Homemade Trailer


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Old 09-09-16, 07:18 AM
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Homemade Trailer

I have a homemade trailer that was converted from a boat trailer. I replaced the axle which has four bolt lugs in each of its two hubs. I run 480/8 tires and rims with 4 bolt holes for the axles. I don't have a torque specification for the lug nuts for these wheels/axles. Could someone help me with that? Also it appears that these wheels/tires were mounted so that the valve stems pointed outward for convenience of the owner. But when I removed them, it appears that the opposite side of the wheel has "dished" out depressions to seat the lug nuts correctly, which would necessitate reversing the wheels, (moving the valve stems pointing toward the frame) when mounted. Is this correct?

Thanks in advance for any opinions!
 
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Old 09-09-16, 07:22 AM
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Most lug nuts get torqued in the 90-100 lb range. Sounds like the rims might have been mounted backwards, can you post a pic or two of them?
 
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Old 09-09-16, 07:52 AM
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Homemade trailer

I have never had any luck posting pictures to the site. I can take some and send them to an e-mail address from my scanner if you can send me an address

WML13
 
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Old 09-09-16, 08:08 AM
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Marksr, respectfully, what he is saying is that the beveled edge of the rim (so the beveled edge of the lug nuts will match or "seat" into the rim when tightened), is on the opposite side of the rim as the valve stem. He is indicating that no matter which way you turn the rim, its going to be "backwards" in one respect or the other.... whether the beveled edge for the lug nuts are on the outside side, OR the valve stem is on the out side. He is asking which is correct. The valve stem on the out side or the beveled edge for the lug nuts to "seat" in, on the out side.
If the puts the beveled edge on the outside, he's going to have to crawl under the trailer to air up the tires. He's just asking for clarification on how the wheels were intended to be mounted on the trailer. On the face, its going to be backwards no matter how they are mounted.
 
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Old 09-09-16, 08:09 AM
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I'm not to handy at posting pics either why don't you post them to a site like photobucket and then post the link. That way you aren't relying on just my opinion.
 
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Old 09-09-16, 01:33 PM
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Posting pictures isn't hard. Just adjust the width to 600px and you should be okay. Height is less important. If you need help with resizing pictures just ask. IRFanview is a great free image manipulator that is easy to use. From what I read Windows also has a program built in. Just be sure to do it from a computer. Phones can complicate it. http://www.doityourself.com/forum/li...rt-images.html
 
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Old 09-10-16, 07:25 AM
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Homemade Trailer

"Dixie" has explained it all correctly. I need to know if it is correct for the beveled edges in the holes that go over the studs is pointing OUT when installed. If so I have a valve stem hole in the rim that is pointing INSIDE. I can get to the valve stems but it would be more difficult. As far a posting pictures, your site has always asked for another step at some point, which is never "highlighted" or "live" for me to press on and continue to move the photo from my computer file. I am really concerned that 90 to a hundred foot pounds of torgue is correct. These 4bolt hubs are a LOT smaller than normal (automobile size) hubs, and the press in studs are really hard to find, as 4 bolt axles (like mine) are becoming scarce in the aftermarket. Mine was found in Texas on a shelf and had been there for awhile) As I understand it, 5 stud hubs and axles are pretty much standard for trailers this size now.
 
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Old 09-10-16, 08:12 AM
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I am not a wheel and tire guy, but my opinion, based on what I have seen and read, is that, assuming your lug nuts have the corresponding taper, I would mount the wheels with the taper out. Yes, tire pressure is very important, especially in those smaller tires, but it's just important that the wheels stay on, and the tape is a critical factor in that regard. If you take one of those wheels off and match a lug nut up to it, which you probably have already done, you have or will see a minimal amount of contact on the back side. Without the taper in play, it wouldn't take much shaking for the wheel to shift. I do not know the reason that the taper and valve stems are on opposite sides, but I would side with the taper over the stem. On the other hand, you said that the trailer was homemade and converted from a boat trailer, so it seems possible that the lug nuts were rusty, and maybe whoever did the conversion did not use the correct nuts for those wheels.
 
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Old 09-10-16, 09:17 AM
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Homemade Trailer

Thanks for your reply. Just for the record, I converted this trailer from a wreck that was being used off road on a farm. It had new rims, tires, AND the axle I found in Texas finally as well as lug nuts about 4 years ago. A recently shredded tire prompted a re look at everything, thus all the questions. I admit that I am probably the one who installed the rims for my convenience with the valve stems visable from the outside. I just want to put them back correctly. It makes sense to have as much surface tension between the tapered lug nuts and the rims as possible. It also makes sense if I have to have 100 foot #s of torque. Something is going to bend if I go against the taper on the rims, if a stud doesn't break first.
 
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Old 09-10-16, 04:23 PM
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The simple fix is get new rims and tires that have the stems and lug taper on the outside or just deal with the stem on the inside. You really shouldn't have to check the air pressure very often if the tires are in good condition. I don't know what the torque is for them since I have never torqued any lug nuts, I put them on with an impact wrench. I check the lugs after driving about 25 miles and have never had a wheel come loose on my boat trailer or my vehicles.
 
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Old 09-11-16, 08:23 AM
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Old 09-11-16, 08:44 AM
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I have an old 1955 Lone Star 16' boat and trailer with the 4 bolt hubs and it looks like my studs are 7/16". If yours are the same I'd go 50# or so although I've never used a torque wrench on lug nuts, just snug em up good and call it a day.
 
 

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