14" or 15" Wheels?

[Pat_in_Speedway]

Last weekend we signed to buy a Shasta Oasis 18BH travel trailer. Specs are 21'9" long, dry weight around 3200 lbs, and tongue weight about 350lbs. GVWR is about 3850lbs. It's a single axle with 205-75-14 tires.

I went to the dealer last night to look over the two they have on the lot, as we bought at the Indy RV Expo, but I wasn't about to buy the one they had at the show due to wear and tear of a 9 day RV show. To my surprise, one of them had substantially more cargo capacity than the other: 546 lbs vs 1403 lbs. After further investigation, I found the one with the larger capacity had 225-75-15 tires on it, compared to the standard 205-75-14. I checked with my dealer about it, who contacted Shasta to see what was up. The answer is that Shasta makes another model called the Flyte, which has the same floorplans as the Oasis, but weighs a little more than the Oasis. With it weighing more, they went with a heavier axle on the single axle Flytes to give it more cargo capacity, and so they wouldn't have to carry two separate axle sizes, they decided to run the same axle on the Oasis. So this is a mid-production change, as the single axle Flyte floorplan has not yet hit the market, whereas the Oasis single axle floorplans have been out for a year.

So now I have a choice as to which to get: the 14" with 546 cargo capacity or the 15" with 1403 lbs cargo capacity. Obviously I'm leaning towards the 15" for the 900 lbs increase in capacity. The specs on a Flyte with the same floorplan as the Oasis I'm getting show a GVWR of 4681 lbs, so I'm assuming an Oasis with the larger axle should be close to that. Other than the 15s raising the overall height of the trailer maybe by 2" and the overall weight increasing due to the heavier axle, what benefits do I gain by going with the larger wheels/axle? One advantage I see when it's time to replace tires is the ability to go with a lot heavier rated tire with the 15". Your comments appreciated!

[Atlee]

IMO, it's a no brainer. Get the trailer with the 15" tires and higher capacity.

You will not regret. You don't have to load all 1400# of cargo aboard, but it's always nice to have the excess capacity.

Pat in Speedway wrote:
Last weekend we signed to buy a Shasta Oasis 18BH travel trailer. Specs are 21'9" long, dry weight around 3200 lbs, and tongue weight about 350lbs. GVWR is about 3850lbs. It's a single axle with 205-75-14 tires.

I went to the dealer last night to look over the two they have on the lot, as we bought at the Indy RV Expo, but I wasn't about to buy the one they had at the show due to wear and tear of a 9 day RV show. To my surprise, one of them had substantially more cargo capacity than the other: 546 lbs vs 1403 lbs. After further investigation, I found the one with the larger capacity had 225-75-15 tires on it, compared to the standard 205-75-14. I checked with my dealer about it, who contacted Shasta to see what was up. The answer is that Shasta makes another model called the Flyte, which has the same floorplans as the Oasis, but weighs a little more than the Oasis. With it weighing more, they went with a heavier axle on the single axle Flytes to give it more cargo capacity, and so they wouldn't have to carry two separate axle sizes, they decided to run the same axle on the Oasis. So this is a mid-production change, as the single axle Flyte floorplan has not yet hit the market, whereas the Oasis single axle floorplans have been out for a year.

So now I have a choice as to which to get: the 14" with 546 cargo capacity or the 15" with 1403 lbs cargo capacity. Obviously I'm leaning towards the 15" for the 900 lbs increase in capacity. The specs on a Flyte with the same floorplan as the Oasis I'm getting show a GVWR of 4681 lbs, so I'm assuming an Oasis with the larger axle should be close to that. Other than the 15s raising the overall height of the trailer maybe by 2" and the overall weight increasing due to the heavier axle, what benefits do I gain by going with the larger wheels/axle? One advantage I see when it's time to replace tires is the ability to go with a lot heavier rated tire with the 15". Your comments appreciated!

[colliehauler]

I would go with the 15 inch tires, 546 is not much capacity when you add water 8# a gallon and propane then you have food and clothing.

[Pat_in_Speedway]

rbpru wrote:
I would go for the heavier wieght TT also. I an curious if there was a significant cost increase?

No increase at all. As a matter of fact, this particular unit is $4 less than what I paid for, so it's win-win.

[rbpru]

I would go for the heavier wieght TT also. I an curious if there was a significant cost increase?

I ordered a set of 15" tires for my TT and found a brand with increased load range with 65 psi.

[coolbreeze01]

15" load range E tires would be a good upgrade.

[Community Alumni]

If it were me, I would always want the most weight capacity available.

[JIMNLIN]

op wrote:
Other than the 15s raising the overall height of the trailer maybe by 2" and the overall weight increasing due to the heavier axle, what benefits do I gain by going with the larger wheels/axle? One advantage I see when it's time to replace tires is the ability to go with a lot heavier rated tire with the 15". Your comments appreciated!

Every single axle trailer (boats/RVs/cargo/car hauler/etc) and tandem axle trailer under 7k that came with 14" tires and wheels I dump them on CS for the lawn service trailer types.
I go with a 15" trailer wheels and P or LT tires as neither carry speed restrictions.
Benefits of upgrading to 15" for my use is a larger diameter tire = a smoother riding trailer/less heat on the tire and bearings from tire speed/gets me away from using ST tires and their issues/several 15" LT and all position tire options.

I would go with the unit with the higher rated axle with 15" tires/wheels.

[Huntindog]

If those axles are 6 lug, tell them you want 16s. That will allow you to get the best possible tires.

[MFL]

Many RV trailers come with just enough axle/tires to meet requirements. IMO, you are usually best off to go with a heavier option, when available. Often times the heavier axle will have bigger/stronger bearings, and in many cases, larger hubs, with bigger/better brakes. The larger tires will roll easier, and have more capacity.

I would go with the heavier setup. You just don't want a trailer with a too heavy suspension, that throws the trailer in the air, every time you hit a bump. However, I don't think this will be the case.

Jerry

[bobndot]

15". I would want as much weight rating options as possible.
I would think that you will be loaded up rolling down the road near your GVWR .
I would want a 2100# plus, rated tire . Having that weight margin might allow them to run cooler which is IMO, one of reasons why some people are having ST tire issues.

Look into the PSI rating of the rim , some 15" tires are rated at 65# some at 50# psi. I'm not a tire/wheel expert, so I'm not sure about the importance of the rim psi rating between 50-65#.

If you choose the 'LT' tire option that some people install, check into the rims width . I think the rims/wheels on the trailers you mention have a 5" or 5.5" width. I would question if LT tires in your weight rating would fit .