14 inch tires on S13?

[adimiro]

So I've read several of the tire threads on this forum...I think I'm a bit slow on these matters...so, I'm about to replace my worn tires and looking for higher bottom clearance....thus, my fundemental question is :



Can I put 14 inch tires on my 2000 13 ft Scamp?



PS: Oh yeah, I called the Scamp folks and of course, they hedged and gave me the official party line of "we can only recommend 13 inch tires, but you can take it to a tire store and check with them"

Help, opnions, suggestions, experience, etc appreciated.

[Per Walthinsen]

My Burro came with 13 inch tires. Load range had no safety margin. Some of the considerations: Clearances: top, front and rear, and inside. You will need at least 3 inch clearance on the top, for suspension bouncing around. New wheels needed. Got my combination at Les Schwab, and they were very good at calculating the offset of the new wheels so that inside clearance would be sufficient (actually gained quarter inch).

Check bolt pattern and refresh your knowledge of offsets and you'll be OK. Not much road clearance will be gained, but the load range safety margin will increase dramatically and the tire pressure can be somewhat lower.

[adimiro]

Thanks for shoring your experience.

(1) I noticed that your trailer is bigger (17 ft) than mine (13 ft), so wonder if that will make a difference.

(2) Pardon my ignorance, what is "offset"?

[Donna D.]

I'm not Per, but the length of the trailer has less to do with changing tire sizes than what the particular trailer wheel well looks like. For instance, SOME Casita's do not have an enclosed wheel well. So the width of the tire is less of an issue.

Here's a GREAT website that explains wheel offset, measuring for bolt pattern, etc.

Wheel Technical Information

But to answer your question, wheel offset is the distance between the rim centerline and the mounting face of the wheel.

[adimiro]

Donna D, thanks for the link. It's super-informative. Very helpful at understanding all the terminology.

[wayne s]

So I've read several of the tire threads on this forum...I think I'm a bit slow on these matters...so, I'm about to replace my worn tires and looking for higher bottom clearance....thus, my fundemental question is :
Can I put 14 inch tires on my 2000 13 ft Scamp?
PS: Oh yeah, I called the Scamp folks and of course, they hedged and gave me the official party line of "we can only recommend 13 inch tires, but you can take it to a tire store and check with them"

Help, opnions, suggestions, experience, etc appreciated.

Yes you can but you mat have to raise the axel & or change the hubs if they are 4 on 4"
you can buy hubs 5 on 4.5" that will take up to 15" rims. I am running 8' X 15" rims on my Burro ( 84 ) Wayne

[AuntHoodoo]

What total clearance do your trailers have to fit 14" tires?

[rabbit]

Originally Posted by Per Walthinsen

My Burro came with 13 inch tires. Load range had no safety margin.

I did the same as Per on a 98 Burro, also a 17 footer. Putting the challenges of lateral and vertical clearance in the wheelwell aside for a moment, consider the above per Per.

The all-up wgt. of your 13 Scamp is undoubtedly WELL INSIDE the load range of say 185/13s ; you have plenty of "safety margin" without changing out rims and tires. In addition, you might be able to buy a 14" tire which would give you 1 1/2" increase in diameter over a 13". Halve that for the difference in radius and at best you can expect to increase ground clearance by 3/4". Not much of a gain imo. You could save the cost of new wheels and buy three good quality 13" radials? The real potential for increasing ground clearance involves modification of the mounting of the axle.

jack

[floyd]

Originally Posted by rabbit

I did the same as Per on a 98 Burro, also a 17 footer. Putting the challenges of lateral and vertical clearance in the wheelwell aside for a moment, consider the above per Per.

The all-up wgt. of your 13 Scamp is undoubtedly WELL INSIDE the load range of say 185/13s ; you have plenty of "safety margin" without changing out rims and tires. In addition, you might be able to buy a 14" tire which would give you 1 1/2" increase in diameter over a 13". Halve that for the difference in radius and at best you can expect to increase ground clearance by 3/4". Not much of a gain imo. You could save the cost of new wheels and buy three good quality 13" radials? The real potential for increasing ground clearance involves modification of the mounting of the axle.

jack

notice the date of the original message!

[rabbit]

Originally Posted by floyd

notice the date of the original message!

Good advice, although redundant, is timeless.

[AuntHoodoo]

I bumped this thread because I tried to find the closest one to discussing clearance while trying to figure out how high my ECO should be raised

[rabbit]

Originally Posted by AuntHoodoo

I bumped this thread because I tried to find the closest one to discussing clearance while trying to figure out how high my ECO should be raised

I thought you were doing better with Donna on your other thread where we find your PO doing the mods. This is now the April Fool thread for October.

[AuntHoodoo]

where we find your PO doing the mods? Sorry I don't understand.

I just did a search for clearance and looked at the most relevant one - thought that was the appropriate thing to do. Trying to find a quick answer because the welder and previous owner were discussing it earlier today.

[Bob H]

You might not have caught all the threads on the subject of tire size... Check out this one I started a while back...
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...res-42748.html

The short scoop...larger than factory remmended tires can lead to problems you hadn't expected.