JBarca wrote:
ExRocketScientist wrote:
John -- Unless you have only 3" of clearance in your wheel wells, if you don't mind getting new wheels, you might consider the BFGCTA in LT225/75R16 Load range E. It is about 29.6" in diameter. Your current tires are about 28.3 inches. If you have about 3 and 3/4 inches of clearance now, these would probably work for you. You could get a tire and wheel package from trailertiresandwheels.com in Edon -- the shipping shouldn't be too bad for you since you are in the Columbus area.
Hi Ex,
Another forum member tipped me off on these. I wish they would work.
Sunline built this camper as a low rider. Even with a flush floor slide and a 10" wide frame. I have 2 1/2" tire to wheel well clearance and this is on a rubber equalizer. So 2 1/4 to 2 1/2" is what I have. I am at the limit.
Another hit is I have the shorter springs. I'm on 32" axle spacing not 33 like many other brands in this size TT. This one will not get me as bad as the wheel well but still a concern with this rubber equalizer.
Long term I can deal with the 5 new rims cost and 5 new tires. I will soon be buying a 10,000# GVWR flat deck trailer to haul equipment on here locally and it uses these same tires I have now on the camper. This is a private trailer maker and he may make me a deal for me to bring my own wheels and tires so I can reuse these with new ST's on them. Running ST's on a flat bed use for 1 hour hauls not often is a lot better then the TT that gets a lot of towing and in 6 to 8 hour stretches some times.
If coming out of this I end up needing new wheels and tires my options are not many. So far I have the ST E range that Capri Racer suggested and that is about it. I have not found any LT tire that fits the diameter and at least a 2,500# max load rating. If some one knows of a 28.3" OD tire with that load rating in a LT please point it out.
Doing an axle flip to gain 4" more inches is not great in my case. DW already does not like the 4 steps I have to get in, going to 5 steps to get in is a concern. The extra wind drag does not help either. This truck sucks enough fuel now...
Thanks for the info, If I can come to grips and work in 16" tires then the options open up.
John
Something doesn't add up here John. My fiver came with 28.3 OD tires and has a 9.5 inch tall frame. After we adjusted the suspension so it would tow level with our truck, we had about 5 inches of clearance in the wheel wells, which is just the flat bottom of the floor. It is a triple step camper, and the first step up was about an inch more than the rest. So we have to step up four times to get in, just like you. Your camper sounds very similar to my fiver, I would only expect the bottom step to be about a half inch higher off of the ground because your frame is a half inch taller. I would think you should have about 4 inches or so of clearance in your wheel wells.
The other option you have if you want to do the LT upgrade without doing an axle flip is to have a commercial truck frame shop put a 2" subframe on it (oh wait a minute -- you weld and would probably do that yourself). I know you ended up reinforcing your frame and doing the equivalent of the Mor Ryde X-Factor -- the subframe would preclude the need for that.
One of the things I have never posted is pictures of the "thing" I put in front of my door and throw a mat on. We started out using wooden pallets so we could have a mat that did not sit in the mud. Then we progressed to nice little platforms of 5/4 deck boards attached to 2x4s laid flat (gives a 2.5 inch high platform). I got on a weight reduction kick and wrapped some 1" think extruded polystyrene in epoxied fiberglass biaxial mat (I made saw cuts almost a half inch deep 1" apart on both sides with the direction perpendicular from one side to the other and put in some fiberglass there as stiffeners). This gives me a 1.25" platform for the mat and evened up the step heights getting into my fiver.
