Tires for 1006 - how big?

[les45]

I recently bought a 1989 Jayco 1006 Deluxe. It is in reasonably good shape and I plan to re-build it from the ground up (with some unique modifications) as a winter project. I am starting with the wheels and tires and would like to upgrade from the 5.3X12 tires that came on it. I would like to go to a low profile 13" passenger car tire that will maintain the same height (about 21") but will obviously be wider than the existing tire. Does anyone have any experience in upgrading these small tires?

[Jagiven]

Sounds like a good project. I cannot tell you how big of a tire you can go. But I can tell you do NOT use passenger car tires. The side walls are to soft and you will have a lot of swaying, and terrible handling. My dad did this back in the late 80's and was only able to travel at 40 mph (max) pulling with a 3/4 ton. The trailer was all over the road.

I would consider going to Fleet Farm, if one is near you, purchase a set of Carlises, you can buy them already on the rim, probably will have 5 lug nut pattern. Put one on and measure the free space you have. You will want a couple inches, ideally 3 inches of room above the tire for suspension travel. If you have leaf springs you can modify the suspension with a new shackle and increase your suspension height, for added clearance.

Good luck, take a lot of photos and post them periodically.

[DocBrown]

I'm curious to know what you hope to gain with a tire swap to a car tire? If it's cargo capacity upgrading the tires won't help, the axle will still be the limiting factor.

[les45]

Originally Posted by DocBrown

I'm curious to know what you hope to gain with a tire swap to a car tire? If it's cargo capacity upgrading the tires won't help, the axle will still be the limiting factor.

I'll admit that it is partly just the looks of those skinny tires. I had the same tires on a home made teardrop camper built on a 2,000 GVW Northern Tool utility trailer. My teardrop weighed about the same as the Jayco (1,300 lbs) and the axle length was about the same. The original 12" trailer tires and the stiff leaf springs made it bounce all over the place while towing. I went to a 175-70R13 car tire and the ride smoothed out completely. Admittedly, the torsion springs on the Jayco are much softer than leaf springs and it towed really well during the two hour ride home after I bought it. FWIW I am actually reducing the overall weight - I have stripped about 400 lbs off the Jayco as I am replacing the canvas with lightweight hard wall panels that will be removable. All canvas, outrigger beds, rooftop AC, and all interior cabinets and appliances have been removed and will be replaced with a simple queen size bed that will fold into a couch, a small, two person dinette, and a plain cabinet serving as a simple galley with storage.

[Rapidly]

You gotta post a pic of that when finished, sounds interesting!

[les45]

Originally Posted by Rapidly

You gotta post a pic of that when finished, sounds interesting!

For anyone who is interested, I have started a journal with lots of pics of my project on the TNTTT Forum: Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers • View topic - A different kind of pop-up.
I am estimating that this will be about a six month project. It is essentially a bottoms up restoration with the major mods that I have previously described.

Back on the issue of my original posting concerning tires, I decided to buy stock replacements (Kenda 5.3X12) from Etrailer.com. One driver was the fact that I can clean up the old tires and use them for spares plus they also fit my old Harbor Freight utility trailer.

[DocBrown]

Originally Posted by Rapidly

You gotta post a pic of that when finished, sounds interesting!

X2. Not many people would want a stripped down trailer. I'd like to see what it looks like.

[les45]

Originally Posted by DocBrown

X2. Not many people would want a stripped down trailer. I'd like to see what it looks like.

I'm building it for just the two of us so I don't need (or want) the bed extensions on the ends. I'm basically just going a step up from my old teardrop with a few amenities and the ability to stand up inside. I will replace the canvas with lightweight "foamie" panels all around. This is a construction method used in teardrops to save weight. The panels consist of two layers of luan paneling with 3/4" foam board in the middle. The edges are framed with 1X2 pine strips. If I can find the right section on this forum I will be posting some status pics periodically. Right now it is totally stripped down and I am replacing all the lift cables. I will be doing a bottoms up restoration of the frame and shell before I start on the custom interior.

[les45]

Update - since the ride was so smooth on the torsion axle, I decided to go with the stock 5.3X12 tires. They are inset so far under the trailer that their width doesn't really show like it did on my old teardrop. The old tires and rims will clean up nicely to use as spares. Ordered two Kenda Loadstar tires on white spoker rims from etrailers.com and received them in two days.