Scamp 16 with 14" wheels

[Ron Walker]

We just bought a 2000 Scamp 16 that has 14" wheels and near new tires. There is plenty of clearance for the top of the tires in the wheel well, but the side wall are very close to the fiberglassshell backside. I can just barely slip my hand between.
I think Scamp designed some Scamp 16's for 14 " wheels but how can I tell? Should i change to 13" tires and wheels?

[Donna D.]

I have 15" tires on my Scamp (45 degree down axle). There's little space between the sidewall of the tire and the "fender skirt" but plenty of space between the tire sidewall and the frame. Since tires don't wobble side-to-side (unless there's a problem) I'm not going to worry about it.

When you talk about the backside, are you saying the rear of the tire area? Can you see any rub marks from the tire in that area?

[rabbit]

There is one situation in which lateral proximity might matter. I put 14" rims and tires on 98 Burro. I had immense amounts of space on the driver's side both vertically and side to side in the wheelwell. Different story on the passenger's side. The wheelwell that side is actually molded into the inner shell and of course the mold has draft (slight taper which avoids molded parts trapping or sticking to the mold) and the upshot in the right wheelwell area is that the inner wall of the wheelwell approaches very close to the sidewall of the tire at the radius below the tread (maybe 5/8"). I check every so often and so far the "activity" of the torsion axle has not led to scrubbing the sidewall on the inner vertical surface of the wheelwell. How thick is a human hand-- 1 to 1-1/2"? I think you're OK particularly if the inner surface of wheelwell is plumb or perhaps I should say parallel to the tire and rim. They're already on there so a bit of observation is warranted before taking on more expense for tires with a lower load rating. Only a result (and an opinion) from a similar quandary not long ago.

jack

[Ron Walker]

Thanks for your responses. The curbside tire has some rub marks from rubbing at times on the fender skirt. I have been told that if I need to, I could remove the black trim and cut the fiberglass back just a bit to give some more clearance. I am going to use it the way it is for a while and make sure the tires are inflated to 50# to keep the sidewalls as straight as possible.

[Donna D.]

Ron, yes we've seen Scamps and other trailers with "fender skirts" where the owners trimmed it up a bit and reinstalled the trim. Let us know how it goes for you leaving as is