Small vs. Large Wheels

[JCampbell]

Did a quick search, but didn't find what I was looking for...

Looking at picking up a late '90's-early '00's Jayco/Starcraft.  I've noticed that some have small diameter (10"-ish) wheels and some have larger diameter (15"-ish) wheels.  I prefer the larger diameter wheels, but the trailer I'm most interested in has the smaller wheels.

What's involved in converting a "small wheel" trailer to a "large wheel" setup?  Is it simply new hubs and wheels/tires, or is it more involved?

 

[jmugs]

Sounds like a lot of work to switch wheels. It would require doing a lift among other things so there is room from the hub up to the floor making it harder to climb in to the unit.
Overall, I don't see where the cost would be worth it.

 

[sportermom]

I've got small wheels on my pop-up and have not had a problem in the 10 or so years that I've had it.  I have the wheels checked at the tire shop periodically and off I go. 

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Assuming there is room in the wheel wells (not a sure thing), it is basically a matter of swapping hubs and associated running gear. You get larger brakes (a good thing) as well as larger wheels and tires. Sometimes it is easier and more cost effective to swap the entire axle(s) than doing it piecemeal.

Like you, I prefer larger wheels. They make fewer Revs/mile, so less heat and fewer bearing problems.

 

[2KViggen]

Never owned a trailer but is there a need to swap th hub, axle etc? 

I would think simply swapping wheels and tires is all that's needed, just like when putting different wheels on a car.  With a car obviously we worry about keeping the overall diameter the same for speedometer reasons.  But on a trailer there is no speedo so I would think swapping wheels is all that's needed.  Only issue I would see is if you go to large the tires might be to close to the trailer.

Possibly measure from the center of the wheel to the bottom of the trailer and see if there is a difference in heigth between the trailers. 

 

[Alfa38User]

Never owned a trailer but is there a need to swap the hub, axle etc?

It depends.... Bigger tires require a bigger wheel, they match.

As the tire size  gets bigger, the wheel gets bigger, the number of studs required and their size gets larger. If the trailer has brakes then the axle and brakes/hubs/drums will get bigger too. Tire/Wheel clearance is just one more thing to check out.

I am not familiar with the magic size/number of studs etc formula though...