Tire Compatibility Moving Up Sizes For Ground Clearance

Question:

I have a Whitewater Retro Travel Trailer 166 single axle trailer. It currently has ST 205\75 14 inch wheels/tires. 5 lug I would like to bump up to 15 inch wheels/tires for a little more clearance as it sits pretty low to the ground. I have torsion axle so I cannot do the axle reversal kit The max axle weight shows as 3500. I have 3 inches of clearance from the top of the tire to the wheel well and 2 inches from the inside of the wheel well. What could I put on my trailer as a replacement?

asked by: Lesa K

Expert Reply:

On your Whitewater Retro Travel Trailer 166, your Torsion axle may allow you to add lift kit # K71-707-01 if you have Dexter axles. This would give you 2-5/8 inches of additional lift. This would require 8 inches between the holes on center for this kit at the axle mounting location.

Changing your tires from 205/75r14 which are 26.3 inches outer diameter to the Karrier ST225/75R15 Radial Trailer Tire w/ 15" White Spoke Wheel # AM32545 will move that outer diameter to 28.4 inches and would gain you about an inch of axle ground clearance, but it won't allow much clearance for suspension deflection. You normally want a minimum of 3-4 inches on top of the tire. Torsion axles do have less movement than the traditional leaf spring systems, so this may be acceptable with the larger tires where I wouldn't recommend it with leaf suspension.

expert reply by: Jason S