Alum Wheels?

[No Agenda]

We live on the coast in northern Cal. Travel to the lakes inland over mountain roads nearly every weekend throughout the summer. Our boat is only 2 seasons old now. About the middle of the summer, one of the Carlisle tires blew out. About ten seconds of vibration, then a bunch of smoke. Tire was destroyed. Put the spare on and made it home without any more problems. After all the comments/complaints here and on other boards, I decided to change out all 5 Carlisles to GY Marathons. I had noticed a little rust developing on the chrome wheels that came on the trailer, so I had the dealer also replace all 5 wheels with new aluminum Outlaw II's just before a long (500 mile) trip. It all looked great until I noticed that I could see more sidewall on the inside of the fenders while going down the freeway. I called the dealer and asked about this situation and was advised to just bring them in when I got back from the trip. The dealer told me that they have installed these same wheels on numerous boat trailers and nobody has ever commented about what I was talking about.<br /><br />Turns out that the original steel wheels measured 3.25 inches from the back of the rim to the mounting plate. The new aluminum wheels measured 4 inches. This moved the tire closer to the frame of the trailer causing the inboard tread to be directly under the lip of the fender. The fenders are welded on and not moveable. I had the dealer put my old steel wheels back on and they credited me on the aluminum wheels. They said that there were no aluminum wheels that they could find with the off-set that I needed in a 14x6 wheel.<br /><br />The off-set I need is -19 mm. All of the 14x6 alloy trailer wheels I've found have a 0 off-set and 4" backspacing. I've searched all over the internet, talked to the local Les Schwab and other tire shops. I even contacted the trailer manufacturer and they were very helpful other than the fact that they don't offer the alloy wheels on this model trailer. All say that this is not available in the alloy wheels. Chrome steel is available with the right off-set.<br /><br />I've kind of resigned myself to having to replace the rusty steel wheels every few years, but would rather have the aluminum if its out there.<br /><br />Any ideas?

 

[Bondo]

Re: Alum Wheels?

This moved the tire closer to the frame of the trailer causing the inboard tread to be directly under the lip of the fender. The fenders are welded on and not moveable.

It sounds like you done a quite abit of legwork,....<br />I don't have any Secret Wheel stores to tell you about,......<br /><br />It appears that IF you Really want Alloy Wheels,......<br /><br />You,.. Or Somebody is going to Have to Redesign your Fenders,+ Brackets,...............<br />Or,...<br />You could install slightly Longer Axles,.........<br /><br />To Me,..... This sounds Minor,.... But I love to Weld,+ have a Shop, ready to go........<br /><br />I Wouldn't even consider spacing the Lugs out 3/4",.........You'd Loose alot of Sheer Strength from the whole wheel assembley...........

 

[islandboat]

Re: Alum Wheels?

Could the Goodyears be a little wider than the old tires? Your only talking about 3/4" inch difference and the trailer should have had that much for inside clearance with the old wheel / tire setup. <br />As a possible solution that I have already experienced, through my mistake, is to space the wheels out a little as you mentioned. I ordered new axles and brakes for my trailer last year. The axles were both the same distance between the wheel hub flanges. Then I added disc brakes to one of the axles and that is when I noticed that I had moved one set of wheels out enough to notice a difference while towing down the road. Like you, it was just enough to tell that something had changed. It was only about 3/8" but that may be enough to solve your clearance problem. I didn't really loose strength at the wheel mounting area but spacing the rear of the wheels with a machined spacer such as a brake rotor may help. I know alumnium wheels look nice and if you don't already have brakes on the trailer, this might be a good time to consider it.

 

[Lou C]

Re: Alum Wheels?

Why not go with galvanized steel wheels, here in the salt pond, that's all anyone has, unless it is a trailer that is never dunked and the boat is lifted off with a sling...<br />www.easternmarine.com<br />or <br />www.championtrailers.com

 

[No Agenda]

Re: Alum Wheels?

Bondo: Boat sits between the fenders, so moving the fenders isn't an option. Considered extending the axles (like you, I like to tinker and build things), but was looking for a bolt-on easy fix.<br /><br />The only thing rusting on the setup is the cheap chrome wheels. Trailer only sees fresh water, but lives on the coast through the winter months. They say that people don't get suntans around here, they rust!<br /><br />The trailer has brakes (drum type). I've thought about changing to disc's sometime down the road after the shoes wear out.<br /><br />Till then, I think I'll have to stay with the rusty chrome wheels. I just thought it odd that there isn't much as far as selection in this size wheel. After checking this out, even the boat dealer that has been selling these wheels for a long time is perplexed as to the different offset and has no answer.