Custom Trailer Wheels

[tnvolgrad]

I was looking to upgrade my tires/wheels (14" current) to a set of custom chrome rims. The problem is that there is very little information that I can find on the internet. The trailer is a DHM towing a RZ2 - the folks at the local tire shop indicated finding the right tire is the problem due to the supporting weight required.

Does anyone know where I can go to purchase a set of custom rims (5 x 4.5) - that will support the boat + trailer weight? I have seen many Tige owners with sweet set-ups - any help much appreciated.

[Ewok]

I would like to hear from the folks who have been towing with the low profile tires. It seems like a bad idea to me. It looks very nice and cool but I could not see towing any distance with them. Please give us all the real deal, the good and the bad. Here is how I see it:

Pros - look sweet

Cons - running over curbs and potholes and denting/cracking the rim
- rougher ride for the boat, shaking the contents like a concrete mixer
- rougher ride for the tow vehicle
- more expensive to replace rubber

I can see why Wetsounds put those tires on the demo rig but I don't see it as a good thing for a regular use boat trailer.

If you only want it for looks I'm cool with that, it does look freaking sweet on an RZ2. My dealer had quite a few trailers with the low profile and I love the look. I'm wondering if my concerns noted above are true or not.

[91Terminator]

I was looking to upgrade my tires/wheels (14" current) to a set of custom chrome rims. The problem is that there is very little information that I can find on the internet. The trailer is a DHM towing a RZ2 - the folks at the local tire shop indicated finding the right tire is the problem due to the supporting weight required.

Does anyone know where I can go to purchase a set of custom rims (5 x 4.5) - that will support the boat + trailer weight? I have seen many Tige owners with sweet set-ups - any help much appreciated.

Boatmate trailers come with 18" Gear Alloy Wheels.

www.gearalloy.com

[91Terminator]

I would like to hear from the folks who have been towing with the low profile tires. It seems like a bad idea to me. It looks very nice and cool but I could not see towing any distance with them. Please give us all the real deal, the good and the bad. Here is how I see it:

Pros - look sweet

Cons - running over curbs and potholes and denting/cracking the rim
- rougher ride for the boat, shaking the contents like a concrete mixer
- rougher ride for the tow vehicle
- more expensive to replace rubber

I can see why Wetsounds put those tires on the demo rig but I don't see it as a good thing for a regular use boat trailer.

If you only want it for looks I'm cool with that, it does look freaking sweet on an RZ2. My dealer had quite a few trailers with the low profile and I love the look. I'm wondering if my concerns noted above are true or not.

The boatmate trailers dont ride any rougher or smoother with either set of rims standard or custom 18's.

But the 18" rims seem to track better and have less trailer sway. I pick up all our trailers from TN and bring them back to FL. So in my opinion I feel that when stacking they handle and sway less when the 18" x 9"s are on the ground.

Also these are the same style rims that people purchase all day for there heavy duty lifted trucks that go off road all the time. They do have more rubber but the rim I am sure can handle it. It will be more expensive to replace the rubber. You should avoid hitting curbs either way.

(In my personal opinion i think they ride a lil smoother but i may just be telling my self that cuz i like them so much.)

And they look sweet!

[jmhatchett]

My trailer for a '09 22Ve has the 18" chrome rims and Nexen N3000 low profile tires.

The tires are rated for 1700lbs for each tire so with 4 tires you're looking at 6800 pound carrying capacity for the trailer. So the weight is not an issue.

Also they say that lower profile tires make it a rougher ride (or "not smooth"), but i have low profile off-road tires on my truck on 22" rims and it rides very well still. Granted the factory wheels on my truck were 20"s so I only made the tire profile slightly less. But as i said i havent noticed a difference in comfort.

As far as towing long distance I can only say that i only tow the boat home from the lake a few times a year since it stays at the house down there. But the tow is through some hills and canyons and it tows great. I have taken it on a 5 hour road trip then 5 hours back two years in a row now and again it was perfect. So IMO if you can get a set of wheels and tires that can support the weight, then go for it.

BUT... I have seen on here somewhere that if you want to change from 14" to 18"s then some other mods are needed to accomodate the bigger setup.

[rushin]

Our trialer came from DHM for our RZ and has 18's on it with a 55 series tire, I think.

[Ewok]

The boatmate trailers dont ride any rougher or smoother with either set of rims standard or custom 18's.

But the 18" rims seem to track better and have less trailer sway. I pick up all our trailers from TN and bring them back to FL. So in my opinion I feel that when stacking they handle and sway less when the 18" x 9"s are on the ground.

Also these are the same style rims that people purchase all day for there heavy duty lifted trucks that go off road all the time. They do have more rubber but the rim I am sure can handle it. It will be more expensive to replace the rubber. You should avoid hitting curbs either way.

(In my personal opinion i think they ride a lil smoother but i may just be telling my self that cuz i like them so much.)

And they look sweet!

Thanks for the review, interesting about tracking better with the wider rubber, do you see any difference in mpg when towing with the wider rubber vs standard tires? I think the difference would be minimal, probably not noticeable, but I wouldn't think they would sway less either.

And I do try hard to miss curbs but I've seen some people towing around parking lots and hitting curbs and they don't seem to care, but they are usually not towing inboards.

[kasey200]

My trailer came with 20's. It tows great. It's made several 800 mile round trips! One thing i dont't like about them is they make the boat/trailer sit way too high. It's somewhat of a pain in the *** at times.