Swapping wheels and tires on Casita

[Alex in LA]

Hello everyone,

In anticipation of a new season I was wondering what if anything I should do for our trusty 16' Casita and noticed that tires need replacing. That got me thinking, what if I upgrade my hip 13" wheels to a larger size since I am getting new tires anyway? I do slightly scrape our driveway sometimes when getting in and out, so an extra inch or two of clearance won't hurt. So I looked through old threads and found that a number of people upgraded their 14" to 15", so I could REALLY upgrade our macho 13"!
Based on old threads, people recommend 205-75/15 load D tires.
The problem is that the "youngest" thread is nearly 10 years old.
So I was wondering if anyone here have done the same less than 10 years ago and to what result. I also welcome your suggestions to a particular brand of tires, if any, and any other general suggestions for this project. I plan to buy 3 wheels and tires (one spare), so can anyone recommend any particular source aside from e-trailer which seems to have gotten more expensive recently. Thanks!

[mary and bob]

Just bought two Dexter 14" wheels from etrailer. Free shipping because they were just over the $99 limit for free shipping. Went to my local auto shop and ordered two Goodyear Endurance tires. Could have bought the tires from etrailer, mounted or not, but my local shop was cheaper and I wanted to give them the business. I did find wheels from other sources but not with free shipping, but check Amazon, Walmart.com, and do a general search. I went with the Dexters because they are USA made.

[Jann Todd]

Originally Posted by Alex in LA

Hello everyone,

In anticipation of a new season I was wondering what if anything I should do for our trusty 16' Casita and noticed that tires need replacing. That got me thinking, what if I upgrade my hip 13" wheels to a larger size since I am getting new tires anyway? I do slightly scrape our driveway sometimes when getting in and out, so an extra inch or two of clearance won't hurt. So I looked through old threads and found that a number of people upgraded their 14" to 15", so I could REALLY upgrade our macho 13"!
Based on old threads, people recommend 205-75/15 load D tires.
The problem is that the "youngest" thread is nearly 10 years old.
So I was wondering if anyone here have done the same less than 10 years ago and to what result. I also welcome your suggestions to a particular brand of tires, if any, and any other general suggestions for this project. I plan to buy 3 wheels and tires (one spare), so can anyone recommend any particular source aside from e-trailer which seems to have gotten more expensive recently. Thanks!

Just make sure the larger wheels and tires will fit in the wheel well. Sometimes they won't and they rub. Otherwise I'd do it. Go with US made tires and load D. Don't go with China made tires that blow out. A few bucks isn't worth the headaches of cheap tires.

[jon carpenter]

In January I needed new tires and also decided to purchase new wheels at the same time because my old ones where very dog eared and nasty looking. Called etrailer for tire prices and other info. They could not tell me how old the tires are they would be sending. I also contacted my local horse type trailer shop and found their price on both wheels and tires less expensive than etrailer. The new tires are US made and less than 8 weeks old. I have ordered quite a bit of things from etrailer and they are normally quite good on customer service and pricing but not for the tires. Etrailer even charges for the hi pressure valve which are required for the new tires which could be pumped up to 80 PSI if I ever needed to.


You may want to check around you for pricing and how old the tires are you would be purchasing.


jon

[PCO6]

I've swapped wheels and tires on 2 of my trailers from 13" to 15" Jeep wheels to get added clearance. By matching them to my Jeep tow vehicles I also eliminated the need for a spare on the trailer. If you decide to go with non-trailer wheels you'll need to make sure that the wheel centre will fit over the trailer axle hub. Many vehicle wheels have a smaller centre hole. I got around it by using wheel spacers. You'll also want to make sure that the new wheel back spacing is appropriate for your trailer axle, frame and wheel well.

[Friz]

I had the 13" stock wheels/tires, would have to replace one or the other every couple of years. Had to replace the axle, got it with 2" lift.

14" wheels/tires fit with plenty of clearance, rode better and lasted 4 years. The 14's would have fit with about 1" clearance without the axle change.

[Kenny Strong]

to change from 13" wheels to 15" wheels you gain 1" in height. Why did the OEM of our trailers use 13"?

[Alex in LA]

Originally Posted by Friz

I had the 13" stock wheels/tires, would have to replace one or the other every couple of years. Had to replace the axle, got it with 2" lift.

14" wheels/tires fit with plenty of clearance, rode better and lasted 4 years. The 14's would have fit with about 1" clearance without the axle change.

Hi Friz,

Did you mean the 15's would have fit with 1" clearance?

My neighbor has a trailer with 15", I am planning to try and fit them to make sure there is adequate clearance before I order for myself. I am not married to an idea of 15" but if they fit fine, why not make the best of it.

[Alex in LA]

Probably more because just the wheel will give 1" and then tire will give some more. Not putting low profile tires on it
But I am not out for it to gain maximum clearance, so even 1" would be fine.

[Kenny Strong]

the radius of a 13" wheel is 6.5" the radius of a 14" tire is 7" by using a 14" tire You gain 1/2", not 1".

[Alex in LA]

That is true. But larger wheel GENERALLY means larger tire, also. So there should be some gain there as well. Like I said I am not out for hard numbers, if I can get an extra inch of clearance, great, if it's 7/8s or 3/4s, also fine.
There is a great discussion on Casita forum with lot's of math, if you're interested in that.
As to your original question, I think OEM went with 13" for cost reasons. Either that or they liked the "hippo" look our trailers have with their tiny wheels

[Jann Todd]

Originally Posted by jon carpenter

In January I needed new tires and also decided to purchase new wheels at the same time because my old ones where very dog eared and nasty looking. Called etrailer for tire prices and other info. They could not tell me how old the tires are they would be sending. I also contacted my local horse type trailer shop and found their price on both wheels and tires less expensive than etrailer. The new tires are US made and less than 8 weeks old. I have ordered quite a bit of things from etrailer and they are normally quite good on customer service and pricing but not for the tires. Etrailer even charges for the hi pressure valve which are required for the new tires which could be pumped up to 80 PSI if I ever needed to.


You may want to check around you for pricing and how old the tires are you would be purchasing.


jon

I agree. You always want to know how old the tires are you are purchasing. You can end up with tires that's been in a warehouse for 2 years. Even if in a warehouse those tires have age on them and you end up with less years for yourself. We always make sure our tires are fresh for all our vehicles. RV and trailer tires should be replaced in no more than 7 years no matter the tread wear. We go to the tire store and buy them so we can see them first. That way they mount, balance and warranty them.

[FlyGuy]

When I order my new 2010, 17' Casita Spirit Deluxe, one option I went for was the upgrade to the 15" wheels with the higher load rated tires. In year two of ownership, I upgraded from 15" to 16" LT tires. I was VERY happy with the upgrade.

[CASITA BANANA]

I have a '93 16 and went to 15" tires for several reasons. 1) It's nearly impossible to find new 13" trailer tires with a high enough load rating. 2) Lousy clearance. 3) It looks stupid.

I went with 15' tires after also upgrading the axel with a new Dexter high lift. I went a bit higher than most and now have 18" of clearance at the hitch. But I also gained much bigger brake drums and the easier to lube hubs. I wouldn't trust the added weight and circumference of 15" tires with those tiny drums for the 13"s. I'm using light truck all terrain tires on 1" wider alloy rims.

Bear in mind, I did this because I do take it off-road and there are a few places it would still be sitting without the lift. I get a lot of thumbs up from other desert rats.

Good luck!

[Banzoid55]

Just put some new Wheels (ETrailer) & Goodyear Endurance tires (Tire Rack) on our 16ft over the weekend.