17.5" wheels on 2004 33RS3

[Max & Judy]

Hi,
We recently purchased an immaculate 2004 Mobile Suite, so I have been reading the forums about them. Thankfully, this lead me to the plastic blocks in the bedroom slide. They were intact but both were cracked. I removed them and duplicated them with UHMW. My next fear is the wheels and tires. The trailer tows excellent and I checked all the axle and shock hangar welds they all look great. The wheels are chrome steel wheels (couldn't find a brand name but they are made in Korea) And the tires are new Goodyear G614 load range G. For those of you that have changed these older units whith leaf spring axles to 17.5" wheels and tires. Where did you get them? How did you determine which wheels would fit? My axles appear to have a 4.750 Hub Pilot and 9/16 studs. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Max

[westx]

I changed my 03 out to 17.5 that had 9/16 studs on it to 17.5 . Got rims and tires from Trailor tire and wheels phone 419-272-2277 they shipped tires mounted and balance they were wrapped great took longer to unwrap than to mount.

[wingnut60]

Welcome to the forum--I owned an '05 36TKE that I did exactly what you are considering. It will be a great move toward eliminating any future tire problems.
As mentioned, TrailerTiresandWheels.com has been supplying these changeovers for many years and that is where I got mine.
Yes, you should have the 9/16" lug studs, and the bolt pattern is 8 on 6.5" center--TTW will know exactly what you are telling them. The wheels/studs should be lug-centric and not hub-centric----meaning the lug nuts center the wheels on the hug.
Too bad about the new GY tires, but you should be able to sell tires and wheels quickly on Craigslist locally.
Check out the TTW website and take a look at the available wheels and pick what strikes you. As to the tires--GY/Michelin are great, but will be $$$; ask about Sailun tires, they are chinese but I had them on my '05 for 2 years (inc AK trip) and they were in great shape when I traded it recently.
TTW will mount, balance and ship direct to you whatever your choices are.
Joe

[Stripit]

Have you weighed the trailer yet? A 33 ft should be fine with the upgraded G tires, as many of the 33 ft trailers originally came with E rated. H tires would be so much more than you probably will ever need for capacity.

[Max & Judy]

Thanks Don and Joe,
I will check TTW out. Also thanks for clearing up the Hub/Stud piloted.
Stripit, That's excellent advice. I just got worried when I read all the stuff about tire failures on DRVs, I lost all common sense! I will get the coach weighed. I have owned 3 fifth wheels before this, A 36ft 3 slide Alfa, A 40 foot 2 slide HR, and a 36 foot 3 slide HitchHiker and never had tire problems with quality, maintained 16s. I have had 2 travel trailers and a tongue pull toyhauler and had plenty of tire problems on new 15s though.

[anijet]

A typically loaded 33' probably doesn't have more than about 3300# per wheel. The G tires are rated for 3750#. As Stripit suggested, get it weighed and make a decision from there.

As a point of reference my 36 has about 3500# on the driver's side and 3150# on the curb side lightly loaded for a short trip with all tanks empty.

[Cummins12V98]

Personally for that weight RV I would stick with the GY "G" tires as they have a VERY good track record since mid 07.

[Max & Judy]

Thanks For All The Great Advice. I will get it weighed after the DW finishes loading it up :-). Then I will decide whether I need more margin or not....
Max

[scout4eagles]

I bought a used 2010 36TKSB3 with an additional bedroom slide in 2015. Before I bought it I researched the tire loading problems that DRV's with 16 inch rims and the blowout problem. I contacted DRV and they told me name of the rim manufacturer. The company name is HiSpec Wheel & Tire in Mishawaka Indiana. I ordered 4 new rim/tires for less than some dealer's were asking for the tires (17.5" LR H tires and machined aluminium rims). I bought the DRV near Mishawaka and I picked the tires up at HiSpec and had the RV dealer install them for me. I forgot to mention that my RV did have a blowout while still in the dealer's possession while the were driving it to another location for an upgrade they were unable to do prior to my picking up the RV. Best investment I made was those tires.

[scout4eagles]

Oh, another time bit of info. I scaled my truck and RV right after picking it up and the RV weighed in at 17,300lbs with a pin weight of 4,300lbs. The weight was after we loaded the RV with our stuff and with a full load of 100 gal of water. My 2015 Chevy 3500HD Dually with fuel, people and dog almost max out the trucks allowable weight.

[wingnut60]

That was a smart thing to do--you should never have a problem with the 17.5s due to overloading. Did the same with my '05 36TK3 and had one flat in over 80000 miles of towing--screw in sidewall.

[Max & Judy]

Thanks For the info, We loaded the 5th wheel and took it to New Mexico and I am certain that I will have the 17.5s on it before it leaves New Mexico. I may have an F550 or F650 tow vehicle. This DRV is smaller than my Hitchhiker But it is definitely much heavier. My 1998 dodge ram 3500 dually 12V cummins had it's tongue hanging out.

Max

[wingnut60]

Unless you need a 550/650 type vehicle, or just feel better with one, any of the new dually pickups with handle that trailer.
I can understand the result with the '98 Ram, they just were workhorses and not ideal for fivers.

[Stripit]

I agree with wingnut, unless you find a smoking hot deal on a F550 or larger truck those would be way more than necessary to safely move & stop your trailer. Some of the newer F-350/3500 series trucks are bruts and can do you fine, plus have all the comforts that the larger trucks don't have, namly smoother ride.

[Cummins12V98]

What "allowable" weight are you talking about?