Trailer wheel options

[wrvond]

Hi all,
I do not have a spare for my trailer. I have been toying with the idea of putting wheels on the trailer that match my Jeep. The advantage would be that I would only have to carry one spare that would be shared by both trailer and Jeep. Not to mention I think it would look good!
All I know about the stock wheels are that they are chrome and 15 inches.
The Jeep wheels are 16 inches and I believe the bolt pattern is 5 on 4.5. What are your thoughts on this? Are there any negatives I'm not aware of? Anything that would rule this idea out completely?
TIA

 

[Bondo]

Re: Trailer wheel options

Ayuh,... I think you might be wrong about the Jeep bolt pattern,+ the Offset might not work.....
But,...
Go ahead,+ Try 1, then you'll know...

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Trailer wheel options

Is a 16" ST (trailer) tire going to fit inside the fender wells of your trailer, with enough room for suspension travel? Going from a 15 to a 16 tire might not be possible without trailer (fender) modifications.

I have a feeling with what Bondo mention and my concerns, it won't work. But what the heck, can't hurt to check it out.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Trailer wheel options

The wheel you show has so much offset (hub toward outside of the rim) that it will likely rub on the trailer frame or perhaps fender support brackets. Trailer wheels have zero offset meaning the hub is in the exact center of the tire tread. There may be other issues as well such as the taper on the lug nuts and whether the lug nuts intended for that wheel are metric or SAE. Some wheels now have a metric bolt pattern as well so sticking a metric pattern onto an SAE bolt pattern is not an exact fit so lug nuts will loosen and you run the risk of shearing lug bolts and/or losing a wheel. Nice thought, but you best make sure you know what you are doing here.

 

[shuswap119]

Re: Trailer wheel options

If that wheel is from a '96-'99 Grand Cherokee the bolt pattern is correct but the offset will put the inside bead 1" closer to your frame. That will be a 7" wide wheel so that will also move it in 1/2 " as well, if your stock rims are 6" wide. Fitting a tire that will work as a spare that will fit both applications will be difficult.

Regards,

 

[wrvond]

Re: Trailer wheel options

Thanks for the responses.
Yes, the wheel pictured is a stock aluminum 96 Grand Cherokee Limited wheel. The bolt pattern is 5 on 4.5" centers. I'm out of town, so don't have access to my reference material and don't remember what the offset is, but I do remember the wheel is 6" wide.
The wheels that came on the trailer have 5 bolts and are chromed steel and 15" diameter. That's all I know about them.
Well, now I know they have zero offset (as per Silvertip). The trailer itself came from Tahoe (Tracker) with the boat. It's a single axle with disc brakes.

My Jeep does have a full size spare, so I think I'll measure and compare the lug threads of the Jeep and trailer to make sure they are the same, or obtain the proper lugnuts to match the threads on the trailer and fit an aluminum wheel. I'll also measure the actual tire height of the spare and the trailer wheels. If the trailer wheels have a lot of sidewall, they may actually be the same diameter as the 16" spare. The important distances being between the top of the tire and the fender, and inside of the tire and frame, and the wheel and brake.
You guys are right, at a minimum, this is going to be difficult. It may be eaiser and cheaper to simply get a spare trailer tire and mount.
When I get back I'm going to have to grab a beer and a chair and sit and stare at it for a while... a long while...

 

[KStoon]

Re: Trailer wheel options

Below is a link to a good explanation of trailer vs. passenger/truck tires. What is good for your Jeep is not as good for a trailer and a good trailer tire is not good on the Jeep. I'm sure it can be done and I'm sure people do use LT or P-metric tires on trailers. Just passing along a good read I ran across while looking for trailer tires. I too like the Jeep wheels. An easy test is take one off of your Jeep and swap it on the trailer. Maybe even use the full size spare to test with to lessen the work load. No use getting too far involved at the risk of crossing the line from fun over to working. You'd also need a "it's a Jeep thing" sticker on the trailer. Maybe even remove the OEM trailer stickers and find a OEM Jeep logo applique to replace them.........sweet!









http://www.carlisletire.com/product_care/trailer_tires_101.pdf

 

[wrvond]

Re: Trailer wheel options

Great article! Thanks for the link. That's something I did not know about tires, but it certainly makes sense.
In West Virginia, you pretty much can't get there from here unless you travel a lot of rough, uneven, winding, bouncy back roads. I sure wouldn't want to risk losing my boat and trailer over the cliff because of soft sidewalls.

 

[Paul DuLaney]

Re: Trailer wheel options

I have used after market (larger hub ) 14in Ford ranger rims for years along with LT tires as spares and they work great n are cheep. I now was given 2 almost new alum trailer tires and rims so I'm using one of my originals as a spare and gave the others away to someone who needed them as I had those given to me.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Trailer wheel options

You won't need to carry another spare, but you will have to have tools and wheel bearings ready to go. Going drastically different on your offset will chew up wheel bearings in no time. Think of it this way, normally the center of your tire lines up with the center of the bearings, the wheel offset makes that happen. Change offset, and now all the load is being carried on the very edge of the bearings.

 

[jeeperman]

Re: Trailer wheel options

The bolt pattern might be the same and will work.
The offset might work or it might be too much and interfere with trailer parts.
The tire diameter might work.
The load capacity might work.
As long as the hole patterns are the same it might work even if the stud diameters are not the same. The wheel does not ride on the studs, they ride on the conical shape of the lugnuts.
So even if your switching between 1/2" studs to say 14mm studs you can still use the wheels in most cases since the stud holes are larger than the studs. Just make sure you are using the proper taper lugnuts for the wheels.

The center hole of the wheel might be too small to fit the trailer hub.
Which is a common thing with original equipment automotive wheels. Many autos use the center hole of the o.e.m. wheels to fit the center protrusion of the hub accurately.
Some higher capacity trailers use the same concept as it takes the load off of the lugnuts.

Aftermarket wheels are usually made with a larger center hole to clear the biggest hub they might encounter.