Will shorter tires lower it that much or will you also need to shorten the spring mounts. I replaced my axles from 14.5 to 225 70 16s and it worked great that was 30 years ago i steal use it alot. I have another home built trailer with 14.5 i realy like its low highth but i bought a set of hubs to switch it over i may have to do alot of work to keep the tires from rubbing .
Old Doug,
Thanks for your insight. I have been researching this and trying to find out the answer. Here is what I have concluded:
Scope of the project: I need to reduce the height of my trailer so (1)the dove tail works as intended, (2)so the pintle hook up aligns with the truck, and (3)so the center of gravity is lowered when trailer is loaded.
Obvious Quick Answers:
1. Use a drop bar or adjustable pintle hook.
NEGATIVE Using a drop bar or adjustable pintle moves the center line of the trailer weight
away from the trucks C.G. Using a small 2" or 3" drop bar or adjustable pintle probably would not affect the towing greatly, I am aware of that.
How ever, When applied with compounding tolerances (Weight/speed/load/weather/temp/ETC.) It could start to play into the equation. I would rather fix the root cause.
2. Swap the hubs.
NEGATIVE All the hubs I have found to switch to have a lower weight rating. When fully loaded, I am pulling about 18K. I have built in a 20% safety factor based on the trailer axle load limits.
So that leaves me with trying to lower the overall height with out modifying the axles. (At least that is what I have come up with, if anyone has another view point or idea, please let me know)
The solution:
I have found a solid 14.5" trailer tire rim (
https://econolinetrailers.com/8-lug-14-5-x-7-rim/ ) that has over a 3,300lb rating. It should be able to fit a 14.5"-9" trailer tire. I have found some of those tires with a single tire rating of 3,825 lb per tire. (
https://econolinetrailers.com/900-14-5-14-ply-galaxy-trailer-tire/ )
The over all height of the tire goes from 32" tall down to 28" tall. This is what I intend on doing to my trailer to rectify the situation.
My ignorance:
Ever heard the term, "looks good on paper"? That's where I am at. I am not a trailer expert by any means. I am simply going off of facts but real world knowledge trumps facts all day long. So if
ANY ONE has knowledge about this set up, or the 14.5" solid rim and tire setup,
PLEASE let me know. I always have an open mind to learn from others.