Trailer wheels

[antonywardle]

Hi

What size tyres are people running on their trailers?

I'm going to replace mine. Currently they are 14 inch

with the weird stud pattern. I've got two spare ford

5 stud hubs and they fit on the axle.

My other boat trailer has 12 inch rims with LT tyres and a ford 5 stud.

This is on my old fibreglass (heavy) boat with the 120HP

Evinrude

I'm thinking of going LT after this happened during a 60km/h short trip

Looks like a retread to me

[oz_brett]

Hey I had one that looked like that!

My trailer has 2 axles running 13" rims on Ford hubs & Ford bearings.

I read some where that the Holden axle (bearing) reduces your total weight.

The reason for my tyre blowing out was corrosion in the valve stem allowing the pressure to drop all other tyres were still @ 50PSI

Brett

[pjbink]

Definitely get light truck tyres. You should be able to get them with an 800 kg load rating. I would put close to the maximum air pressure in them too (usually 60 or 65 psi).

[pjbink]

Another tip to stop this from happening is to replace them every 6 years - tyres have a limited serice life

(regardless of how much tread is left).

[batfishing]

The other issue that occurs is the trailer being parked up. The tyres basically set into a flat spot where they are contacting the ground if they are there too long without moving.

As I teenager I grew up in caravan parks with my parents living the gypsy life.

The trick in Caravan parks with semi permanent residents/travellers was to have a set of jacks to lift the tyres off the ground. Yes there is the levelling part of that, but tyres lasted longer if they were lifted free.

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[Fab1]

Another tip to stop this from happening is to replace them every 6 years - tyres have a limited serice life

(regardless of how much tread is left).

How you know for those that don't know is each and every tyre has a manufacturing date stamped somewhere on the side wall.

This example reads 2511, the first two numbers is the week of manufacture (25th week is june) the last two numbers is the year, in this case 2011.

99% of the time your tyres on trailers will be past their used by date before you wear the tread down and for safe towing and peace of mind it's best to discard them and replace with a quality brand LT tyre.

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[antonywardle]

thanks for the tips and the date manufacturing tip

I know what the 185 70 R14 means so this is an extra bit of

info to store away.

So I don't really have to worry about the rim size?

I guess bigger means that the boat is a bit higher

when on the trailer.

LT are definitely the way to go.

[oziodin]

The bigger Tyre less resolution you wheel will turn and better for your Bering's , go for the LT's specially with single axel trailer and keep a spare + the correct Jack ( for trailer) when traveling .

Cheers Oziodin

Note : Thanks Fab1 Great info , you learn every day cheers.

[pjbink]

With bigger wheels you can probably launch and retrieve without dunking your bearing in the water -

saves a lot of maintenance time.

[Fab1]

With bigger wheels you can probably launch and retrieve without dunking your bearing in the water -

saves a lot of maintenance time.

Moving your trailer axle/s forward as far as possible while still maintaining adequate ball weight on the hitch combined with running the smallest diameter wheels possible and winching the boat on and off gives you the best chance of leaving your bearings high and dry in my opinion.

It does come with a few drawbacks though.

One being say your running 10" wheels/tyres on your trailer and 16 or 17" on your vehicle, those little trailer tyres are doing quite a few more revolutions than the tyres on your car which can lead to excessive heat buildup, blowouts, etc.

Also bigger tyres can carry more weight usually especially for the guys with larger rigs.

Another drawback is now that you've moved the axle/s forward a little more the trailer will be a little harder to back up simply for the fact that you've reduced the distance from the tow ball to the centre of the axle.

Cheers.

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[pjbink]

I'm not sure if that would work Fab1. The down weight on the tow ball is very important - I wouldn't significantly lighten it just to avoid dunking the bearings. I have 2 boats a 5.4m glass with 14 " wheels and a 4.1 m Polycraft with 13" wheels - I launch and retrieve both without dunking the bearings. That said there are also other factors like the steepness of the ramp and the height of the tow vehicles towball.

[Fab1]

I'm not sure if that would work Fab1. The down weight on the tow ball is very important I totally agree.- I wouldn't significantly lighten it just to avoid dunking the bearings.I agree, that's why you need to maintain adequate hitch weight on the ball. I have 2 boats a 5.4m glass with 14 " wheels and a 4.1 m Polycraft with 13" wheels - I launch and retrieve both without dunking the bearings.Are they both on full roller trailers? Do you winch on and off? Drive on/off? That said there are also other factors like the steepness of the ramp and the height of the tow vehicles towball.Design of trailer, skid or roller etc, etc.

In regards to different height tow vehicles I have marked my trailer side rails to suit either towing with my ute or sedan.

The ute being much higher I move my axle back to the line in the photo and forward when using the sedan.

That way I can maintain the correct weight distribution with either vehicle.

I know some guys will probably think im Taking things into the extreme, but in all seriousness it takes only a couple of minutes with the aid of a jack, axle stands and rattle gun.

Besides I don't require changing vehicles that often.

It will be intresting to see if im alone on this one.

Cheers.

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[tassjo]

I too have different height vehicles , 1 is a ba falcon and a ford territory towing a 6m glass boat. Forget moving axles every time you change
vehicles ,get the correct tongue(ball mount)in general the draw bar should be close to level.The maximum ball weight is 10% of the towing capacity of the towbar
eg my falcon has a max of 2300kg so the ball weight is 230kg.I have a ball weight of 170kg .

Edited December 5, 2014 by mrsswordfisherman

[Fab1]

I too have different height vehicles , 1 is a ba falcon and a ford territory towing a 6m glass boat. Forget moving axles every time you change

vehicles ,get the correct tongue(ball mount)in general the draw bar should be close to level.The maximum ball weight is 10% of the towing capacity of the towbar

eg my falcon has a max of 2300kg so the ball weight is 230kg.I have a ball weight of 170kg .

I'm well aware how to set up a towing rig properly.

I've always installed/wired my own and others towbars/electrics.

No offence but I don't trust anyone to do work I can do myself and save a motza in the process.

My family own Horses that I've had the joy of floating to various events over the last 20 or so years and I can tell you from experience if one thing teaches you to tow it's transporting a constantly shifting load like livestock whether it's horses, cows etc.

I don't tow my boat nearly as much as I'd like and to swap vehicles once in a blue moon and move the axle is no big deal to me.

Cheers.

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Edited December 3, 2014 by nbdshroom

[Fab1]

Sorry fab1 I am not implying you don't know how to but the general public have no idea.

,most late model vehicles need ecu fitted ,which have multiple functions,as you might be aware most 4x4 have stability control and the ecu sends a pulse

to the bcm letting the vehicle know their is a trailer behind you.,also brake controllers have advanced you can fit sway controllers,weight dist kits,drop shanks the list is long.Towing has

changed and the max towing weight is on the climb,it's not like the old days

No offence taken at all here, im fully aware of the work thats required these days to fit something as basic as a towbar/electricals to vehicles with all the modern technology thats inbuilt into them these days I've done a few for family/friends.

For those people that are unaware of what's involved you can only try to educate them.

Like I said I've only moved my axle once in three years that barely took me 5 min so I don't need to change anything for now.

In future if things change and I need to rotate vehicles more often I'll adopt a permanent fix.

All good for now.

My personal opinion is some of the vehicles out there rated to tow 3.5T are pushing the boundaries of safety in an emergency situation,especially in the ute department.

But thats an entirely different subject.

Cheers.

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Edited December 3, 2014 by nbdshroom

[Guest Aussie007]

on my very second boat i bought it had forklift tyres i had a blow out at swansea between the motorway turn off and swansea what a nightmare no spare as these wheels were rare lucky tho the local car wreckers matched up i think it was a cortina wheel one side was about 3" higher but lucky i made it home

have owned jetski trailers with tiny wheels around 6-8" rims once u hit 80kph u feel the trailer struggling and doesnt want to go any faster the limit would have to be around 65kph with those cheese cutters have seen boat trailers with the same size wheels mostly small tinnies

[antonywardle]

Ok, last couple of questions

Say my boat and trailer weighs 1000kg and has two wheels

Does that mean the tyres need to be able to support 500kg each?

Is that how it works? This is just a in theory question and not my actual situation.

I'm still going LT that can support 900kg each,I was just interested.

I've got my new hubs. They are galvanised and look real nice. Should I paint them before

I install them or leave them as they are? I've got some left over etch primer so it's not too big a job to do

it but if the gal finish is going to be fine or not hold on to the paint then I'd just leave it alone.

Cheers

[Fab1]

Ok, last couple of questions

Say my boat and trailer weighs 1000kg and has two wheels

Does that mean the tyres need to be able to support 500kg each?Yes,this is the absolute minimum,but as you say the 900kg ones will give you a good safety margin.

Is that how it works? This is just a in theory question and not my actual situation.

I'm still going LT that can support 900kg each,I was just interested.900kg a tyre is ample if your rig weighs 1000kg.

I've got my new hubs. They are galvanised and look real nice. Should I paint them before

I install them or leave them as they are?Don't worry how nice they look there hubs,just make sure they are fitted correctly with good quality bearings and grease. I've got some left over etch primer so it's not too big a job to do

it but if the gal finish is going to be fine or not hold on to the paint then I'd just leave it alone.The hubs are galvanized and will last a long time as they are mate.save the etch primer for another project.

My suggestion is spend the little extra money on name brand tyres,bearings as theres a world of difference between good brands and the cheap rubbish.

Cheers.

Cheers

[pjbink]

The tyres have to support the weight of the boat and trailer minus the weight on the

towball (this is called the GTM or gross trailer mass). Obviously the load rating of the

tyres cannot be less than the GTM. If you are right on or close to the GTM with regards

to the tyre load rating then you have no margin for error, eg due to the tyres aging or if

they are even a bit under inflated.