Anyone gone from 13" to 14" on Jayco Jay Feather 16V

slogan · 04-11-2015, 08:48 AM

I have searched.... searched... searched but no luck on this site or any other forum yet about any 16V owners going from 185/80/13 to 205/75/14 tire. The 13" tires are far too hard to find without ordering them and it appears that the 14" tire seems to be a more available option. I've measured the existing clearances of the 13" tire to be 3.25" clearance at bottom rear fender well, 3.50" clearance at bottom front fender well and approximately 5" clearance from top of tire to top of fender well. I know that the 14" tire will decrease that clearance by about an 1" all the way around and about 1" width (.5" inside/.5" outside additional width). I have talked to many different dealers service departments and get a variety of responses. One says no worries with that clearance at all, one says pay close attention to the amount of flex in the torsion axle, and another dealer even called Jayco to which I knew right off what they would say, "That tire has not been tested with that unit and do not recommend it". Liability I suppose. I have also talked with many tire dealers and they are on the same page with the response that you shouldn't have any clearance issues at all with the 14" tire. I know there are factors that may result in different outcomes such as how the camper is loaded, what type of camping is being done. I don't pack heavy, meaning no water in fresh water tank, minimum food (typically shop when I arrive at destination), clothes and essential camping items.

So having said all that I am curious as to if there any 16V owners out there that have performed this swap and what their experiences have been. I don't do any off roads or rough terrains, mainly gravel (campground roads) and interstate type travels.

Any advice or shared experiences here would greatly be appreciated.

Thanks,
Scott

tugboat95 · 04-12-2015, 05:56 PM

I just put new 13" tires on mine. I had no trouble finding them. Dealer had plenty of them just not a big selection of brands. We both crawled under the camper and measured the clearances. This guy is a personal friend and I trust him. He told me he was not comfortable putting 14" on there as he wasn't sure about the inside clearance and flex of the tire sidewall. Its extremely close. However I do know some have done an axle flip. I have not. I believe that would give you the clearance as well as raise the trailer higher off the ground. There are several posts on here concerning the flip if you want to research that. We've decided we are getting a larger unit so I'm not going to perform this procedure myself. I just towed mine over 1800 miles with no problems on the 13" tires.

slogan · 04-13-2015, 08:35 PM

Thanks for the input. I have a local tire shop that just happened to have a 14" Maxxis 205 75 14 tire and a 14" steel wheel that he mounted the tire on for me to take home and throw it on to see if it will work, and a nice guy at that since he didn't even charge me for the tire or rim for a trial basis. I installed it tonight and have 2" of clearance on rear, 2.25" clearance on front and 4" of clearance on top. The only part that I have a bit of concern about is the lower sheet metal skirt on the front of the fender well, which I plan on taking some tin snips and cut that corner portion off. Other than that I am feeling a bit better about this. I even added more weight and went inside the camper to try and bounce the suspension (granted I don't weigh anything close to the camper) but with the extra weight and me acting like a monkey on the inside, very little movement. So I am now getting the guy at the tire shop to get me two more tires and wheels, I'll mount the other side and re-measure the clearances. If all remains the same, I'll give it a trip trial 2nd week of May. If any appearances of rub, which I'm obviously hoping not, then I'll pursue the 2" lift kit from Jayco to rectify that issue.

I'll report back as things progress.

Thanks again,
Scott

muelldawg · 04-14-2015, 01:44 PM

Slogan, a few people have posted that they were going to change to 14" tires on their Sport165; then nothing was heard from them.

Please let us know what your recommendation is as a result of real life experience.
I have considered the 14" tires and if you find they work, I'm going to do it also.
Thanks Slogan!

slogan · 04-14-2015, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by muelldawg

Slogan, a few people have posted that they were going to change to 14" tires on their Sport165; then nothing was heard from them.

Please let us know what your recommendation is as a result of real life experience.
I have considered the 14" tires and if you find they work, I'm going to do it also.
Thanks Slogan!

I'll be happy too, hopefully the results will be what I am "safely" looking to accomplish. From the looks of the tire I have on there now, it looks really positive but will not know for sure until I have the second tire on and the first trip with them 2nd week of May. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks,
Scott

bucko · 04-16-2015, 03:17 AM

I'm a newbie with this increase of tire size, so excuse my inexperience if I'm asking a wrong question: what about the additional one inch in sidewall "flex"? Would there be an issue with a 14 inch sidewall flexing more than a 13 inch? Would this possible additional flex cause the TT to sway side to side more as you are traveling?

Jimw606 · 04-16-2015, 09:24 AM

Gee, I thought the side wall flex was just on the bottom. I learn every day.

slogan · 05-19-2015, 06:07 PM

Well, the trip was a success. I had no issues with the 14" tires on my 16V, it worked like I was hoping it would. I haven't been back long so but from my initial inspection all looked good. I plan on crawling under the unit this weekend to conduct a more in depth inspection to be sure no contact has been made anywhere. During the trip I stopped several times to be sure and safe to visually inspect especially after I came across several large pot holes and bridges with ugly dips, all looked good. Now keep in mind, I took a great deal of precaution on loading the unit, such as where I placed items, what items I spared for this trip till I knew the outcome (which wasn't much spared), but the unit was adequately loaded. I didn't weigh it loaded but wish I had of just for my sanity but clearance was good all the way around the tire.

So hopefully this will shed some light for those on the fence about doing the same modification but use your own discretion since trips, locations and packing manners are different from person to person.

Thanks
Scott

muelldawg · 05-31-2015, 06:49 PM

Thank you for your 14" tire update, Slogan.
I am happy it works!

slogan · 06-12-2015, 10:43 PM

Glad to provide some insight and my "opinions". I have inspected again underneath the unit and no contact anywhere which I am very pleased with. So hopefully this will provide a better feeling for those that are considering it. Good luck to those that do and happy camping!

Ont Pete · 06-12-2015, 11:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bucko

I'm a newbie with this increase of tire size, so excuse my inexperience if I'm asking a wrong question: what about the additional one inch in sidewall "flex"? Would there be an issue with a 14 inch sidewall flexing more than a 13 inch? Would this possible additional flex cause the TT to sway side to side more as you are traveling?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jimw606

Gee, I thought the side wall flex was just on the bottom. I learn every day.

13" or 14" refers to the rim size, that is the steel part. The height of the sidewall would be in the tire size! If you increase the sidewall on the tire this "could" lead to a slightly less stable trailer. If you increased the rim size but decreased the sidewall height to keep the same diameter it would stiffen the ride and become more stable but also have a stiffer ride.

Hope this clears the muddy waters!

donnajk · 06-13-2015, 07:50 PM

We changed tires on our jayfeather ultra 17z from the stock size 13 inch tire to a 205/75/14 and solved our tire problems. They run at 50 psi instead of 65psi for a smoother ride and better wear.

slogan · 07-06-2015, 11:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by donnajk

We changed tires on our jayfeather ultra 17z from the stock size 13 inch tire to a 205/75/14 and solved our tire problems. They run at 50 psi instead of 65psi for a smoother ride and better wear.

We too have noticed also that the trailer does seem to ride smoother and doesn't move around as much when being towed. We are overall very pleased with the outcome of the tire swap. Still not sure as to why Jayco wouldn't have installed these in the first place, you would think that this would also be better for the wheel bearings by not having to turn as many RPM's.

Glad to hear of more success stories with the tire swap.

Happy camping!

campitout · 07-17-2015, 01:02 PM

I have a 2006 19H that came with 13's. I switched to 14's and had no clearance problems at all. You can check Discount Tire on the web and go to info center then to tire info and then to tire calculator. That will tell you the difference in the specs of the tire and you can compare different sizes side by side.

http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/home.do

You may also like: