Trailer wheels worth upsizing?

[flatheadsteve]

I've run 4.8x12 on a several small boats over the years and never had an issue it's a pretty common size on small trailers.

 

[BoneDigger]

I just learned that I might be wrong about the hub thing, given that this hub uses centering lug nuts. From what I am hearing, the hole can be bigger, assuming it's not a hub centered wheel/hub.

 

[Seafarer]

My 14ft Starcraft SF14 is on a trailer that originally had 5.30x8" tires, which were effectively the same OD as a 4.80x12 tire. It was fine weight wise and height wise but I got tired of replacing the tires every two or three years due to dryrot. About 10 years ago I put new bunks on the trailer, and at the same time, I flipped the axle to the top of the springs, replaced all the hardware and changed over to 13" radial tires. The boat gained about 3/8" of height on the trailer initially but I re-adjusted the center rollers and bunks and got it down to the lowest possible position and now its an inch lower than it used to be.
What I like most about the 13" tires is that they last longer. Since my boat is light, I can run any small radial tire if needed, so that opens up a whole slew of options. Right now I've got a pair of Tracker branded 165 80R13 tires that came on a neighbors new boat two years ago. The diameter is close enough to the 12" wheels on my other trailer that I can carry a 12" for a spare if I had to. I do have a matching spare though.

I downsized the tires on my 16ft boat's trailer, which had 205/14 tires on it so it could use the same size tires and only need one spare in the truck. Since that trailer is rated for far more than my boat there's no issues with the smaller tires and it helped the loading angle and depth a bit too.
On both, the taller tires mean I never need to sink my axle or hubs in the water when launching or loading either boat.

 

[Stand Up]

My war eagle 542fldView attachment 120508 on a ez Trac trailer has 13" tires...

Those tires bug me!

 

[LDUBS]

Tires with a larger diameter will wear less in a given distance than their smaller counterpart. More wear material, and less revolutions to go the distance.

Same concept with wheel bearings. Less RPM, less wear, less heat.

That said you are only talking about a 10% difference, give or take between a 12" and 13" tire. The trailer would be recycled into a new Hyundai before you ever got your money back out of that upgrade.

"The trailer would be recycled into a new Hyundai before you ever got your money back out of that upgrade."

Love it. This gets my vote for quote of the week!

 

[JL8Jeff]

I just learned that I might be wrong about the hub thing, given that this hub uses centering lug nuts. From what I am hearing, the hole can be bigger, assuming it's not a hub centered wheel/hub.

There are several different 5 lug bolt patterns so you would just need to make sure you get the correct wheels for your hubs. 5 on 4.5", 5 on 4.75" and 5 on 5" I think are the options.

 

[alask83]

I have an Alweld 1542 boat on a painted steel boat trailer. It has a Minn Kota foot control motor and a 15HP Mercury outboard. Add in some accessories, but generally it's a relatively light boat (compared to a bass boat). The trailer has basically new 12 inch wheels like you get from Walmart (5 bolt). The fenders have lots of room, and I COULD upgrade to 13 inch wheels. The chst would be about $500 for two wheels and a spare.

My trips are generally less than an hour each way, maybe 1.5 hours max. Road speeds up to say 65 here in Texas.

Is it worth upgrading to 13 inch wheels given this set of conditions? Like I said, the 12s I have are basically new.

I just did this, three 13" wheels & tires, new for just over $200.

 

[BoneDigger]

I made the upgrade from 12 inch bias to 13 inch radials. I have not tried it out yet but it fit perfectly and I think it was a good upgrade. Attached are the originals and the new wheels and tires.

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

It looks right.

 

[LDUBS]

^^ X2. The difference is remarkable.

It looks like you still have a couple inches clearance from the fenders with the trailer loaded.

 

[thill]

That looks much better, especially if you trailer a lot and/or a long distance.

 

[BoneDigger]

Thanks everyone, I think it was a worthwhile upgrade. In just looking at it, I think this is what this trailer was designed for and perhaps someone had gone down to 12s for some reason. It's a 1996 trailer, so nearly 30 years old.

 

[LaqueRatt]

Looks a little tight to me to be honest. Better take it easy on the bumps. Not so sure the extra space isn't by design to ensure the tires don't bottom out in the fenders.

 

[FuzzyGrub]

What was the difference in max load per tire?

 

[LDUBS]

Looks a little tight to me to be honest. Better take it easy on the bumps. Not so sure the extra space isn't by design to ensure the tires don't bottom out in the fenders.

I wouldn't know how much travel is in that suspension, but it does't look like much. Something to watch for sure. I seriously doubt the original clearance was needed.

 

[BoneDigger]

What was the difference in max load per tire?

It went from Load Range C to D.

 

[BoneDigger]

Looks a little tight to me to be honest. Better take it easy on the bumps. Not so sure the extra space isn't by design to ensure the tires don't bottom out in the fenders.

Thanks for the response. It was a worry at first but I think there is plenty of room there. If I find it's an issue, I'll have a welder raise the fenders, but I don't think it'll be necessary.

 

[AZGDOGG]

Thanks for the response. It was a worry at first but I think there is plenty of room there. If I find it's an issue, I'll have a welder raise the fenders, but I don't think it'll be necessary.

I did the exact same thing a couple of years ago prior to a 3000 mile round trip except bought 4 tire wheel assemblies so I would have two spares. Also bought a spare hub with bearings kit and carried a tool box with basic set of tools, shop tools brake clean etc. (a lot of open country in Arizona, Nevada and Oregon) As it turned out we didn't have a problem but it was comforting knowing that I could make a quick tire or hub change if needed. I did have to adjust the fenders slightly to ensure that the tires didn't contact the fenders when the springs became compressed if you hit a pothole or severe bump etc. tires and bearings run cooler due to less rpms.

 

[oilsmoke]

I put 13" wheels in place of my original 5.30x8 five lug wheels on my one trailer but I also reworked the bunks so the boat sits lower now, plus I flipped the axle atop the springs and moved my fenders out a bit to cover the tires better.
The boat now sits lower than it did on the trailer originally and I don't have all the concerns with cheap Chinese trailer tires rotting away ever two or three years. Most aluminum boats don't weigh enough to worry about what kind of tires so i run cheap 13" radials by Cooper, the last pair lasted 14 years before I had to put tubes in them. Then I got another five years. I replaced them reusing the tubes day one and figure they'll outlast me.

On occasion I tow my 16ft boat a longer distance so the bigger tires reduce bearing speed and keep the bearings out of the water when launching. When the spindles got too worn, I tossed the bearing savers and just doubled the seals and sealed the bearing caps on with silicone. The last time I checked the bearings after about five years and several thousand miles they were perfect, no water gets in and no grease gets forced out.

New smaller tires are fine, they just don't last very long these days, I was getting two years tops before the sidewalls leaked from cracks. Running car tires they last way longer and never seem to leak. There's probably better standards for safety with passenger tires than with boat trailer tires.

 

[GTS225]

As a sidebar; I wonder if we were to cover our tires while sitting, if they would last longer. Similar to what RV'ers do for their tires. Seems to be a certain logic in it.

Roger