trailer wheels

[Kingy1]

hi, i want to smarten up my snipe single axle trailer by fitting some nicer rims than the boring old steels that they come with, i am struggling to find anything that will fit,does anybody know if any car alloys will fit,even with a bit of work or can i maybe get some 8 spoke white ones that will fit,they are 4 stud & the stud holes are 100 mm apart in a square & 13 inch diameter ,many thanks

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by Kingy1

hi, i want to smarten up my snipe single axle trailer by fitting some nicer rims than the boring old steels that they come with, i am struggling to find anything that will fit,does anybody know if any car alloys will fit,even with a bit of work or can i maybe get some 8 spoke white ones that will fit,they are 4 stud & the stud holes are 100 mm apart in a square & 13 inch diameter ,many thanks

If you think your steel wheels look tatty, wait while the alloys have been dunked in the sea a few times.

[beerbelly]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

If you think your steel wheels look tatty, wait while the alloys have been dunked in the sea a few times.

ah but you can get alloys powder coated and they will look as good as new where as if you get your steel wheels powder coated they always start rusting where the 2 pieces of wheel have been welded together between the rim and the hubplate is a join blast media gets in there and and cant all be got out even if there not blasted the powder doesn't get far enough in to seal the join

[Limecc]

Originally Posted by beerbelly

ah but you can get alloys powder coated and they will look as good as new where as if you get your steel wheels powder coated they always start rusting where the 2 pieces of wheel have been welded together between the rim and the hubplate is a join blast media gets in there and and cant all be got out even if there not blasted the powder doesn't get far enough in to seal the join

The best solution for me was to have the steel wheels blasted and galvanized, they can now be painted. I'm going to use Smoothrite in silver I think.

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by beerbelly

ah but you can get alloys powder coated and they will look as good as new where as if you get your steel wheels powder coated they always start rusting where the 2 pieces of wheel have been welded together between the rim and the hubplate is a join blast media gets in there and and cant all be got out even if there not blasted the powder doesn't get far enough in to seal the join

I’ve never seen powder coated ally last more than 5 years in “normal” conditions, let alone in a marine environment.

[beamishken]

4x100 is a very common stud spacing so you will have plenty of options
Ford vw mazda toyota nissan to name a few all use 4x100 stud pattern on certain models
I had a set of woolfrace mini alloys on a boat trailer years ago, they lasted pretty well.
I've also had good experience with getting alloys powder coated & seemed to last well. My old merc ml had power coated alloys & they lasted a good 6 or 7 years before looking tatty again despite regularly getting a seawater bath. The damage was more self inflicted kerb rash than failed powder coat

[Last Tango]

Bear in mind, boat trailers are sore on wheel bearings and there's more to matching wheels than just the stud pitch. If you use a different hub face offset the loads on the wheel bearings will be greater as the standard wheels will put the load centre where it minimises this. The centre hole can also be critical depending on the hub design as this often locates and centres the wheels.

[beamishken]

Originally Posted by Last Tango

Bear in mind, boat trailers are sore on wheel bearings and there's more to matching wheels than just the stud pitch. If you use a different hub face offset the loads on the wheel bearings will be greater as the standard wheels will put the load centre where it minimises this. The centre hole can also be critical depending on the hub design as this often locates and centres the wheels.

I think the water ingress & resulting corrosion do the damage to trailer bearings rather than the offset realy mattering. Mini wheels have a totaly different offset to trailer wheels but the two have been interchanged for years with no real difference in bearing life. All the folk fitting wheel spacers dont seem to have excessive bearing failures, I doubt a slight offset change will have much impact on bearing life as long as there not ridiculously different.

[spartacus]

I bought some last year for my now 10 year old Rapide unbraked trailer. I think when I looked, the cost was minimal to just to buy new steel wheels and tyres than look for replacement tyres. I've sanded back steel wheels, rust proofed and repainted. It's a thankless task and the rust is back within a couple of years. Personally I'd stay with steel wheels.

[beamishken]

Originally Posted by spartacus

I bought some last year for my now 10 year old Rapide unbraked trailer. I think when I looked, the cost was minimal to just to buy new steel wheels and tyres than look for replacement tyres. I've sanded back steel wheels, rust proofed and repainted. It's a thankless task and the rust is back within a couple of years. Personally I'd stay with steel wheels.

Yep you can buy wheels and tyres for the price of tyres so no point in messing with rusty rims I just fit new ones & scrap the old ones

[Limecc]

A trailer with alloy wheels simply wouldn't look right, kind of like putting a bimini on a RIB - it would look plain stupid. But that's just my opinion. Transit vans look stupid with them as well. Sorry if I offended any trannies out there who are happy with them

As mentioned, it's cheap enough to buy wheel and tyre, rather than new tyres on old wheels (which might be viable if the rims were galvanized from new).

[FoxZulu]

We have a bimini on our RIB and find it an excellent bit of kit when anchored up for a picnic in the blazing sun. We only put it up when we want to use it, otherwise it stays folded and is quite unobtrusive. Not offended by the way

[Kingy1]

sorry guys ,i have been wrong about the stud spacing , the actual pcd is 140 not sure about the offset but i think it is et 26, thanks.

[beamishken]

Originally Posted by Kingy1

sorry guys ,i have been wrong about the stud spacing , the actual pcd is 140 not sure about the offset but i think it is et 26, thanks.

Are you sure there not 5.5inch pcd, thats a common trailer size 140mm is a bit oddball

[Kingy1]

hi,i think 140 & 5.5inches are the same.

[beamishken]

Originally Posted by Kingy1

hi,i think 140 & 5.5inches are the same.

With wheel spacing the odd mm makes a difference, 100mm & 4" trailer wheels looks close but its not compatible. 5.5" is close to 140 mm but not exactly the same. 140mm came on a few cars, old peugeots & Subaru's, 5.5" is a trailer size only
Your unlikely to find nice looking used wheels from a vehicle in either size

[paintman]

Most caravans now come with alloy wheels as standard.
I've no idea what the various PCD patterns on them are.
Main air leakage with alloys (cars as well) is when corrosion creeps in from the edge of the wheel often from a kerbing.

[Orwell boy]

I believe there were some purpose made ally trailer wheels on the extreme stand last time the show was on in southamptom ???

[Rubber-raft2]

Wheel bearing grease we use here in the US is marine grade and doesn't degrade from water like general purpose wheel bearing grease for cars.
Hope it helps

[HDAV]

Originally Posted by Orwell boy

I believe there were some purpose made ally trailer wheels on the extreme stand last time the show was on in southamptom ???

SBS supply alloys as an option ok the Alko hubs