Stay with 15" rims or upgrade to 16" rims?

[Price]

After reading a few posts about Chinese tires I've decided to replace mine. My question is should I buy a set of bigger wheels as well? Isn't bigger better? Is the cost not worth the hassle?

I haven't priced or bought a set of trailer tires before and instead of reading trough hundreds of pages of posts I figured I'd ask.


I have a 2014 Cherokee 264L-PB with 15" rims


Thanks in advance.

[xs1ve]

15" are the most popular size made. I would think you would have more options in that size than any other and likely at a lower cost.

[rlocicero]

I would stay with 15's but go with a heaver load rating.My personal choise was load range E, 10 ply rated on both trailer and truck.

[RickV]

Almost every time I read about about someone going from 15's to 16's it doesn't end well.

[Price]

Originally Posted by RickV

Almost every time I read about about someone going from 15's to 16's it doesn't end well.

Why?.....Will the 16's cut off Earth's gravitational field and my TT will soar off to the second star on the right.

Sorry to funny not to say.

[whj77372]

Some times if you go up to 16s from 15s with a higher rating they call for more tire pressure and the rims may not to able to handle the higher pressure. I would make sure that your new rims are able to handle the increased pressure. Good Luck

[chiro]

What are you planning on upgrading to???
The good part about upgrading the rims and tires is that you can get rims and tires that will actually carry the weight of your trailer!

[Price]

Originally Posted by chiro

What are you planning on upgrading to???
The good part about upgrading the rims and tires is that you can get rims and tires that will actually carry the weight of your trailer!

Good point.

[offroad]

On my last rig with a GVWR of about 10K, I upgraded to 16" tires and wheels. It was a big expense, and the wheel wells barely had the room for 225/75-16's.

Our current TT has a GVWR of 8849lbs, I upgraded to GY Marathons in LR D but opted to stay with the 15" wheels it came with.

That gives me more tire capacity, than the entire rig weighs including the tongue weight. FR shows your model at about 1000lbs less than mine, so I think you'd be fine just going up to LR D's and staying with the original wheels.

The 15" wheels don't have that much capacity (neither do the axles), but I'm not seeing posts about wheel failures.

[Helmsey]

I went from 15" ST to 16" LT on our last 5er and was happy with my decision. Since I bought new wheels and tires I was able to resell my old stuff and make back a decent chunk of change, helps offset the cost of the new equipment.

[jeffkirk]

Where did you find a rim that fit the trailer? I can't find a suitable rim. Unique 297-7712 almost works but the backside setting of 4" makes the tire too close to the trailer. Help!