Micro Minnie Wheel Size/Bolt Pattern

[johneed]

Can I ask what rims you ended up getting? I just bought a Minnie with dual axle 14-inch and might want to change to 15-inch.

[Trout One]

Originally Posted by johneed

Can I ask what rims you ended up getting? I just bought a Minnie with dual axle 14-inch and might want to change to 15-inch.

Hi John,


I haven't as yet. Was looking at these two, however:

https://www.4wheelparts.com/p/americ...ion_PQMS=Steel

https://www.4wheelparts.com/p/americ..._PQMS=Aluminum

Choice is between steel or aluminum construction; I'm leaning towards aluminum.

However, the more I look at things, I'm not sure about the need for real off-road tires on a trailer, which was the impetus for considering 15" wheels. Truck tires in general don't support the weight that trailer tires are capable of supporting. For instance, the 215/75 - 15 version of my General AT/X Grabbers on the Suburban are E rated for weight capacity and will only handle 1764 lbs. 225/75-15 Goodyear Endurance trailer tires, also E rated, are capable of supporting 2830 lbs. Even the D rated Endurance 14" tires - sized 215/75-14 - support more than the off-road truck tire at 2200 lbs per tire.

So if I want the additional support of the trailer tire, which I'm leaning towards, I'm better off sticking with the 14" Endurance tires over 15" off-road truck tires.


Bob

[johneed]

Bob, thanks for the response!

This is so interesting. My Goodride tires are ST205/75 R14. Not sure if they fall into the "China Bomb" category (they sell for ~$95ea), but I wanted to upgrade to the Goodyear Endurance or perhaps Michelins. No doubt a bump in quality, but also speed and load ratings as well. I am new to the tire debate, but am aware of the LT tire sidewall cornering support aspects.

Even though my TT is dual axle and has metal wheel wells, the prospect of a highway blowout is scary, and avoiding one would be my primary reason for changing anything. I'm retired and not in a hurry, but I am OK with driving a little faster once in a while out in the middle of nowhere on long flat straights.

That said, I incorrectly assumed I would not be able to get Goodyear Endurance or Michelins in 14-inch size, so thought I'd have to get 15-inch rims to do so. You just helped me realize that wasn't the case, and checking the Goodyear site confirms I can buy Goodyear Endurance ST205/75R14.

That is likely what I will pursue doing, swapping out my Goodrides for Goodyear Endurance of the same size. I have one semi-long trip planned between Minnesota and Colorado, but it's in April so heat should not be a big factor. I will have a TMPS system installed for PSI and temp, and will keep an eye on things. I have a temp gun also and can attempt to check tires and hubs when we stop. I plan to replace the Goodrides before the next long trip after Colorado in April, especially if warmer temps are anticipated.

Two tangent questions: 1) what are you doing for wheel bearings? 2) where is a good place to go to have tires swapped on our TT?

Thanks again!

John

2020 Winnebago Minnie 2401RG

[RoadRunner]

Hi John,

My reason for looking for new wheels and tires for our 2108DS was to have a set of tires / wheels to have on our 2108DS when stored outside through our long central NH winter and a set of better tires / wheels stored off the camper in the heated garage to be put on in the summer. The plan was since tires get flat spots and deteriorate quicker on a stationary vehicle outside, I would get the maximum years out of the higher end tires.

Thinking that I would have more tire options, I looked into 15” wheels, my research concurred with what Bob found out about load ratings and 15” tire options. Also, after taking a closer look at the 14” Hi Spec / HWT black spoke wheel that came on the camper, I was very impressed with the finish and the quality. In addition, the Hi Spec / HWT wheels have excellent ratings on sites like etrailer.com.

So, what I ended up doing was buying four white steel wheels on closeout from etrailer.com for $20 each and mounting the Chinese Goodride tires on those for the winter storage and buying the Goodyear Endurance and mounting them on the original wheels for the summer.

I also agree with Bob that I don’t see the need for “off road” tires on a camper considering they don’t “drive” or “steer” and I don’t believe they are significantly more durable than a good trailer tire. I guess Winnebago is targeting the “adventurer” that thinks they look cool.

Other thoughts I had were when using our Beech Lane “curved” levelers, the one that fits between the tires, fits well between the 14” tires without having to cut it down. Also, regarding raising the height of the trailer, I haven’t had an issue with the “low rider” Micro Minnie with the torsion axles set in the original position, though I have been careful in places like state parks. My thinking is on tight curves / turns I want to keep the center of gravity low since it is a box on wheels that is taller than it is wide and I would lose a lot of points with the wife if her Micro Minnie were to flop on its side going around a bend too quickly.

Our Goodyear Endurance tires are also ST205/75R14 and they track noticeably better than the Goodride tires, wearing evenly and do not lose any air pressure during the season. I bought them at Sam’s Club where I had a less than satisfying experience.

Regarding wheel bearings, I inspected and packed them with grease and replaced the seals. Only thing that I noticed with the original bearings is on one wheel the drum / hub was over tightened from the factory and one bearing had a slight discoloration on it but should be fine now. So I will wait before I replace relatively new wheel bearings with Timkens or other brand name bearings.

Brian

[Trout One]

Hi John,
I'm still on the factory 14" Goodrides myself. They're two years older than the trailer, however, so my plan is to replace them in the spring with the like-sized Goodyears before we begin lengthy travels. I'm not worried about the Goodrides going out on me on trips of 120 miles (one way) or less.

I do like Brian's idea of cheapo steelies to put the Goodrides on for winter storage, though we have a gravel pad off of our lower deck in the back yard and have yet to have any issue with flat-spotting the Goodrides.

Since we just got the trailer in March before everything shut down and have less than 1200 miles on it right now, I'll check the bearings before our first big trip. Have not felt any abnormal heat levels on any of the four tires in the trips we've made so far so I'm thinking we're pretty good to go for now.

As far as changing tires next spring, I'll probably jack the trailer up, set it on stands, remove the wheels and take them over to my mechanic's place and have them change them for me. No reason to go to a dealer for something like that. Same for bearings; if I need help there's a good heavy equipment trailer dealer with several service bays who know me well for when bearing service/replacement is needed.

Finally, I did increase my ride height the full 3" primarily because of my travels on Forest Service roads while trout fishing in East Tennessee and North Georgia. But I also need every inch of clearance just to get in and out of my driveway without scraping the drain. Even with the additional ride height, I'm going to have to buy a ball mount with a longer drop to level out my WD hitch properly. A Z71 Suburban with Bilstein 5100s rides a bit higher than it looks.

Bob

[johneed]

Brian and Bob, thank you both so much. Excellent thoughts and I'm going to get 4 cheap rims for the Goodrides to use with winter storage here in Minnesota.

I also like the rims that came on our unit, and will appreciate keeping them.

Off-roading or boondocking is not in our near future. It will be almost exclusively state & national parks, maybe an RV park once in a while.

I'm also glad to hear you didn't have to cut the Beech Lane levelers for the 14-inch rims. I bought them also, but didn't have time to try them out before our new Minnie went to storage. We rented a secured outdoor gravel lot on short notice, but might pursue indoor options next winter. I'm using yellow plastic BISupply Tire Savers mounted on 4-foot sections of treated 2x12, along with double-wide white fabric tire protectors, so hopefully they help with tire longevity. I tend to err on the side of caution though, so will likely replace our tires relatively often going forward.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thanks again!!!!!!

P.S. We have owned boats, snowmobiles, and motorcycles. Love them all, but thought they were all accessory money pits. Man, they got nothing on a travel trailer!

[Trout One]

Originally Posted by johneed

...Off-roading or boondocking is not in our near future. It will be almost exclusively state & national parks, maybe an RV park once in a while...

Just a thought but if staying in NP campgrounds out west, you might want to be prepared for some boondocking. Several NP campgrounds we saw on our last trip had nice parking pads but no hookups whatever. None of the BLM campsites have hookups that I know of. Most of the private campgrounds near the National Parks had full and partial hookups, so there's that route as well.

Originally Posted by johneed

...P.S. We have owned boats, snowmobiles, and motorcycles. Love them all, but thought they were all accessory money pits. Man, they got nothing on a travel trailer!

For sure. I told a friend who bought a trailer about the same time we did that if he wasn't a home handyman already, he was about to become one.

[SonofBert]

I think 15" offroad tires look cool on a dual axle trailer, they're the first thing people notice on my 1706fb with the offroad package. But they also have a function as noted above - a little more ground clearance.

Also, if you're on a muddy road they grip better when braking, you don't want a road tire trying to brake downhill in mud. It all depends on usage, these Trail Guide 235/75/15's on the 1706fb seem pretty good allaround with 2065lb load rating.

A Yokohama Geolandar 235/75/15 has an aggressive tread and rated at 2153 lbs https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...WLXL&tab=Sizes

I'm all about ground clearance with trailers, we're always offroad so 15's are helpful.

Aerospace 303 is a very good thing for tires, spray it onto the sidewalls a few times a year. Rubber loves 303. Gelcoat fiberglass loves 303, rubber roofs love 303, pretty much everything rubber, plastic and fiberglass loves 303.

[johneed]

Originally Posted by Trout One

Just a thought but if staying in NP campgrounds out west, you might want to be prepared for some boondocking. Several NP campgrounds we saw on our last trip had nice parking pads but no hookups whatever. None of the BLM campsites have hookups that I know of. Most of the private campgrounds near the National Parks had full and partial hookups, so there's that route as well.

Agreed. We have a Predator 3500 generator, and so I guess were "boondocking" in Yellowstone, and also Gorge Amphitheater in Washington for 3-4 nights. That was with a rental unit. I was thinking more like BLM or out on rough roads, and miles/weeks away from dump tanks and fresh water.

I've only had full connections one time, and that ended up being a fiasco. We were at the bottom of a stacked campground hill, and our black tank was supposedly empty. The owner told us it was, and we didn't use. We went to empty black then gray. Black came up into the shower unit. Was really a bummer. To this day I'm not sure what all went wrong, but the park owner suggested someone at the top of the hill created pressure on us?