Trailer Tire Size(s)

I'm going to be ordering a new trailer (and am a newbie to trailering ) when I order my new 16. After speaking with lots of different people that trailer various sized boats, campers, etc., many have suggested rims and tires of a larger size than I have seen on Hobie 16 trailers in the past. Everything from slightly larger to full sized

I'll probably be doing bi-monthly short distance trailering (20 miles one way from storage to the launch ramp) and two to three longer trips each year (Orange County CA to Lake Tahoe/San Francisco/San Felipe Mex. . I'm planning on getting the necessary "bearing buddies" and am pretty fastidious about vehicle maintenance, so I'm not really worried about taking care of what I've got, but I want to make the trailering totally effortless during these long highway trips, some of which may be on kind of bad roads

PS - Any hints on any additional support or suspension or shock add-ons which might be a good idea Thanks

You can't go wrong with 12" wheels on your trailer. The smaller, 8" diameter will be adequate (I towed my '82 H16 all over creation with 8" wheels) but you seem to be concerned...so go with 12" (8" is usally standard 12" an option). Since the weight of the boat and trailer would be around 800 pounds maximum, either the 8 or 12 inch tires are rated for this light load.

As far as springs go if they are too stiff your trailer will bounce, which is obviously not good. The biggest problem with small fiberglass boat trailers are the springs are sometimes too stiff for a 3XX lb. boat and gear. Your Hobie dealer will be the best advisor on this.

As for the bad roads, go slow or go the long way. I don't care how good your trailer is your going to tear up something and hopefully not your boat.

Most damage occurs to boats when they are not in the water. Go slow and have fun!

_________________
hobiejohn at earthlink dot net
Fleet 297

John is right about the wheel size. For highway speeds biggeris better. Also bigger tires handle bumps in the road better.

I just bought a Trailex aluminum trailer for my H18. I paid more for it than I did the boat and the trailer it came on combined. That steel trailer almost fell apart after it's first saltwater bath. The trailer is very light, has the large wheels (option) and the suspension was designed for the H18 weight. They have one for the H16 as well. Plus, the extruded aluminum frame of the trailer makes it easy to add accessories without having to drill holes in the frame.

Thier website is [/url]www.trailex.com[url]

Make sure you get a spare wheel with whatever trailer you buy. Nothing worse than not having one when you need it.[/url]

_________________
Nick

Current Boat
In the market
Previous boats owned
'74 Pearson 30
'84 H16
'82 H18 Magnum
St. Louis, MO

The trailer that came with the Hobie 16 that we have had 480 x 8 tires on it. I remember that ~ 25 years ago when I sailed with my friend, his trailer had fatter tires than what I see on ours. Looking through the catalogs, I see that there are also 570 X 8 tires available. Even the smaller tires have 590 pound capacity each. Which ones are usually on Hobie 16 trailers? We don"t plan on pulling the trailer across sand. We plan on sailing our Hobie on lakes, or on the Chesapeake Bay on Middle River.

Thanks, Aldo

I would't worry about the wider tires. The 480's are fine. If you really want to upgrade the tires, change from the 8" to the 12". The larger diameter will handle bumps in the road better and allow trailer at higher speeds. If you are not concerned about the higher speeds, you will have less wear on your bearings due to the lower angular velocity of the bearings.

_________________
Nick

Current Boat
In the market
Previous boats owned
'74 Pearson 30
'84 H16
'82 H18 Magnum
St. Louis, MO

I would make a vote for the 12" tires but not if you already have the 8" tires. Here is a thought though. Form your house to Long Beach is not much of a drive but San Felipe does has some treacherous parts to it. If you were to get the tires replaced most places (Tire Companies) would charge you about as much for the tire replacement as you may spend for a mounted tire and rim at West Marine. If you are thinking of trading them out it is about the price of replacing two flats. Make sure you have a spare, so three flats.

Later,
Dan

I also vote for 12" tires. 480's are fine. I also don't like and don't trust bearing buddies. I have convinced friends to take apart the hub and manually grease and check the inner and outer bearings before long trips and have found almost everytime that the grease pumped into the buddy doesn't make it to the inside bearing. This only needs to be done every couple of years. It doesn't take long and if you have ever had to repair a seized hub its well worth the time. I like to think of being on the side of the road at 3am going to a big event and having the "Broke Down Buggy Blues" for a little motivation to do the maintenance.

_________________
Pat Bisesi
Fleet 204 Syracuse, NY

We will actually be replacing the axel, bearings, hubs, wheels, and tires on the trailer that was given to us. (The axel was eaten away in the area where the seals should seal, so there isn't anything we can do with it). Anyhow, we certainly could just change over to 12 inch wheels at this time, since we will be buying these parts anyway. I certainly understand that the 12 inch tires will be turning much slower than the 8 inch tires. Is there any disadvantage to the 12 inch tires? Do you just back the trailer a little further into the water to compensate for the larger diameter tires?

Thanks again, Aldo

you might price the difference between 12 and 13" tires and rims. Besides west marine walmart and other sources will have good prices on tires and wheels. Five hole wheels are better that 4 lug wheels also. once you go to 13" then a lot of car tires will fit. if you get to a place and needed a new tire 13" are easier to find. My sailing friends and I upgraded some boats to 13" and stopped blowing tire just going down the road with our Hobie 16's. But we do travel up to 12 hours going to regattas. most are in the 4 to 5 hr range however. on our newer trailers and boats we have even gone to 14" but thats on a Hobie 20. good luck

_________________
Tom & Nancy Page H20 803

Aldo take heed! Tom has a damn good point! You're replacing the whole shootin' match, definitely go for a 5-lug, 13" automotive wheel.

Back in the old days we threw a sleeping bag, bottle of suntan lotion and a case of beer in the trunk and we were ready to go and didn't haul anything but the boat on the trailer. These days it seems we never have enough room for all the stuff we want or might need and the storage box on trailer is a must, we'll be double stacking at some point this year and I hadn't thought about that load and the distance traveled

Thanks Tom!

_________________
hobiejohn at earthlink dot net
Fleet 297

The difference in height of the trailer between the 8" and 12" tires is only 2". So, I guess you would back it in slightly further into the water.

Generally, larger tires are better. Be careful to watch you trailer tire pressure. Most people seem to forget about them. When the pressure is low the tire sidewall flex more, create more heat, and wear out much faster.

Another thing to think about if you plan to launch in saltwater. Get glavnaized wheels. The painted ones never seem to last long. And, spring for the galvanized wheel for your spare. That way when water sits in the rim between sails it won't rust it out as fast.

_________________
Nick

Current Boat
In the market
Previous boats owned
'74 Pearson 30
'84 H16
'82 H18 Magnum
St. Louis, MO

Can bigger tires, like 12 inch, fit under the existing trailer fenders and springs?

Thanks, Aldo

changing from 8" to 12" shouldn't be a problem. If you want to make sure, measure the space between the current 8" tire and the inside surface of the fender. The 12" tire will take up 2 more inches of room. Then, subtract the 2" form your measurement. This will give you the clearence with the 12" tires. If you think there is enough clearance, then you are fine to "upgrade" Some fenders are height adjustable to accommodate different dia tires.

_________________
Nick

Current Boat
In the market
Previous boats owned
'74 Pearson 30
'84 H16
'82 H18 Magnum
St. Louis, MO

After you're all done with selecting and mounting wheels, make sure and add mud flaps. It's amazing the amount of dings the hulls suffer from kicked up stuff off the road.

_________________

Aldo,

I noticed Boater's World had new 13", galv. fenders for $18.99 each.

Tom,

What are your thoughts on the torsion axle. Is Aldo a cantidate for this upgrade. Do you use torsion axle with the larger size wheel/hub setups?

_________________
hobiejohn at earthlink dot net
Fleet 297