16 inch wheels 5 lug hard to find??

[Mark and Kelly]

Decided to upgrade from 15 inch rims to 16 inch. I don't see any 5 lug patterns, are they hard to find? Thanks in advance

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by Mark and Kelly

Decided to upgrade from 15 inch rims to 16 inch. I don't see any 5 lug patterns, are they hard to find? Thanks in advance

Can't say I've seen one in my tire experience. 16 inch trailer wheels are 6 or 8 lug. You may can look around and found some, but I wouldn't think they would be common...and may be something special.

You may find it easier to find a higher ply rated 15 inch tire, to up your carrying capacity, than changing wheels/tires.

[Mark and Kelly]

We don't want to, but we are not seeing good things about the 15 inch trailer tires that are all made in china

[kandl]

Originally Posted by Mark and Kelly

We don't want to, but we are not seeing good things about the 15 inch trailer tires that are all made in china

They're not all bad. Our "made in China" tires have 15,000 miles under the treads. There are no visible signs of adverse wear or rubber degradation and we're considering leaving them on for at least another year.

[cpaulsen]

Check....Trailer Wheels and Tires......saw a 16" X 5 lug wheel there yesterday.....Sendel Aluminum.....something like 140.00

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by Mark and Kelly

Decided to upgrade from 15 inch rims to 16 inch. I don't see any 5 lug patterns, are they hard to find? Thanks in advance

Also without knowing your particular trailer, etc...... you can't just buy a 5 hole wheel, thinking they all cross.

They make 15 inch trailer wheels in about 4 common 5-hole bolt patterns. It can be 4 1/2, 4 3/4, 5, and 5 1/2. I haven't followed the Forest River RV trailers enough to see if they utilize all these patterns or just a few and can depend on the axle/hub rating.

You need to know what pattern you have before trying to switch out only the wheels, if you do find some in a 16 inch diameter.

If you have your spare handy, it's the easiest to measure the bolt pattern. This link will explain how (and has a printable template)

Wheel Hub / Bolt Circle Template

We have a hard plastic gauge like in the pic below, that you can either place on the trailer, or just align it with the holes on the wheel from the backside, to quickly see the bolt pattern.

[Mark and Kelly]

Can you share what brand you have used? We are thinking about the Maxxis, they have an 8 ply and a 10 ply in our size 225/75r15.

[j free]

try Americas tire they can check there data base.

[Tiggerdad]

A more expensive solution but changing the brake drum to a 6 hole might work. Would also give you a change to check the brakes and bearings if they have a year or two on them. A 6 hole drum would open up a wider range of rims and tires..

I have dealt with "trailertiresandwheels" before. Great service and they also sell tires at competitive prices.

[wbdavey]

In addition to the bolt pattern, you need to know if the wheels are centered by a close fit on the hub or are they centered by the conical nose of the lug nuts. Then you need the wheel offset (sometimes called back spacing), most trailer wheels are "0" offset meaning the wheel is centered on the mounting flange. Dexter axles published a caution on how the incorrect offset could cause premature bearing failure. IMO, buy some good quality 15" tires and maybe go one load range higher than stock. Most posters have high regard for Goodyear and Maxis.

[WFD]

Originally Posted by Mark and Kelly

We don't want to, but we are not seeing good things about the 15 inch trailer tires that are all made in china

You may be overthinking this whole thing...nothing wrong with the 15 inch Maxxis tires, and the 15 inch Goodyear Marathons are up to the task too...many will say not, but just as many have good stories to report...we just switched to Goodyear Marathons this summer. Shouldn't need to go to a 16 inch rim.