Trailer wheel bolt pattern?

[socal1200r]

I'm thinking of buying a single-rail motorcycle trailer, but need some help with figuring out the bolt pattern on the trailer wheels. I checked out a m/c trailer I saw on the local Craig's List, and it has two mis-matched wheels. One side has a 15" wheel with a 205/75 tire, and the other side has a 16" donut spare wheel. It doesn't have any suspension or brakes, and the 15" 205/75 setup fills the wheel well nicely. This setup measured roughly 25 1/2" across, so something that size or slightly smaller would work.

 

We measured the distance between two adjacent wheel bolts, center to center, and came up with 2 9/16". He took his tape measure to a Cherokee parked out front, and he said the distance was the same. So does that mean I'm looking for a 15x4.5 or 14x4.5, 5-lug wheel?

[redneck23ms]

the diameter of the wheel doesn't have anything to do with the lug pattern. you will need a wheel with whatever diameter that you want and the correct pattern. here is the correct way to measure the lug pattern. http://www.mrt-wheels.com/boltpattern.html

[socal1200r]

the diameter of the wheel doesn't have anything to do with the lug pattern. you will need a wheel with whatever diameter that you want and the correct pattern. here is the correct way to measure the lug pattern. http://www.mrt-wheels.com/boltpattern.html

 

Thanks for that weblink! I emailed it to the seller, and asked him to measure the bolt pattern according to the diagram. I'm hoping it's a common pattern, it'll make it easier to find a pair of wheels/tires. Even if I have to buy a pair of matching wheels/tires, new wire connector, and 1 7/8 ball/hitch, I still think it'll be a good deal.

[socal1200r]

Okay, hate to ask an obvious question. Let's say the bolt pattern is 5x4 1/2. Could I run "normal" car wheels/tires on this trailer? Is there something inherently wrong with running car wheels/tires on a trailer? This trailer is fairly light, designed to carry one motorcycle, and doesn't have any suspension or brakes. So I'm thinking I should try and run the biggest wheel/tire that will fit, in order to cushion the ride some and make it better on the road. I realize the backspacing needs to be taken into account, but that should be an easy work around.

 

For example, I know most small utility trailers come with 12" wheels. But this trailer has a 15" wheel with a 205/75 tire on one side, and it fills the wheel well very nicely. Since there's no suspension, the tire shouldn't rub against the fender at all. So once I figure out the bolt pattern, I'm going to look for a wheel/tire combo that will come close to this 205/75-15 overall diameter, either thru Craig's List or the local pick and pull.

 

Am I on the right track, or am I heading for disappointment and frustration by looking for a pair of car wheels/tires for this trailer?

[mfpdm]

I think it may boil down to what the trailer was designed for and local/state codes. Most small trailers use either the 5 on 5 or 5 on 4.5 in that order. Backspacing may be a factor with what rims you use. If the canyon rims like whats on your truck work, idealy you would have the same tire and rim combo on the trailer that way you only have to worry about having one spare that fits all.

I've pulled trailers with and without springs and much prefer the ones with springs. I not sure on bike trailers but it would seam to me that the bike is going to take some punishment without any kind of cushioning from the axle. I've also notice that it's easier to blow out a tire hitting potholes and curbs with the ones without springs. I guess cause there is not enough give with just the tire absorbing all of the impact. This has been my experience at least.

 

:cheers:

[HOrnbrod]

I got this single bike trailer for $200 when I bought my last MZ. It has 14" wheels, leaf springs, and will handle a bike up to 800#. It's a kit trailer, has 14" wheels (don't know the bolt pattern), and was basically new, although dirty from sitting in a barn. If you need details let me know. I've hauled quite a few big pig bikes around a lot with this guy w. no problems.

 

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[socal1200r]

Paul (mfpdm) - thanks for the feedback. Yeah, a small trailer like that without any kind of suspension will mean the tires on the trailer, and the tires and suspension on the bike, will do all the work. Here's a pic of the trailer I'm thinking of buying:

 

 

It's in fairly good shape. The punch list that I came up with are the two mismatched wheels/tires, missing trailer wiring connector, missing side lens on the left light assembly, and I'll have to get a receiver kit with a 1 7/8" ball and a drop that's more than what I already have. So if the wheel bolt pattern is fairly common, I'm going to price out a pair of either 14" or 15" wheels/tires that are no bigger than 26" in overall diameter. At least that way I could get it back to the house, and deal with the wiring and other things there. From what I can gather, it doesn't have to be inspected, because of it's GVWR and it doesn't have brakes. Registration could be an issue, since there apparently isn't any paperwork on this trailer.

 

But for now, the long pole in the tent is figuring out the bolt pattern, so I can price out a pair of wheels/tires...

[socal1200r]

The seller confirmed that the wheels are 5x4.5, so that's a good thing. I found a set of Jeep alloys on Craig's List for $80 that match my Comanche, but I'm starting to wonder if those alloys would be too wide to use on this trailer? The seller said the overall diameter of the one good wheel/tire combo is 26.5" wide, and they barely clear the trailer fenders. So if I went with the Jeep alloys, I'd have to use tires like 225/60, 195/70, or 185/75, to stay under that 26.5" OD. In looking at the trailer pic, I'm not so sure a 15x7 Jeep alloy will stay tucked inside the fender?

 

I think I'm going to the local pick and pull tomorrow, and see what they have in 5x4.5 wheels, maybe in 15x6, hopefully with tires that keep the OD to 26" or smaller. Getting a new set of wheels/tires and the right size hitch ball is all that's preventing me from taking this trailer home. I can wire up a new connector, and check the lighting at the house, so there's hope yet...

[socal1200r]

Got the trailer hubs back today with the longer wheel studs pressed in (cost me $65), and got the Jeep steel wheels ($20 for the pair at pick and pull) back on with 195/60-15 tires ($60 for the tires and mounting/balancing). Ended up using three wheel spacers per side ($60 for spacers), plus 1 washer per lug on the right side, in order to clear the back angle iron brace for the fender. I dropped off the hubs on Fri, and over the weekend I took a wire brush to most of the angle iron and center channel on the trailer, and put down some bedliner protectant. During this process, I noticed the welds for the two vertical braces were broken, so those will have to be replaced. I'm also going to see what it would cost to weld a 36" long piece of angle iron on the front, with u-bolts on the ends, for tie-down points for the handlebars.

 

Technical wheel question for the group. Is the backspacing on the Jeep steel wheels I have on there now the same as the Jeep alloys in my sig pic? If so, I might go back to the pick and pull and see if I can score a pair of alloys, so all the wheels will match. If the backspacing on the alloys is deeper than the steelies, that ain't gonna work, so I'll have to leave the steelies on there for now. If the steelies stay, I'll have to clean them up, and maybe paint them silver, or use more of that bedliner stuff on them...