud holes in the auto wheels are finished flat on each sides, rather than tapered on one side for centering like the trailer wheels. How will you mount the wheels so they don't drift off-center without eventually wallowing out the holes in the aluminum?

You may be able to find spacers to match the wheel hole to the hub, or it may match, but you won't know until you get measurements from somewhere.

[Ed Harris]

A note of caution here -- Trailer hubs are generally set up for LUG-centric mounting, where the centering is done by the lug nuts, their angles and the wheel hole being large enough to allow the hub to not touch. The center of rotation is the center of the lug-stud pattern, not necessarily the center of the wheel hole. I presume your Trill has this kind of hub/wheel.

Automotive wheels are generally set up for HUB-centric mounting, where the wheel center hole fits tightly to the hub, and the center of rotation is the center of the hole. The lugs-studs merely keep the wheel on the hub.

There are different balancing methods for each kind -- Which will you use on with a hub-centered wheel to be mounted on a lug-centered hub?

Likely, the stud holes in the auto wheels are finished flat on each sides, rather than tapered on one side for centering like the trailer wheels. How will you mount the wheels so they don't drift off-center without eventually wallowing out the holes in the aluminum?

You may be able to find spacers to match the wheel hole to the hub, or it may match, but you won't know until you get measurements from somewhere.

It is worth me throwing out there that I got these wheels at a junkyard when I lost a wheel on the interstate due I think to what Pete is talking about.
Luckily no one was hurt but I would probably try to find out more before choosing a wheel too. The one that I lost looked a lot like the Aluminum one you are asking about. I also suspect the softness of the aluminum helped advance the enlarging of the holes and helped cause the nuts to work loose.

I will tell you that I can not recall any time more "exciting" for me than when I felt a lurching behind me and then saw the wheel/tire pass me on the highway!

I am grateful for the beastlike land cruiser to this day.

Better safe than sorry!

[Frederick L. Simson]

While you're mounting them to the rubber, have them balanced while they are at at. Most tire shops will balk at balancing trailer rims, saying its a waste because "no one rides back there anyway", but I believe it will/does make a difference in towing....

I must go to an exceptional tire place, then. My guy balances all wheels, regardless of vehicle. When I refurbished the wheels on my Fiber Stream, he put the balancing weights on the inside surface, so they would not detract from the final look.

[Doug Mager]

Gee, Pete, I never really looked at the old wheels that came with the trailer when we bought it, except to note that the wheels were dual bolt patterned. The stock Mazda wheels (both the 'mags' and the steel wheels) have tapered (from outside) bolt holes. Accordingly so do the Torque Thrusts.
All my wheels were/are spun balanced like traditional wheels and balanced. I have never experienced any difficulty mounting the wheels either, they just seemed to fit right on the wheel hubs without any filing of any parts and bolted right up. I do try n check lug nuts for tightness on all my vehicles about every 1000 miles or so. The daily drivers don't quite that attention, getting checked quarterly. The mags DESERVE to be checked on a shorter time span due to their inhearant (sp??) 'softer' quality. Both of our hot-rods and both trailers get checked diligently, as we have had one wheel on our tent trailer pass us on an uphill curve in the mountains a few years back....

Being has how our trailer and hot rod wheels are 'showy' our tire dood tries to mount wheel weights on the inside as well. I don't feel this is as acurate a balance job as when the weight is placed where it should be. Mind you some wheel weights I've seen needed (some 3 or 4 inches long!!) would really spoil the look of a nice clean smooth wheel (like yours Frederick), but at what cost, beauty????

[Phil H.]

I believe I was 'in' on that thread

Here's a pic of our (now sold) 1997 Mazduh B4000 with our Trillium. On the front of the truck are the stock 'mag' style wheels the truck came with. On the back are 'stock' (steel) regular Mazduh rims mounted with 'snowies'.

BOTH are interchangable DORF to HUDZAM and Mazduh to Ford. The rims you have shown are just a different style thats all... The rims mounted on the trailer ARE American Racing Torque Thrust rims designed for a MazDA/ Ranger P.U.


....IF the price is right, Go For It!!!! While you're mounting them to the rubber, have them balanced while they are at at. Most tire shops will balk at balancing trailer rims, saying its a waste because "no one rides back there anyway", but I believe it will/does make a difference in towing....

Thank you everyone for your resonses. I believe the rims on the front of your Mazda, Doug, (essentially a rebadged Ranger) are exactly the same size and bolt pattern as the ones I am contemplating. Personally, I prefer the look of your Mazda wheels but they may be a lot harder to find! If you are saying that those rims are interchangeable with your Torque thrust wheels then I think I'm gonna go for it! Thanks, Phil

[Doug Mager]

Phil, I believe these rims are MORE Mazda specific than Ranger.

If you go to a wrecker OOPSIE...auto dismantaler(sp?) and ask for Mazda not Ranger rims you might be able to find the ones I have (that IS assuming you do prefer them, LOL) Also, you'll prolly find that Mazda rims are going to be a little less costly to buy!!!

The T/T mags are going to be more money than the other options. We chose those as they are a match for the TT's our Rod....

[Bill F.]

Hi,

In another thread, someone had mentioned that old Ford Ranger (or possibly Ford Courier - the small pickup made by Ford in the 1970's) wheels would fit a Trillium. These are 14"x6" Ford Ranger wheels used in the late 80's or early 90's. Has anyone put these on their Trillium or have a picture of a Trillium with these wheels on them? I may be able to get three of these at a very good price but it's a 4 hour drive to get them (ie not easy to try and see if they fit).

Our local auto wrecker asked me which hub diameter i wanted on a 14" Ranger wheel. I found out that my 98 Mazda had the largest of the 3 sizes available. If you get the right size it may be large enough already to clear the trailer hub so it will be stud centric. Someone else mentioned a chamfer on the inside edge of the hole. This is important because you can distort the trailer drums when you tighten the wheel if there is any interference at the hub. I know from experience. Took me a while to figure out why my brakes were getting hot.
Bill

[Doug Mager]

well. it looks like I'll be pulling my TT's off soon (before another trip) to check things out. I've always been very careful with tightening lug nuts down, ALWAYS remember to tighten in a cris/cross pattern.

[Pete Dumbleton]

Ford, Mazda, Ranger, Dodge-Chrysler and maybe some others use the same bolt-hole spacing on their 5 on 4.5" wheels as Dexter, Al-Ko, etc. It's the hub hole and wheel-centering systems that are different. It's unlikely that an auto salvage yard is aware of the trailer wheel differences.

A wheel balanced by the wrong method may not be balanced when fastened to the hub in the bolt-circle center differs much from the hub hole center. I've read complaints on a Toyota group about having their after-market wheels balanced by the dealer but finding them giving problems on the road.

You might want to discuss this with a tire place that can do both lug-centric and hub-centric balancing and get their opinion of the idea. They have data on the wheel center holes, adapters, etc., and may have some real-world experience on mixing types.

[Darwin Maring]

The no hassle way to get that special wheel look:

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/sto...ssearch=3309000
and
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/sto...ssearch=3309004

[Pete Dumbleton]

Being a function-over-form type, I changed out my rusty steel wheels for a set of galvanized trailer wheels (from a Florida Wally, but also available from marine stores).

I personally don't like the hub covers because they block my access to the hub to check temperatures when highway driving, but lots of folks use them and they do look nice.

[Booker B.]

Hi,

Anybody have an idea what vehicle these wheels are from? They don't like a standard ford rim so they might be aftermarket.





Link to original site with larger pic showing wheels at bottom. I think the restoration pics on this page are just great.

[Donna D.]

Anybody have an idea what vehicle these wheels are from? They don't like a standard ford rim so they might be aftermarket.

Look like slotted older American Racing wheels. All the new style look like spokes.. as if looking at brake calipers is "pretty" You might find the older ones here: AKH Vintage Wheels

[Doug Mager]

Booker, those are aftermarket wheels, resembling Cragers but probably are some other brand, as Donna indicates. (She's not only a Trailer Person but a Car Nut as well, LOL) ANY aftermarket wheel company will have a custom wheel to fit your bolt pattern. I chose Torque Thrusts for the Trillium and our Plymouth. Same wheels, just different bolt patterns sizes and backspacings.

[Mike Montville]

Does anyone know where you can get aluminumrims that fit a p185/70 R13 Tire. The rim holds a wider tire) I believe they used that rim on old Mustangs.