Question to those running the same vehicle wheels on your trailer..

irish44j

Well-known member
I did it both for aesthetics and to avoid having to carry a spare for the trailer (though it seems unlikely I'd flat an all-terrain on a lightweight trailer). Also because I love the Gen1 Montero wheels. Also so I can rotate around all six since the trailer will NEVER wear these out and eventually I'll have to replace them just because of being too old.

incidentally, no adaptors. my trailer is homebuilt frame with a 3500# trailer axle (built to the length I wanted it to fit the wheels correctly) with 6-lug trailer hubs that fit the wheels.

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rebar

Adventurer
Incidentally, no adapters. my trailer is homebuilt frame with a 3500# trailer axle (built to the length I wanted it to fit the wheels correctly) with 6-lug trailer hubs that fit the wheels.

You, and I think one other person mentioned adapters..

If your running truck or jeep rims with more than 1/2" of positive offset, I hope your running adapters or spacers to achieve 0 or no more than 1/2" of positive offset because trailer hub bearings, at least dexter, are not designed for more..
In fact, Ive read numerous reports of people who ran rims with more than 1/2" positive who smoked their bearings..

Great thread btw..
 

irish44j

Well-known member
You, and I think one other person mentioned adapters..

If your running truck or jeep rims with more than 1/2" of positive offset, I hope your running adapters or spacers to achieve 0 or no more than 1/2" of positive offset because trailer hub bearings, at least dexter, are not designed for more..
In fact, Ive read numerous reports of people who ran rims with more than 1/2" positive who smoked their bearings..

Great thread btw..

FWIW, mine are ET15, so that's about 1/2". I actually intend to put some 15 mm spacers on to get my track width identical to my towing vehicle, at some point. That said, I have 6K hubs, on a trailer that weighs maybe 500lbs empty and maybe 1.5k fully loaded, so I'm not too worried about. I wouldn't be running these wheels/tires on some harbor freight mini-trailer hubs...
 

Mischief

Active member
So, that's a little confusing to me. Positive offset means that the wheel/tire is moved further in so more weight is carried by the inner/larger bearing. How does that become a problem? Any spacer moves the wheel/tire further out so more weight is carried by the smaller/outer bearing at the small end of the axle, educate me please.
What stories of ruin did you read?
I've been running tacoma rims on 6 hole hubs on dexter 3500# axles for 15,000 miles + without any spacers or issues
From my research a few years ago I gathered that toyota truck rims are both lug centric and hub centric. I just rotate the worn tires/wheels from the truck to the trailer when I buy new ones for the truck.

You, and I think one other person mentioned adapters..

If your running truck or jeep rims with more than 1/2" of positive offset, I hope your running adapters or spacers to achieve 0 or no more than 1/2" of positive offset because trailer hub bearings, at least dexter, are not designed for more..
In fact, Ive read numerous reports of people who ran rims with more than 1/2" positive who smoked their bearings..

Great thread btw..

44185626131_fce4117567_c (2).jpg
 
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Louisd75

Adventurer
Most of your counter points are value judgments and my intention was not to imply there is something wrong with how you decide to equip your vehicle.
The paragraph I quoted is a misinterpretation of what I posted. I absolutely think trailer brakes are practical. My point was that trailer brakes are smaller than most truck brakes and don't need the same wheel clearance. A taller tire sidewall rather than larger diameter wheel will be lighter and have more give before denting the wheel. Trailer wheels also don't really benefit from the stiffness of lower profile tires because they aren't used to steer the vehicle into corners.
Again, we are kind of splitting hairs here and it's not like one choice will be vastly superior to another.

I don't think I was misinterpreting, I think I did a poor job of expanding upon the topic. I should have moved my line of thought into a new paragraph or post :) We agree on the practicality of brakes. FWIW, the 3500lb trailer brakes on my trailer are very nearly the same size as the rear brakes on my Tacoma. I definitely could have gotten by with smaller brakes on my trailer, these ones will easily lock up if I run the controller too high.

I run what is likely thought of as a smallish tire (235/85R16) but it works well for me and the type of traveling that I do. I have no complaints about running the same tire on the trailer, though I do run it at a slightly lower pressure since the trailer is on the lighter side for the tire's load rating.
 

douglastic

Member
Curious . . .
What would be a proper "7" or "9" tire rotation pattern, so you get the most out of ALL your matching tires?

Huge circle? (so you don't lose track)
Figure 8? (spare being the intersection)
Double Triple Rearward Cross? (no idea what that looks like haha)
 

JoshN

Observer
I totally matched the size and lug pattern of my wheels on both trailers to my truck (at the time). Honestly, I still think it is a sound idea. However, as you may have guessed, my current truck has a different wheel size and lug pattern. Do I regret it? Nope. Things change over time. Would I do it again? Probably.
 

billiebob

Well-known member
Curious . . .
What would be a proper "7" or "9" tire rotation pattern, so you get the most out of ALL your matching tires?

Huge circle? (so you don't lose track)
Figure 8? (spare being the intersection)
Double Triple Rearward Cross? (no idea what that looks like haha)
I buy tires for the truck when they are about 80% ?? worn. They get moved to the trailers, I have 2 trailers so the 4 of 20% tires go to the trailers, and those get rotated according to use, mileage. The spare is an after thought. At some point I buy 5 tires for the truck and those get a 5 tire rotation.

Don't over think it. I rotate truck tires every spring and fall regardless of mileage. Trailer tires I never rotate but one trailer sees 12K miles a year, the other sees 4K miles a year, maybe 8K miles if I go to CO, UT etc. Think no tire should be on the road if it is 8-10 years old. Rotate them to mile them out before them start to rot.
 
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Peter_n_Margaret

Adventurer
Curious . . .
What would be a proper "7" or "9" tire rotation pattern, so you get the most out of ALL your matching tires?
I rotate tyres in pairs either forwards or backwards and never cross from side to side unless they are flipped on the rim first.
This is to maintain the direction of rotation of the tyre.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome
 

rebar

Adventurer
So, that's a little confusing to me. Positive offset means that the wheel/tire is moved further in so more weight is carried by the inner/larger bearing. How does that become a problem? Any spacer moves the wheel/tire further out so more weight is carried by the smaller/outer bearing at the small end of the axle, educate me please.
What stories of ruin did you read?
I've been running tacoma rims on 6 hole hubs on dexter 3500# axles for 15,000 miles + without any spacers or issues
From my research a few years ago I gathered that toyota truck rims are both lug centric and hub centric. I just rotate the worn tires/wheels from the truck to the trailer when I buy new ones for the truck.

I'm no expert on this, but have researched running truck rims on a trailer allot, and should have copied the quotes Ive found.. But the sentiment remains in my mind that at least three others (reported) have had bearing failures because of to much offset. To much offset tries to twist the wheel on the bearings instead of even force up.


"Wheel offset is the distance from the mounting surface to the centerline of the tire. Dexter Axle bearing sets are designed for wheels with 0 to 1/2" inset. Exceeding this offset will shorten bearing life and may lead to dangerous bearing failure."

My truck rims have about 2 1/4" of positive offset, so I would have to run 2" spacers to get 1/4" of positive offset.

The best way to understand or figure out offset vs back space (two completely different measurements) is to draw it on paper.. When you calculate backspace, a rim is actually about 1" wider than it's size. So an 8" wide wheel measures 9" for backspace purposes.

I was confused too. Nice trailer btw..
 
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4S50

Member
I also ran trailer tires that matched the Jeep. I did it primarily so I only needed to carry one 90,lbs 35” tire. Also, in my experience, I have only needed a spare tire when I tore a sidewall; I carried a plug kit that cured 99% of my flats.
 

NMBruce

Adventurer
I like running the same wheels, I like the looks and it lets me run the same or similar tires. I think it also saves me money as I use older truck tires as my trailer tires.
 

billiebob

Well-known member
You, and I think one other person mentioned adapters..

If your running truck or jeep rims with more than 1/2" of positive offset, I hope your running adapters or spacers to achieve 0 or no more than 1/2" of positive offset because trailer hub bearings, at least dexter, are not designed for more..
In fact, Ive read numerous reports of people who ran rims with more than 1/2" positive who smoked their bearings..

Great thread btw..
Yes, trailer axles are designed to run 0 offset, as every trailer rim does. Without over thinking it if you are running 100% load every day, changing the offset will result in overloading/overheating something. I'm not concerned for what I run. I tow with a TJ and it has a 2K# trailer limit and I always spec a 3500# axle. My "Expo" Square Drop weighs 1500#.

But yes, you raise a very valid engineering question. Fully loaded at 100% changing a trailer rim offset is creating a problem.
 

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