Guest WEB 38 Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Has any one used wheel spacers to put 4.5 wheels on a open car trailer with 5.5 hubs? Is there any thing that I should be aware of doing doing this? Thanks Bill WEB 38 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Roth Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 First , the obvious:5.5" hubs would likely have been installed with greater weight capacity intended, and for typically heavier axle weight.4.5" hubs are generally used for axles with 3,500 lb capacity,so you might want to be certain that you are not carrying weight in excess of your wheel/tire configurationNext, and possibly of even greater concern:by using the spacers to allow for a different bolt circle, you are also moving load bearing surface farther outward with relation to your bearings, and therefore changing the load on the inner & outer wheel bearings.You could wind up with bearing failure, or worse still, hub failure and a broken axle.Are you just trying to get by with cheaper rims and tires, or trying to use equipment you already have, rather than buying good quality new tires?Neither is a really good idea when you consider the value of the car you'll be trailering. We've all seen too many trailers on the side of the road.Not trying to preach, but sometimes cheaping-out doesn't work out so well..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan at larescorp Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 I agree with Marty. IMHO using a wheel spacer/adapter on a car hauler just screams bad idea to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countrytravler Posted April 21, 2013 Share Posted April 21, 2013 Illegal too. Big trouble if a axle is broken and causes a accident. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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