Trailer Tires, Wheels, and Spare Bracket

lake_dawg · **Joined:** Wed Dec 16, 2009 12:24 pm **Posts:** 110

Doing some searching I found some websites that sell tires and wheels as one unit.

Questions:
1. What's the cheapest place to get the spare tire bracket?
2. Is there a recommended place to get tires and wheels?
3. What is the cost of the aluminum wheels if I wanted to convert from the painted white wheels?
4. I assume we don't need to use Four Winns as the wheels are lug holes are universal, yes?

powellcrazy · **Posted:** Thu Dec 24, 2009 8:11 pm

You are correct that that trailer is a STD lug pattern, you can go to your local tire dealer and buy whatever tire/wheel combination that fits your style and wallet.

If your going to go that route, and a LT tire will fit the wheel and trailer, this is the way to go. You can replace a LT tire at any tire store across the country, ST trailer tires on the other hand are harder to come by and cost more.

230 Mike · **Posted:** Thu Dec 24, 2009 8:12 pm

You might start with the OEM for FW:

http://www.hispecwheel.com/

lake_dawg · **Joined:** Wed Dec 16, 2009 12:24 pm **Posts:** 110

So where's the best place to get the bracket? Is it proprietary to the four winns trailer?

Walt · **Posted:** Fri Dec 25, 2009 10:58 am

I actually found the factory matched tires and wheels at iBoats about as inexpensive as any non-matching replacement. I think I bought the spare tire mount through Cabela's or some other generic outfit.

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2008&p=17546&hilit=+tire+mount&sid=66010e17a7f7f30a8c696d0cd7f0fa9c#p17546

I know we discussed this topic some time ago.

LouC · **Posted:** Mon Dec 28, 2009 10:22 am

lake_dawg wrote:

Doing some searching I found some websites that sell tires and wheels as one unit.

Questions:
1. What's the cheapest place to get the spare tire bracket?
2. Is there a recommended place to get tires and wheels?
3. What is the cost of the aluminum wheels if I wanted to convert from the painted white wheels?
4. I assume we don't need to use Four Winns as the wheels are lug holes are universal, yes?

Being a salt water boater I wouldn't bother with aluminum wheels but you can get nice hot dip galvanized wheels from
http://www.easternmarine.com
http://www.championtrailers.com
http://www.trailerpartsdepot.com

....they are cheaper and will last virtually forever with no maintenance...aluminum wheels look nice but suffer in salt and can wind up corroded right on to brake drums or rotors because of galvanic corrosion...in my opinion they have no place on a boat trailer...but I can't see the point of a painted plain steel trailer that goes in the water either!
They come in standard lug patterns...5 lug is 5 on 4.5 in
6 lug is 6 on 5.5 in usually...your 5 lug wheels go up to 3500 lb axles but when you get above that to 5200 axles you go up to a 6 lug...
To ward off galvanic corrosion I coat the back of my galvainized rims with OMC/Bombardier triple guard grease and I have never had a problem with the wheels rusting to brake drums even in salt water for years....if you do want to use Alu rims do NOT use antiseize because it doesn't work well in wet applications...coat the back of the drum or wheel with a good marine grease or you may not be able to get it off one day...

http://www.championtrailers.com/rims.html

230 Mike · **Posted:** Mon Dec 28, 2009 4:51 pm

I do use anti-seize on my studs, and after doing so for a few years wouldn't do without it. Ralph at FW tech support basically said the same thing. But I think Lou is talking about the wheel-drum interface.

LouC · **Posted:** Mon Dec 28, 2009 11:34 pm

I have read that we shouldn't put antiseize on studs because the the lug nuts theoretically could be more prone to loosen but what I do is put a coating of grease on the drum and back side of the wheel where it contacts the drum...then I spray Corrosion X HD on the studs and lug nuts after they are installed and doing this I've never had a problem with corrosion in salt water use....

230 Mike · **Posted:** Tue Dec 29, 2009 12:25 am

Anti-seize has made my lug nuts loosen. The pattern, at least for me, is that after first installing them they loosen up a few foot-pounds on the first tow, then fewer on the next, and fewer on the next. After about 4 tows (and tightenings) they stop loosening. I always carry a torque wrench in the truck when towing anyway, so for me it's not a hassle but I can see how it might be for some. But it's worth it to me to not have to worry about frozen lug nuts. I took all mine off at the end of their first season (before I began using anything on them), and was amazed at how corroded they were already getting.

For anyone who does choose to use anti-seize, the key (other than to keep a close eye on them) is to torque them less than if they were dry. This is because with any sort of lubrication they'll achieve the same clamping force with less torque. If you torque to the same spec as when dry, you can snap the stud.

robbo3 · **Posted:** Wed Dec 30, 2009 1:37 pm

One thing that may be different is the offset of the rim. I found this out when I needed to use my spare only to find that the tire was rubbing the inside of the wheel wells. All of the tire specs for the spare were identical to what I had and the bolts fit, but if you measure the offset against my factory rims, it's about a 1/4 inch off.

I now have a block where I can unscrew the back of the wheel well and insert as a spacer to give the spare tire enough room if I should ever need it again.

lake_dawg · **Joined:** Wed Dec 16, 2009 12:24 pm **Posts:** 110

So do the OEM rims from FWs have an offset?

www.iFourWinns.com

Trailer Tires, Wheels, and Spare Bracket

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