OT...mobile home hubs

Anonymous-0 · Sep 30, 2009

My trailer that I haul my tractor on has mobile home wheels on it, tires are dry rotted to the point now that I'm going to have to replace all 4 before using it again, was told that this wheel is now outlawed in Alabama. I plan on replacing the mobile home hubs with a 6 lug hub that will take a 15" chevy wheel, has anyone else done this yet? What size 15" tire would be best for this application, maybe something like a 225? Was told that law enforcement will ticket anyone pulling a trailer with m.h. wheels if the wheels are on anything other than a mobile home, also was told that some officers after giving you the ticket will require you to have another trailer come haul off the ticketed trailer. In other words, you can't continue pulling the trailer to your destination once you recieve ticket. I plan on playing it safe and will swap hubs,and wheels if I can find some at a reasonable price.

504-2 · Sep 30, 2009

I think the tires in question are labeled HOUSE TRAILER ONLY,They make tires to fit the wheels that say Low Boy tires.

Anonymous-0 · Sep 30, 2009

establish the weights you will be carrying and obtain the tandem with the appropriate rating.

IH2444 · Sep 30, 2009

Are even the hubs/rims legal for non mobile home use though? I thought not.

Mike N Mo · Sep 30, 2009

Before you spend a lot of money for new hubs, find out if the law refers to ANY 14.5" tire, or only those marked "for Mobile Home Use Only". There are DOT approved 14.5" tires available. That being said, I replaced mobile home type hubs on a trailer many years ago with 6-bolt hubs, but don't know what kind they were. probably either Hayes or Dexter. Look for hubs rated at 5200or 6000#. If bearing sizes are the same and hub depth are the same, they should interchange. I used 225/75R 16LT tires on mine, much better tire than a passenger car tire for heavy loads. Mike

TimMiller · Sep 30, 2009

When it comes to axles, i'm trying to figure something out, and this may sound stupid. With RV trailers are they regular axles, and moble home axles actually for the large moble homes, or are mobile home axles put on RV's and mobile homes? I heard mobile home axles are not as beefy as conventional axles due to they are only made for short hauls rather than being pulled all over the place. Also by looking at an axle how do you know if its made for mobile home use or conventional trailer use?

hardscrabble · Sep 30, 2009

I do beleive it is the tires, not the wheels, that are prohibited(although I never understood why). If it is the wheels I"m thinking of, they take 14.5" tubeless tires. That size is available in 7,8, or 9" widths, and 12 or 14 ply. Depending on how many axles are on your trailer, they should be more than adequate for tractor hauling.

Doug in Illinois · Sep 30, 2009

504-2 has it right, you don't really need to replace the hubs, etc. I used to own a three axle gooseneck trailer, it used LOWBOY tires that were 8-14.5 In other words, mobile home style rims.

You could possibly even find a set of DOT approved tires and rims from a mobile home transporter/dealer. If the tire has a DOT number and DOES NOT say mobile home use only you should be OK to install on your trailer. DOUG

john in la · Sep 30, 2009

If I were you I would look into this a little more before buying anything.

The Dayton rims are legal. I have had them on a equiptment trailer before. The tires are labled for Mobile Home Use Only but you could replace them with low boy tires.

Now the axles come into question because most states do not allow the use of them.
The bearings are smaller; the axles are not one piece some times but rather 3 pieces of pipe welded together; and so on.

Anonymous-0 · Sep 30, 2009

I do plan on digging into this deeper before spending too much money, a friend said the mobile home tires being rated for one time use is the problem with law enforcement. I've been using the mobile home tires on my trailer now for 15 years or more and never had a problem other than they don't seem to last very long, mobile home tires just don't get good mileage.Have been through many sets of m.h. tires.

old · Sep 30, 2009

Would you believe that one time thing is 100% BULL since when they haul a mobile home to the dealer that dealer in turn hauls it to the spot it is going then pulls the axles and tires etc then those go back to the place that built that home and they in turn go back under another home. Guess how I know yet I pulled many of them all over the U.S.A. and we hauled many a tire and axle back just to see then put back on. That said go to any good travel trailer place and they can sell you hubs etc that will bolt right on and your good to good or you can go with low boy wheels and tires that will bolt on the the mobile home type set ups and then they can not say a thing

Anonymous-0 · Oct 1, 2009

I have a big tex trailer. I removed the stock axles and put a set of mobil home axles on the trailer. The mobil home axles were twice as heavy as the stock pipe axles. The mobil home axles are 2in solid steel. As for the rims I just buy highway rated 14.5 tires. I think the problem is when the tire says mobil home only. The tire shop tried to sell me a mobil home home tire one time, I said no thanks. Here in Calif I have never seen a pick-up and trailer inspection station. Your state may be different. I think you should make a few phone calls before you spend a lot of money. Only inspections is for large trucks. Stan

confederategeneral · Oct 1, 2009

I dont know who starts these rumors but the al. state troopers here at moulton & decatur al. say its nothing against running these tires and wheels on trailers.In the old days they made moble home wheels 14.5 that was 5 & 6 hole and will fit a chevy and ford truck and fools will some times try to run these on a pickup and this is a no,no troopers will haul you in for this.R.E.Lee

schmuck · Oct 1, 2009

I don't know if it was always this way or not, but like old said, the axles now days are not left with the home but are removed and used over and over. I have an 18' trailer made from an old mobile home frame and I've had the hubs off to re-pack the bearings when I first got it and the bearings in those hubs are definitely NOT something that look like they were only meant for one time use. I've had several 4-ton plus skid steers on it and I'm sure not worried about hurting them. As far as tires go, it makes sense that some DOT officials would frown on stuff marked mobile home use only, but I'm not sure why you would get checked, but I'm only familiar with things in Missouri and Kansas. I do know for a fact that in the early 80's a company called Custom Craft based in south central Missouri used mobile home axles/hubs on special built trailers to haul fiberglass pick-up toppers as far away as Alaska. They did finally switch to 15" wheels and 6-lug hubs so the tires could be balanced and therefore would last a lot longer.

ericlb · Oct 1, 2009

as others have said call the dot office and ask the officials directly, rumors start when 1 particular set of axles are outlawed, probably due to the way they were cobbled onto a home made trailer, the ticketed owner missunderstood,it wasnt the axles that were a problem it was the instalation that was wrong, ive used mobile home axles for years one trailer i use was built in the early '70's and its still on the road its been frequently looked over and never a problem, the tires have all been replaced with "lowboy use" tires thru the years, but this subject may vary state to state so call the man...

Doug - Iowa · Oct 1, 2009

I've used the axles for years with no problems, but I suppose you can be cited for anything these days as the regulations are too complex for the average joe to comply. Or I've just been lucky, who knows.

To solve the odd size rim issue, I set the MH hubs up in the lathe and cut back the clamp area flat to provide a nice flat area for a rim. Then had the local weld shop laser some wheel centers to match the bolt pattern out of 3/8 cold rolled and welded them into 15" wheel blanks I bought from the race car shop. I welded them in the lathe so they run true. I used 1/2NC grade 8 studs with oversize nuts and lock washers like we used to run on those uni-lug mag wheels years ago. I use 10 ply trailer tires and the system has worked great with hard construction use for 15+ years.
I traded up to tandem duals trailer last year but I still see my old trailer with the same setup around now and then. We got plans to build another one this winter for our scaffold trailer.

kyplowboy · Oct 1, 2009

I did this, well kind of. My W-W stock trailer was wore out twice when I got it 7 years ago. My brother was pulling in the drive way move'n back home from college and one of he axels broke right at the spring. Got it apart and both were about to break at the other 3 springs. Got to looking around new axles were worth a whole lot more than the trailer and regular new pipe wasn't much better. There is a new moble home dealer here that doesn't send axles and wheels back, he tosses'm in a pile and sells them. $35 tire and wheel, $50 for an axle. Had a buddy of mine weld the 6 bolt chevy pattern hubs on the MH axles. Has worked good for 3 years now.

Dave

INCase · Oct 1, 2009

Had an engineer co-worker that used to work for an axle manf. here in northern Indiana. They said mobile home axles (at least those used in the last 10 years or so) were absolutely NOT designed for everyday use, period, no if ands or buts.

Now, since you can "make a homemade trailer" I can't see how they could fuss about hubs/axles. But they could if the tires do not have the right DOT ratings, if you don't have the right brakes ect ect.

Good luck

Kris Golden · Oct 1, 2009

an angle grinder easily removes the wording on the sidewall to where it doesn't say "mobile home use only" and well, Sorry ossifer, I guess the tire has rubbed the curb somewhere???

Chris in SK · Oct 1, 2009

I took this off the Saskatchewan Gov web site. Couldn’t find any mention of MH tires. I'm a long way from Alabama so it may be different there...

Axles

If you’re thinking of building your own trailer, do not use mobile home or single-use axles. These axles don’t meet any standards and are not load rated by manufacturer. The brakes are electric and are designed to be used only a few times or for approximately 1,600 km of service.

Axle width is equally important. Do not take an axle that is wider than needed, cut a section out and re-weld the axle together. Use of a re-welded axle can be dangerous. Even more dangerous is the practice of adding a section to the axle to widen it. Always select axles of proper width for the trailer design.

S2710 · Oct 1, 2009

I checked with the state trooper today and he is also the DOT inspector in our area. He said that all tires that are on a mobile home going down the hiway have to be DOT approved or you will get a ticket. This is Wisconsin so I don't know about any other state. I also have a trailer with mobile home axels under it and they are a lot heavier then my sons trailer which is factory built. Bob

Dave Sherburne NY · Oct 1, 2009

I bought a new factory built trailer in 2003
The 14.5 inch tires say LOWBOY on them, The rim
looks and mounts just like a mobile home rim on the
Dexter Axles. I think the police disapprove of
tires that say mobile home on them unless they are
under a mobile home.

Anonymous-0 · Oct 1, 2009

What ply are the lowboy tires and what price range are they? And will they hold up longer than mobile home tires?

Clodbuster · Oct 1, 2009

As with everything, there are many MH axles and they are not all alike. I have used many and some had a hollow pipe stub where the bearings are. Some axles are rated at 6,750# and tagged as such. Most of them do have nice heavy pipe between the hubs.

504-2 · Oct 1, 2009

Lowboy tires are 10ply I think, I have not mounted any for 7 years. If you ever looked at all of the dry cracking in mobile home tires you would not trust them across town.

Anonymous-0 · Oct 2, 2009

Mobile home axles and wheels are illegal in a lot of areas. Why have all the confusion and possible problems? I've heard that certain backing plates are the reason but more importantly, the clips that hold the rim to the hub can come loose after continued use. Generally mobile homes aren't towed around like RV's. If I was building or modifying a trailer, I'd just put proper trailer axles on in the first place and be done with it. I think it's cheap insurance. Dave

Anonymous-0 · Oct 3, 2009

I found some 5 hole trailer hubs yesterday evening that are on the 5x5-1/2 bolt pattern such as a Ford pickup rim, have not checked the bearing sizes yet but hope they will fit my spindles since I took them off of an old mobile home frame. Will save me a lot of money if they fit as I already have 4 Ford pickup wheels.

j woo · Nov 24, 2009

mobile home tires axles wheels ect work but as one reader stated tire mileage completely sucks!! you can utilize 8 14.5 or 9 14.5 lowboy tires with a flat tire face and they will last two to three times longer than standard m.h only marked tires.there is nothing wrong with the spindles or bearings although some are odd sized,axle tubes can be reinforced with heavy angle iron and i have done this many times,in short if you are handy with a welder this is an easy fix as long as the tubes are not bent.I have a tri axle goose neck trailer that I use to haul a 500c john deer and it works and has for 14 yrs the heavy 3200 pound load range g tires made this posible.I have since done what another reader engineered,cut the hub face flat where the bolts thread in and made a set of 16 in rims for it this works alot better.there is no match for the dual tandom setup though as many readers know tri axle setups suck any way! and as for legistics the state of NM will not register any utilitie trailer with mh rims tires on it unless it grandfathered in that means no new ones! so as far as the issue goes with me they work but you can do better

j woo · Nov 24, 2009

you can get good 8 14.5 lowboy tires load range g for about 85 dollars those hubs you got will probably not fit lots of luck on that!! look on the net for lowboy tires not mh mh tires are too soft get the heavyduity ones and they will last you!! dont run them low! ever!! thats where everyone messes up,theyare too thick even MH tires will last about as long as a 675.15 if you keep them full that means about 100psi and up!!they are actualy made to haul one heck of a load at low speeds,the lowboy tires are way underated in weight ratio purposfuly by the manufacturer for safety because of the use of mh rims and mounting brackets comonly used with them,they are verry good tires but get em on straight and air them up and you wont have to mess with them for quite a while

OT...mobile home hubs

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