Adding larger tires to the Harbor Freight style trailer.
Hubs have been fine so far on both of my trailers. Just got to make sure you lube them. Factory lube is just for shipping.
What kind of tire? Are you able to just swap them out? Or will you have to add spacers or remove the fenders?
I did the same on my trailer, mostly out of looks. Does adding a larger tire/wheel have any physical benefit to towing?
As stated, less wear on the bearings. As far as improved road driving that is probably the most significant difference. For towing on back country roads/forest roads where you run into ruts, rocks and washboard the larger wheels will make a significant difference. With more air volume the tires will make for a much smoother ride/float as well as more axle clearance in the ruts. The tires are much wider too which displaces loads over a wider area which is good in rocky conditions. Leaving less chance of damaging a tire by a rock puncture.
Technically, the trailer should pull and ride smoother and there is less wear on the bearings.
I upgraded to 175/80R13 (radial tires) on my Northern Tool 5×8 trailer, not because of wear, but because I did not want my hard work riding on cheep bias ply tires. The added benefit is riding noticeably smoother.
I just took my trailer on its first trip since the swap. Made a big difference.
Did those require any spacers to clear the frame? Thinking of doing the same setup
I know this post is four years old, but what tire size/wheel setup did you go with and where’d you find them?
At that time I went with ST185/80D13’s. That was as big a tire/wheel I could get with the 4 lug wheel. I got them from ecustomrim.com. It does not look like they have the 4 lug at this time. If you do a search you should be able to find them online someplace. I usually type in “2 pack” with the tire size, It usually saves you a bit of money. If you happen to have the 5 lug axle then you can find them everywhere.
You will also need to purchase wheel spacers to clear the frame. I went with these .
Hope that helps! Good luck!
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