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Member
Posts: 48
Location: Stanardsville, VA | Ok heres my problem. Im putting new tires on my old stock trailer. I dismounted all 5 tires. Spare included. All the rims still have the old Kelsey/Hayes sticker on them. 4 of them are 5x15 and one is 5.5x15. 2 of the 5 tires had tubes in them. Im guessing the 5.5x15 was designed to be the spare? Are rims designed specifically to be a tubeless or a tube style rims? I know the valve is different. But if I put in screw in style valves, can I just put on all tubeless tires? The tires that were on there are old 7.00-15lts which are suppose to be mounted on a 5.5 Im replacing them with some 205-75-15s which are also suppose to be on a 5.5 as well. Is this going to be a problem? This old trailer is going to put me in the grave, everything has been so difficult rebuilding. |
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Member
Posts: 48
Location: Stanardsville, VA | Anybody? |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 402
Location: Valentine, NE | As with most questions, it depends. If you are just putting a few miles a year traveling around your local area on side roads, I would just go the cheap route. If you plan on hauling the max. weight, at freeway speeds,a fair amount of miles, I would probably do some more research. Some rims, say tube/tubeless on them that you could run both ways. You didn't say what the year is on the trailer, but most trailers from the late 80's on or so, should be fine tubeless. I have an old 70's model stock trailer that has <100 mile leash on it and run whatever I can find cheap for tires-that includes not putting tubes in any replacements and they seem to work just fine. One issue you might have is that if the valve core hole is rusted, it might be difficult to get a tubeless valve core to seat. The 5 vs. 5.5 is a non-issue in my opinion. Any good tire shop should be able to help. Just my 2 cents worth. |
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Expert
Posts: 5870
 
Location: western PA | Agree with SD. The rims should be good for tubeless tires, unless they're badly rusted and then they may leak. You can install bias ply tires in the 7.50 widths, or radials in the 215 widths on those 5.5 rims. Most good tire dealers automatically swap out the old valve stems with any new tire purchases. A competent dealer will also remove any surface rust on the rim and stem areas, before he installs the new tires. I disagree with SD about going "cheap". When installing new tires, I try to get the highest load rating I can for that size, and purchase a name brand of which I'm knowledgeable. I have replaced all my OEM trailer tires with truck LT radials, and have been very satisfied with the results. As long as your rims are not damaged or rusted, they should be good to go. Check the stud holes for wear, cracks and elongation, and the bead areas for dents or cracks. While you have the tires dismounted, it would be an ideal time to clean and paint the rims. This will save you replacement costs in the future. Gard |
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Member
Posts: 48
Location: Stanardsville, VA | Greatly appreciate the input. Ive dismounted the tires and wire brushed and painted all the rims. They are in great shape for their age. The trailer is a 71 I believe anyways. I should be getting the tires by the end of the week. I hope to take some pictures of the finished trailer after about 6 months of restoration on it. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 447
Location: cedar rapids iowa | more than likely the rims had slow leaks so they added the tubes. Pretty old not to leak. My work trailer had rims replaced after about 15 years for leaking. Sounds like you may need tubes or new rims |
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Member
Posts: 48
Location: Stanardsville, VA | I think Ill be alright. Thats back when trailers were built right. Still waiting on my tires though. NTB is a real headache. |
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tube/tubeless rims
