Larger wheels

[driver106]

Our new fifth wheel came with 15" rims and standard issue tires. I am interested in switching to 16" or17" wheels and better tires, has anyone done this?

[LJowdy]

It's very common place to upgrade to a larger wheel/tire combo. Most upgrade as the larger tires have a much greater carrying capacity. When and if you do, check the back spacing on your current wheels and make sure the diameter of the new tires will fit with plenty of clearance into your existing wheel wells. Also, if you have tandem axles make sure the tires don't touch each other.

[keymastr]

I believe you need 1.5 inches between the tires when finished so the tires do not touch each other at speed.

[Dale & Mark Bruss]

Carrying capacity is limited by many things, the tires, rims, the hubs, the axles, he spring, and the frame. With that said, increasing tire capacity is always a good thing. No reason to run at 100% of tire capacity.

The things to check are the diameters. I went from 16" rims to 17.5" rims and the tires were within 1/8" diameter. That affects the tire to tire clearance which has been stated as a minimum of 1.5".

Also check the width of the new tire to make sure it clears the body/fender.

Also watch changing tire ranges. Some require different rims because ot the pressures involved.

[MtnTrek]

Welcome to the forum.
Yes it's very common for owners to want to upgrade the often substandard tires fitted on new trailers. As others have noted you will find most catalogs will list the O.D. of the tires for comparisons. Also the wheel requirements in width and required pressures for the load rating. Do your homework. This is usually a sound investment and you might resell the OE wheels/tires to a utility trailer owner.

Measure twice, cut once.

[Twilightzone]

>"Our new fifth wheel came with 15" rims and standard issue tires."

What is the load rating on the tires?

I upgraded mine from 'D' rated Goodyear Marathon to 'E' rated Goodyear Endurance.
Endurance tires are a massive upgrade from the Marathon (China bomb) tires,
couldn't really compare them... Marathon with the rim weighs the same as the Endurance 'off' the rim.

I stuck with 15" rims... looks like there might be a contact problem
above the 16" tires on the slide side.

[Texastbird]

https://www.performancetrailerbraking.com/tire-wheels/
This is an interesting comparison of different size tires and load ranges you might like to read. They also do disk brake conversions.

[JIMNLIN]

15" wheels and standard issue tires ??

Well I see ;
ST205/75-15 load C and D at 1820 -2150 lb respectively. A upgrade to D or E below is good.

ST225/75-15 C/D and E at 2150/2540/2830 lbs. And of course D and E is a good upgrade.

If your trailer has 6 lug axles a upgrade to 16" wheels and a ST E or LT E s a good upgrade. You don't need a 16" load G at 4080-4400 lb on that small trailer.

You sure don't want a 17.5" tire and wheel at 4000-6000 lbs/110 psi to replace a 15" tires on a small trailer. Those tires require a 8 lug wheel and are better suited to heavy trailers.
A trailer with close spaced axles unlike a truck with axles towards the corners can have too much tire.

Give us your trailer OEM tire size and load range and the trailers axle ratings and we can give you some good tire sizes/load ranges and brands recommendations that seem to work better.....and some that don't work the best

[jtbuilds]

Originally Posted by JIMNLIN

15" wheels and standard issue tires ??

Well I see ;
ST205/75-15 load C and D at 1820 -2150 lb respectively. A upgrade to D or E below is good.

ST225/75-15 C/D and E at 2150/2540/2830 lbs. And of course D and E is a good upgrade.

If your trailer has 6 lug axles a upgrade to 16" wheels and a ST E or LT E s a good upgrade. You don't need a 16" load G at 4080-4400 lb on that small trailer.

You sure don't want a 17.5" tire and wheel at 4000-6000 lbs/110 psi to replace a 15" tires on a small trailer. Those tires require a 8 lug wheel and are better suited to heavy trailers.
A trailer with close spaced axles unlike a truck with axles towards the corners can have too much tire.

Give us your trailer OEM tire size and load range and the trailers axle ratings and we can give you some good tire sizes/load ranges and brands recommendations that seem to work better.....and some that don't work the best

JIMNLIN Took the words right off my keyboard.....going to 16" Load G (medium duty tire) will seem like solid rubber unless 7000lbs axles are under the trailer...with 15" tires there won't be......5200lbs axles is my guess

Min. between tires is 1"
Recommended between tires is 4"

Careful not to confuse loaded and static diameter when figuring tire spacing.

This will help allot.
https://tiresize.com/comparison/

Last things.....before buying cheap aluminum wheels buy steel instead.

[rcg270]

At the beginning of the season I upgraded my wheels and tires from 16inch wheels to 17.5 wheels with "H" rated Sailun tires. Talk to Mike at TrailerWheelsandTires.