Wheels:15in. vs 16in.

rideblue

Active Member
This is not really a true weight issue but didn't know where to discuss this: I've had my Cyclone 3795 for 2 years now, and recently began thinking about putting wire mesh around my king pin box to help avoid the annual bird nest. I never noticed and read my GVWR sticker that is on the box. It gave the GVWR of 18k (which I already knew) but it also gave each axle rating on it's own separate line along with tire size and then rim size which read: axle-5200# | tire size- 225/75-15D | rim size- 16x6. I ended up with the 15 inch rims as seen in the tire size section but am wondering if the unit should have had 16in. rims. The tires have always looked small for the size of the rig, even in the wheel well they seem small. My bad for not noticing this a long time ago. Any thoughts?
 

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
My thoughts are as long as the tire capacity meets the need of the rig, either tire/wheel size will be fine. If you have room for the suspension travel it would be OK to change everything over to 16's. Trying to keep the overall OD close would be a good idea. This wouyld also give you the opportunity to increase your tires load range. Just a peace of mind thing. There have been some instances of incorrect VIN labeling when it comes to tires/wheel and GVRW numbers with Heartlands but very few.
 

rideblue

Active Member
That's kind of what I figured but I still feel a bit "cheated". I guess if I wanted to get picky, the load range D tires that are on the rig can handle a load of 2540# each, that's 5080 per axle that has a load capacity of 5200#. Might be a problem if I ever loaded it to the 18k# GVWR, but I don't think I do. Need to weigh fully loaded. Thanks for your opinion.
 

lwmcguir

Well-known member
You have so many more options with the 16 inch tires regarding load and manufacturer. Going to E or G 16" would be a nice upgrade if it were mine. Like the other post said you need to check the OD and the width as well to be sure there is room. I have found it is hard to get E rating in 15 inch in very many locations. 16's are everywhere.
 

caissiel

Senior Member
Did you buy this trailer new, Its hard to believe that a 18000 GVW trailer would have 5000# Axles. But in a way most Toy haulers do have heavy pin weight. And there are not to many large models with 2 Axles. 5000 X 3 + 3000 Pin weight surely totals 18000#. I had a 5th wheel with 15" tires and they were on the limit, my Heartland is great with 16" G tires love the "G". But they have to be mounted on 110PSI wheels or they are going to be way no better on 80PSI wheels. I think that 15" rims are only rated to 60PSI
 

rideblue

Active Member
Let's say I was to change to 16in. wheels, what is the typical tire size for the 16's? Right now I have 3-4 inches of space between my 15in. tires, so I think I have plenty of room.
 

jnbhobe

Well-known member
235-85-R16 LR-E is a common size but a lot of sizes are available. 265-75-R16 is the same OD but wider. 245-75-R16 a little smaller in diameter. Compare the diameter with what you have now. Different sizes have different load capacities JON
 

lwmcguir

Well-known member
I was thinking more about the room between your wheel/tires and the shocks/springs. You want to make sure there is plenty of room. Before we changed the axles/air suspension on ours there was less than 3/4 inch clearance. A low tire would have rubbed the shocks. Trailer tires are generally straighter wall than a truck tire.
 

alkyspeed

Active Member
Here's what I did for the Cyclone tire problem. 2007 - 3795 Full Throttle. About 1 1/2 - 2 in. space between the tires, no clearance trouble at top of tire. So far no problems and a huge amount of peace of mind.


//heartlandowners.org/showthread.php?t=12302
 
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