[GreatWhiteNorth]

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I just bought a used Cycle-Mate trailer with the small 8" diameter wheels. Although I would have preferred a trailer with bigger wheels, it was just too good a deal to pass up, and we don't often see nice used motorcycle cargo trailers for sale up here.



I'll attach a pic of it... it needs a little TLC. It's not even home yet as a friend picked it up for me out of province.



What are your guys thoughts regarding running these little wheels? Should a guy be worried,have any safety concerns, etc?

 

[Bernieswing]

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Bigger wheels would be better, but a lot of bike trailers have those little wheels and never cause problems.

 

[Bamaeagle]

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Should not be a problem...I have seen several people with trailers and those size wheels. Just be sure to have a spare if it does not already have one. Was on a trip in June with a friend and on a rest stop we noticed a tire problem with his trailer tire....had to put on a spare to finish the trip.

 

[ob1jeeper]

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As long as the tires are within their life-span (not age cracked, etc), and the wheel bearings have good lube in them, there is no reason these will not work, as the loads each sees is pretty small...

FWIW: I've had a couple of significantly larger pop-up campers (auto sized) which I towed several thousand miles each summer for close to 15 years, and my current john-boat trailer uses the same size tires/wheels, and I've never had any issues with any of them.

 

[GreatWhiteNorth]

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Good to hear. I've already bought new tire/wheel assemblies, including a spare. Trailer hadn't been used at all by PO (says it hadn't been used in 9 years!), but I'll relube and/or replace bearings ASAP. I've already bought replacement LED lights for it too. I just consider this a shell for a project... might sand it & colour match to bike. We'll see if I can polish up the paint or not as it's quite faded.

 

[firemanp]

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As long as they are in good shape, you shouldn't have a problem. Make sure the tire pressure is good cause I've had issue with them when they are low.

 

[rgbeard]

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As much as the mechanical engineer part of me dislikes the small wheels, the practical engineer part of me acknowledges:

Most trailer problems root-cause is the wheels NOT spinning enough, rather than too much.

In other words, dis-use is more of a problem.

GO and wear it out!

 

[Rudy]

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Good here...

 

[redbaron]

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When buying tires just check the plys and rating....I nearly bought two new tires for my trailer, then looking at them better I seen "Not for Highway use" stamped on the side....The right tires cost more but at that moment I couldn't find just the tire...Had to buy complete assembly, Tires and wheels....So Now that I do know where to buy that tire, I will have four spares????...Two off of the trailer, one from my old big pop-up camper, and one that I had in my storage shed????..All of them same bolt pattern.....My tires are the wide 8in tires, not the narrow ones...

BTW: That particular tire of yours are not hard to find, I believe you can even buy those at Wally World...

 

[Oldgold]

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If it hasn't been used in 9 yrs I'd buy new tires, they are cheap and I think wallyworld sells them mounted on new rims.

 

[GreatWhiteNorth]

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If you read my previous (last) post, I've already bought replacement tires. I bought Carlisle brand tires already mounted on new rims... got 'em on sale at Princess Auto :^) They are highway tires... lots of guys use 'em. One of the reasons I posed this question is on the trip I just got back from last week, a buddy of mine with a trailer had new tires on and wore 'em out in 3000 miles... he determined worn torsion suspension was the culprit. My trailer is solid axle/leaf spring so that shouldn't be a problem. The tire sidewalls say max pressure 60 PSI - what do most guys run & what kind of mileage are most people seeing on these tires.



... forgot to add, Rudy, nice looking trailer!

 

[Rudy]

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I use the wide tires (ignore the spare in my photo above) and I run them about 25 lbs.

It varies with load but the idea is to mark a chalk line across the face of the tires with the trailer loaded. Run it around the block and see where the chalk is left.

If it's in the center, add air. If on the sides, release air.

Mine is a torsion suspension but I have not worn out a tire in 3 years. Still look new.

 

[Halfling]

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Just got back from an 8000 mile trip with my very oldbut recentlyrefurbished trailer with 8 inch tires...no issues at all. I did go with the 5.70 x 8 instead of the 4.80 x 8 though. Also, I found that mine had a 3/4 inch axle instead of the more common 1 inch axle...it made a difference when trying to get replacement bearings.I went from this....

To this:

 

[Golden Girl]

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Hey Rudy: I do something similar........sprinkle a little line of flour (all-purpose, right?) in the driveway and roll the trailer across it and into a "clean" part of the driveway. I run about 25psi on the fully loaded Aluma with 12" tires.

I think the chalk directly on the tires might be less messy, though.

 

[Tookie]

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Daryl Martel wrote:

What are your guys thoughts regarding running these little wheels? Should a guy be worried,have any safety concerns, etc?

Highly unsafe... just to ensure the safety of our Northern brothers,
I will give you a hundred US dollars for it.

 

[Lightin]

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Halfling wrote:

Just got back from an 8000 mile trip with my very oldbut recentlyrefurbished trailer with 8 inch tires...no issues at all. I did go with the 5.70 x 8 instead of the 4.80 x 8 though. Also, I found that mine had a 3/4 inch axle instead of the more common 1 inch axle...it made a difference when trying to get replacement bearings.I went from this....

To this:

Very nice, John !!!! but I only see one problem with it. its sitting in the wrong driveway:smiler:

 

[GreatWhiteNorth]

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Halfling - nice restoration project.

 

[Halfling]

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Thanks Daryl, if you need any informationor detailsjust let me know. I have a few more pictures in my photo gallery as well.

 

[GreatWhiteNorth]

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Tookie - just re-read this & saw your offer of $100 for "unsafe" trailer - nice try! :smiler:

 

[Redeye1620]

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Daryl Martel wrote:

If you read my previous (last) post, I've already bought replacement tires. I bought Carlisle brand tires already mounted on new rims... got 'em on sale at Princess Auto :^) They are highway tires... lots of guys use 'em. One of the reasons I posed this question is on the trip I just got back from last week, a buddy of mine with a trailer had new tires on and wore 'em out in 3000 miles... he determined worn torsion suspension was the culprit. My trailer is solid axle/leaf spring so that shouldn't be a problem. The tire sidewalls say max pressure 60 PSI - what do most guys run & what kind of mileage are most people seeing on these tires.

Daryl, do yourself a favor & google Carlisle tire reviews.



They are totally dangerous & junk tires. When I bought my new RV trailer, theyhad carlisle tires mounted on the wheels. After showing the dealer the complaints listed online,he replaced the tires with new Goodyears w/o any charge. Been there & done that....-Rich