HF Trailer with 33inchers? 2001 Wrangler

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HF Trailer with 33inchers? 2001 Wrangler

Postby Jeeper92 » Sun May 20, 2007 7:54 am

I just purchased a 2001 tj sport adn Im hooked on off roading, I went totwo differnet palces and all of them offer camping, I wouldl ike to build a tear drop on a HF traier, is that possible to do and use 33 inch tires so i can keep the trailer balnced and make it easier to tow

Im thinking of building the weekender from Mikes designs, any suggestins would be appreciated
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Postby madjack » Sun May 20, 2007 9:30 am

...hey Jeeper...welcome to the board...the short answer to your question is NO...now for a longer answer...1)most HF frames have 4 bolt hubs and 12" tires...so, to fit the 33's, you would have to swap out hubs for 5 bolt and extend the axle for clearance between the 33's and the camper body...in other words...either swap out the entire axle/hub assembly for a more appropriate one or be prepared to do some extensive modding to the existing axle...2)if you wish to pull the camper on off roading excursions, the frame/axle combo(especially the axle) are way too lightweight...if you read around in the "offroad" forum, you will see that the preferred axle is a 3500# axle with 1500#-2000# suspension components under them...3) for what you are wanting to do, I would recommend building your own custom frame/axle setup...if you don't weld, buy the steel/axle and cut the steel and fit it all up...then get a friend to come by to weld it up or call a weldor with a portable truck unit and have them come out and weld it up...good luck and have fun...oh yeah...we luv da pics around here and we expect to see a few from you(they are what we charge for more info than you can use to build 3r4 tears)....
madjack 8)
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Thanks

Postby Jeeper92 » Sun May 20, 2007 12:17 pm

Im not goingto be off roading with the tear, its going to be camped at the site then we will go off roading, so the need for extra suspension wont be nescessary. THe one HF 4x8 was 5 lugs, I really jsut want it for the look of it.
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Postby Laredo » Sun May 20, 2007 2:23 pm

depends, then, on what you're willing to spend for adapters and so on.
But if you drop your floor you could have a standy that looks like a tear, since your door sill will be well over knee high.
Mopar's what my busted knuckles bleed, working on my 318s...
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Postby A_J » Fri Jun 01, 2007 10:13 pm

Even the five lug HF axles are going to be too narrow to fit a 33x12.50 on 15x8 wheels.

If you want to get "the look" It might be possible to run a 5x4.5 15x6 steel wheel and some bias ply 7.00-15 tires without rubbing the frame. Those are the tall skinny off road tires that were standard equipment on CJs in the 60s and 70s. Stock Wrangler wheels tend to have a lot of backspacing, which is not really what you would want; it would put the tire closer to the trailer. I suspect some regular old 15" steel trailer wheels might do it.

I like the Nanco N-704 7.00-15; it looks like the "traction" tires that came on Grampa's Jeep.

You could also try a 14x5" wheel and run the 28x8.50-14 Super Swamper TSLs. I know for a fact that combo will fit on a Tractor Supply Carry-On trailer - I tried it with mine. There wasn't much frame clearance, but it will get by.

If you are stuck with the idea of the bigger meats, a custom axle swap is both easy and relatively inexpensive.
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Postby Jonkayak » Sun Jul 29, 2007 8:17 pm

I hate to disagree but I'm going too here. The trailer can be fitted with that size tire, I have seen it done. You just need to find a tire shop that can order you a NEW rim with the right back spacing to mount the new tires on. Also the wheel wells will need raising. Now as to rather that axel will work or not is another question. I'm sure it will work fine but I don't know it the bearings will hold up. If you try it I would carry a spare barring and tools to change one on the side of the road as it will surely be the weaks link. Build it try it and if the axel doesn't work well then bolt a new one on.

Jon
1st tear drop sold. Second TTT will be glassed and look like........weekender maybe???????
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Postby angib » Mon Jul 30, 2007 6:43 am

Jonkayak wrote:I'm sure it will work fine but I don't know it the bearings will hold up.

Yep, that's the problem area - the original wheel was centred over the bearings but, with a new wheel that's offset enough to clear the sidewalls, it's going to be hanging off one side of the bearings.

Of course it may mean you'll only get 10,000 miles out of each set of bearings which would be fine. But it might be only 1,000 miles you get - I don't think anyone knows until you try it.

Andrew
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Postby Gerdo » Thu Aug 02, 2007 11:59 am

The old bearing question. I can see how driving a dually pickup with out one of the rear duals would put alot of pressure on the bearings but... a tire that is not centered but is still over the bearings should still be applying equal pressure. Look at the old Front Wheel Drive Tornodos. Their wheels were realy dished to the inside. Back to the Dually, the front wheels have huge spacers to offset the wheel fo the fronts are the same as the rears. even though the tire is centered over the bearings the pressure is way out from the bearings. How deep are dragracing rear wheels? What offset do they have? Do they have bearing problems?

Now larger tires rotate less than a smaller tire. Therefor the bearings spin less causing less wear.

One option is to buy the HF frame and replace the axle with a wider 5 lug one.
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Postby Jonkayak » Fri Aug 03, 2007 12:30 pm

while I agree with you on most all your points I have owen several jeeps and pickups with lifts and large tires(33" - 37"tall"). Its always the bearing that give you problems if not corrected. While this might not happen it is something to be on the lookout for. Also the tears might not wieght enough to actualy have an effect on the bearings.

Jon
1st tear drop sold. Second TTT will be glassed and look like........weekender maybe???????
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Postby Gerdo » Fri Aug 03, 2007 11:08 pm

If you don't want to build a custom frame then I would replace the HF axle with a wider/stronger one.
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Postby brian_bp » Sun Aug 05, 2007 9:55 pm

Gerdo... about the Toronado and drag racer examples:

The important thing is the location of the centre of the tire relative to the bearings; where the hub face happens to be is irrelevant, since the bolted-together parts act like one big part for this purpose.

The Toronado (and everthing front-wheel-drive since) have lots of wheel offset and lots of hub offset, putting the tires in line with the bearings - the force (not really "pressure") is not way out from the bearings. The offset is particularly noticeable in the Toronado wheels because it was unusual for the time, and because the wheels were so narrow (compared to today).

The dually front wheel (turned inward for large offset) plus spacer (whether there really is a spacer or it's built into the hub) adds up to required net offset.

The Toronado and dually front are essentially the same configuration, with the wheel offset providing clearance for hub components, whether for drive components (the FWD Toronado) or just a spacer. The GMC motorhomes based on Toronado drivetrains actually use dually wheels, in single configuration both front and rear, because back then (the 1970's) those were the only wheels sized for truck tires which had enough offset. The rear suspensions, not driven or steered, are functionally the same as a trailer suspension, as with the rear of any front-drive vehicle.

Drag cars with obviously wild offsets of the tire centre from the bearings have solid axles. Unless they're full-floaters, the axle shaft is part of the hub, carried by the outer bearings (at the ends of the axle housings) and the inner bearings (in the final drive or centre section). This huge span between bearings means that the leverage of the offset tires isn't fatal to the bearings, which have the halfshaft for leverage. Trailer axles are like front suspensions, not like driven solid axles - inner and outer bearings are close together.
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Postby Gerdo » Mon Aug 06, 2007 12:23 pm

Point taken.
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Postby fenters2005 » Fri Feb 08, 2008 12:35 am

How about golf cart wheels and Atv tires?
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Postby Cruiser » Fri Feb 08, 2008 7:03 am

Just grab up a new axle for it with the right spacing.. go to [url]www.etrailerpart.com they should have the right width and a 3500# axle with the ilder hubs is like $90 plus shipping.. Its just too easy to do it the safe way.. The big tires put serious leverage on the small axle and can make it bend easy, even on the road. The HF trailers have very small axles..
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Postby jeep_bluetj » Fri Feb 08, 2008 12:52 pm

Cruiser wrote:Just grab up a new axle for it with the right spacing.. go to [url]www.etrailerpart.com they should have the right width and a 3500# axle with the ilder hubs is like $90 plus shipping.. Its just too easy to do it the safe way.. The big tires put serious leverage on the small axle and can make it bend easy, even on the road. The HF trailers have very small axles..
Steve[/url]


Steve has it right. That's what I did for my original HF trailer. Got a 3.5K axle from southwest wheel, Bolted it to the crappy HF slipper springs. Used Jeep wheels. Towed it over freeways, rocks and stuff. It's _still_ hard on the bearings (weight of the tires), but a 1K trailer on 3.5K axles, it's fine.
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