Hi all Iv bought a caddy 530 trailer and not knowing much about trailers it’s only got 8” wheels on will this trailer be ok going from West Yorkshire to Devon or should I be buying a trailer with bigger wheels on. Thanks.
What has the diameter of the trailer wheels got to do with anything?
Providing that you have the trailer tyres inflated to the correct pressures then it shouldn't raise any concerns. Many years ago I towed a small camping trailer from the Midlands over the hills to Wales and back and down to south Devon without any issues.
The fact of the matter is that a 8” Wheel trailer will pick up more punctures than a 13” Wheel trailer, and the wheel bearings on a 8” trailer will wear out before the ones on a 13” wheel trailer.
The bearings on a smaller wheel may well do more revolutions per minute than that of a larger one but providing that the taper bearings are set up correctly and the right type of grease is applied (high melting point grease) then they should give many years of service without any issues. Yes, they may require maintenance annually depending on the miles covered but I cannot see why a smaller tyre is by any means a higher risk of receiving a puncture than any other tyre so a little more information on this matter would be somewhat beneficial.
I used to have a Erde 102 trailer with 8" wheels. Used to tow in from Liverpool to Devon regularly and never had a problem with the wheels or bearings.
I used to have an 8" wheel trailer and had an unfortunate experience because I had the tyres under inflated, they can take around 55 or 60 psi and I only had them inflated to around 35, going round a corner under load one of the tyres came off the rim. My advice would be to take a spare, check your tyre pressures and don't over load, put the heavy stuff at the bottom and a centrally over the axle. Keeping the centre of gravity low and central will reduce the risk of an accident.
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