New Wheels For Hobie's Trax Cart

Hobie finally got some decent wheels for the Trax cart! The old wheels were hard to pull, heavy and subject to failure at the most inopportune times. Whereas the old wheels were a necessary evil for soft sand and a pain on all other surfaces the new version is truly an all surface wheel.

Comparing the two wheels, notice the new smaller hub for less weight and a reduced chance of pinching the rim. A pair of these wheels reduce cart weight by about 2 lb.


The new wheels are polyurethane rather than PVC. As such they are more rugged and their shape is more stable. Thankfully they lack those fake traction bar treads for a smoother pull with less rolling resistance. Note the rolling surface is a little flatter for an easier haul on soft sand.


Load capacity is up to 88 lb. per wheel. I'm not recommending the following procedure, but the local dealer's demo boat was loaded with concrete here for a combined weight of 190 lb sitting on the wheels shown here. This was rolled this over the wood hurdles to see if the wheels would pinch the rims. Not even close.


Down at the lake, the wheels carried the boat over all surfaces available. Here's some examples. The only thing we don't have is the really soft sand, but that shouldn't be any problem for these flotation tires.






These wheels are very easy to pull. They just seem to float over everything I could find. The factory supplies these at 2.5 psi and I didn't change the pressure at all. Max is 4 psi and it would probably be a good idea to have a low pressure gauge available for proper airing.

The new wheels are directly interchangeable on current Trax frames. Like the old wheels, these snap on and twist off for fast and easy disassembly. The only disadvantage for some is that these wheels will not quite fit in the 8" hatches for stowing.

Hobie's new wheels significantly improve the ride, pull and durability of the Trax cart and will make a great upgrade to the old style!

Another excellent review Roadrunner. Thanks for that.
These wheels will make transporting the AI over sand much easier. I'm glad Hobie have recognised the need for a better floatation wheel. The AI pushed the original wheel to its limits. I was going to import this wheel directly from Wheeleez after reading about it a while back but won't have to now. I hope Hobie Aus have stocks in!

Stringy, thanks for the comments. I think you'll be quite pleased with these.

only last week i got my trax cart that i ordered in august and i got the old wheels ....bummer

Finally picked up my Trax2 cart and have just come back from a short trip where it got a good workout.
You were right Roadrunner, I am very pleased with their performance.

On the Oasis they handled beach sand very well. We even dragged the kayak up a set of timber beach steps, the highest of which was probably 8". With me dragging and my wife pushing the soft tyres made it easy as they absorbed the step impact and bounced up.
They even fit in our usual storage place:


Highly recommended!
Thanks.

Hmm - I've got the old ones
Looks like I might need to get these newies

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Mickey
2016 AI Hibiscus
purchased NEW Nov 2021 - My 5th
Adventure Island Sailing since 2008

does this cart fit in the front hatch on the AI? if not where does one carry it.. or do you leave it on shore?

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2010 Hibiscus Adventure Island

It does not fit into the hatch. I leave my cart ashore, but many carry them in the cargo area. You can also place the tires below and tie the frame into the cargo area or forward bungee.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

Thanks for the reply Matt! I tried to make a PVC cart and it lasted 6 months before catastrophic failure on the boat ramp. Might be time to bite the bullet and get a proper cart.

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2010 Hibiscus Adventure Island

ElementAI,
The simplest storage solution seems to be remove one wheel and store in the cargo area


...or remove both wheels, store them in the front hatch and store the frame only in the cargo area. It sits best with one axle located in the drink holder.


It will stand upright, upside down in the scupper tubes, forward of the x-bar but I don't like the side loading it is placing on the middle of the tubes.

The newer carts just barely don't fit into the front hatch dissembled. If one of the carts SS scupper tubes was 1 1/2" shorter or cut so it would split, so it could be dissembled (maybe with a bungee holding the two parts) it would fit in the front hatch. Once I get my TI, I will consider doing something like this so I can continue to store in inside the hull.

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Hobie Island Sailing since 2006

Thanks stringy for taking the time to take pictures! That really helps.
I usually have a cooler in the rear storage well. Guess that will not hurt the cart frame.

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2010 Hibiscus Adventure Island

ElementAI,
If you look closely at the bottom pic the cart frame does not sit level in the well.
If you carry a cooler you may be better off mounting the frame off the rear of the cooler in an inverted position.
Attaching a couple of tube holders directly to the cooler should work.