Tire clearance question

[AndyW]

I just switched my Burro over from 4-on-4 to 5-on-4.5 hubs and swapped the original P175R13's for 195/75/R14's.

There's good vertical clearance, but the the inner sidewall comes to within maybe 1/2 an inch of the inner fender/body of the trailer (the old tires had probably an inch and a half of clearance).

So how little is too little?

I'm thinking of sticking some 1/4-inch wheel spacers on there to give the tires a bit more breathing room.

[Roger H]

I just switched my Burro over from 4-on-4 to 5-on-4.5 hubs and swapped the original P175R13's for 195/75/R14's.

There's good vertical clearance, but the the inner sidewall comes to within maybe 1/2 an inch of the inner fender/body of the trailer (the old tires had probably an inch and a half of clearance).

So how little is too little?

I'm thinking of sticking some 1/4-inch wheel spacers on there to give the tires a bit more breathing room.

If they're not rubbing, then you have sufficient clearance. The next measure is whether or not you're comfortable with the clearance. If you're not, then it's not sufficient!

Roger

[Darwin Maring]

After you hit a couple of big bumps and deep potholes take A quick look at the tires and you the answer you are looking for.

[Brian B-P]

Just to be clear... this Burro uses a rubber torsion suspension, right? The independent arms move straight up and down, which makes clearance an easier thing to determine (with leaf springs, the wheels tilt in the wheel wells and can rub where you don't expect). The arms will flex a bit side-to-side, since they are mounted in rubber, but it can't be very much.

If you do find you need to space them out, don't go overboard with the spacers. The axle is designed to have the wheels basically centred on the hub faces, in the middle of the bearings. It's hard on the bearings to shift the wheels out too far, although 1/2" beyond stock should be fine.