1yr update 10 inch trailer wheels

[Bob23]

   I'm gonna echo Ron's "all trailer tires are not created equal." When I was shopping for tire for my construction trailer (7'x16') and always over-loaded, I did alot of internet snooping and found that most, if not all, the trailer tires are made in China. That's not a bad thing, but some were the victims of poor quality control. Check it out. I might have gone on TireRack...don't really remember now.
   I guess my 23's trailer is a bit overkill. (4) 15" tires to carry a total of about 4200 lbs. Load range D or E I think. I seem to remember that each tire's load was about 1800 lbs.
   All this could be wrong-as I mentioned I'm going from memory!!!
Bob23...I think that's my name!

[Napier6]

Well I'm back safe and sound.  The dealer installed H188 brand 10" trailer tires. Which I have never heard of, but I have just run a little over 550 miles to Hilton Head SC and back at 55 to 65 mph and am happy.   I will probably go up a size next time.  I just have to do more planning to have my ducks in a row.  I had some time off and I grabbed it.  Glad I did. (I'll post some trip info on the Eclipse page)

By the way, when I had the trailer serviced they found the axle nuts had backed off a ¼" and retightened them.  If you are pulling don't forget to check ALL the bolts. Thanks for the advice guys.

[CaptRon28]

The sidewall will have a lot of information about the tire, such as load class, weight rating and inflation pressure. Read it and compare the weight ratings to the actual trailer weight (with boat). The "axle" nuts should have cotter pins with castle nuts or maybe E clips to prevent them from backing off. Wheel nuts should be torqued to spec and checked periodically, along with the tire pressure.  Any other important nut or bolt should be assembled with locktite or equivalent, even if they have locknuts.

It's more than just "embarrassing" to have one of these fly apart behind you.

[skip1930]

I might add also that my trailer has galvanized wheels and where the tire seals on the rim to make it tubeless I can soap up the rim and watch it bubble out at 90 psi. And every year I'd have a flat after six months of the boat sitting on the trailer, so I had tube installed. No problems after that.

skip.

[Napier6]

After action report:
 
Made it the 540 miles to Hilton Head and back.  Kept the Eclipse and Performance trailer at the house and waxed, buffed, and generally maintained.  Last Sunday I trailered her back to Lake Lanier 37.5 miles.  Halfway there I had a sudden deceleration and the starboard side Duro H188 10" tire (tubeless) came off the rim.  In my rush to get to the lake I left the bottle jack and the torque wrench at the house, but had two 4x4's, the 20" lug wrench,  and the Highlanders groaning jack.  It all got changed smoothly, but I was frustrated.  The next Monday the dealer got me a new Duro H188 10" for $72 more bucks, no proration on side wall damage (of course!).

Specs: Duro H188 20.5 x 8.0 -10" Load Range E, "Ten ply rating" =Tread 6 plies, Sidewall 4 plies, Max load 1535 lbs (695 kg) at 90 PSI (620 kpa) cold

The moral of the story is in three plus years  when dry rot starts in, or at the next flat I will be going up to 14" wheels.

[CaptRon28]

Cover the tires when you're not using the trailer, and don't park it on the grass or dirt. Put some concrete pads or blocks under all of the tires. This will prevent some of the uv and dry-rot damage. And check the tire pressure religiously. A loss of 20 pounds (from 90 psi) may not be visable, but it will definitely hurt the tire's ability to carry the load. That could lead to overheating and a blow-out.

Size is not the issue. This could have easily happened with 14 inch wheels as well.

[Napier6]

Thanks Capt Ron,

I checked the pressure at a gas station down the street from my house 20 min. prior to blowout.  I've put the trailer in the pine trees with semi-shade and blocked the wheels off the ground, but no covers.  The spare tire, which is horizontal, needs one.  I'm going to shop for some covers.

[CaptRon28]

OK - the brakes need some work now. Stopping and starting is a little erratic at times. The manual calls this chucking. I pulled the drums off on one side and took the UFP A-75 actuator apart. Doesn't look that bad (rusted push rod only obvious problem, maybe one bad wheel cylinder) so I may choose not to spend a bunch on 10 inch disc brakes, larger wheels and tires, larger fenders, and a new actuator to fix it. I've got some more component testing to do.

My options inlcude everything from a simple rebuild to the full blown version above.  One compromise involves rebuilding the actuator and installing 8 inch disc brakes. I found out that Kodiac, UFP and Reliable make these small 8 inch discs, but they are very hard to track down. That will save the cost of larger wheels, new tires and the two fenders. Total cost maybe $500 vs well over $1,000. If I can salvage the drum brakes cheaply (under $150?), I may do that now instead. They don't look that bad either. But these parts are also hard to find. I think the 8 inch drums are made by Titan, but absolutely no dealers carry these parts either.

A few almost funny things from the last day or two. Magic Tilt swears that they don't build 7,000 pound GVW trailers with 10 inch wheels. I had to give them my VIN to prove it. They also install disc brake actuators (the A-75 for examble) with backup solenoids on these tandem 10 inch wheel trailers with small drums. The wire that's supposed to be connected to the backup lights on the truck is coiled and hidden inside the actuator case. Gerry Hutchins confimed this - he's seen a number of them built that way. These trailers could be the only drum brake trailers they still build.

Anyway - I'd like to have larger wheels and tires, but I've always been more concerned about the small drum brakes and salt water. Discs are definitely going in sometime in the future, maybe now if the drum rebuild parts get pricey. The 8 inch disc systems sound like a good compromise.

[CaptRon28]

Most of us can forget about putting disc brakes behind the 10 inch trailer wheels. In my case, it's a Magic-Tilt tandem axle trailer holding up my Horizon. I ordered and attempted to install the 8 inch Kodiak system. Did a test fit on one wheel before I disassembled the whole thing. It will not fit - the Kodiak caliper hits either the trailer frame or leaf spring, depending on whether you mount it at 3, 9 or 12 oclock. It might fit at the 6 oclock postition, but bleeding the system would be a big problem there. The only other 8 inch disc brake kit around (UFP) will not fit our spindles. The Kodiak kit may fit trailers with torsion axles, but most of our trailers use leaf springs.

I will eventually upgrade to 13 inch wheels and tires, and I'm 99 percent sure the TieDown Engineering 9.6 inch brakes will fit. I've installed them on two other boat trailers already. Only problem there is swapping out the smaller fenders.

[Glenn Basore]

Ron,

I went from 10" wheels to 14" wheels on my Performance trailer (I have an Eclipse) some time ago and installed surge brakes too.

The fenders were not a problem, I just cut them off and bought new fenders from a trailer supply store on line which was provided to me from some one on this site. every thing I got came from information on this site!

By swapping out the wheels, adding the disc surge brakes and new fenders I have had easy care free towing.

Well forth the time money and labor.

Glenn

[CaptRon28]

OK - I've started the process of updating the Magic Tilt double axle trailer under my diesel Horizon Cat  to 13 inch wheels and disc brakes - from the original 10 inch wheels and drums. Trailer Parts Superstore had decent 13 inch galvonized wheels and tires for sale and I ordered them. They got here today. Drums and salt water are not a good combination. Nothing but trouble. Discs will not fit behind the 10 inch wheels. I'm waiting for the TieDown Engineering 9.6 inch ventilated discs do go on sale and I'll buy them.  It wasn't that I was that unhappy with the tiny 10 inch wheels and tires - it was the awfull drum brakes that prompted this. The store usually puts these 9.6 inch disc brakes on sale 2 or 3 times a year, and the $30 or so savings per wheel is probably worth the wait considering the 4 wheels. When I finish this project I'll report back. I've done this conversion to 3 boat trailers already and it's worth the approx $700 cost to do it.

By the way, I decided on 13 inch wheels based on the fact that they will fit the 9.6 inch brakes and will not raise the trailer that much that launching and retrieving would be a problem. Tire diameter is about 1.5 inches more so the 3/4 inch height increase will not pose any real problems. Don't believe anyone who says that drum brakes are as good as discs. Besides corrosion, cooling down period is a major issue. I've had drum brakes hit nearly 400 degrees temperature after a run on an Interstate. That's dangerous - with a good chance of tire failure. Ever see all of the tire carcasses lying on the sides of these highways? Most were caused by heat.