15" upgrade on older TMs

[wbmiller3]

This weekend was the first trip after I installed the lift kit and moved up to 15" tires. There were no issues and I didn't notice any difference in ride or handling. However, I did find a couple of tight clearances that I hadn't thought about before doing the upgrade, along with one other issue.

1) Putting a 15" spare on the old-style bumper carrier reduces the clearance to the aft shell when opening or closing the trailer. There was only about a finger's width of clearance as the shell moved over the spare. If there had been interference here, I suppose I would have had to re-work the spare tire carrier to regain clearance.

2) There is also only about a finger's width of clearance between the tire sidewall and the wheel well skirts. I checked it carefully each time we stopped and I saw no evidence of any rubbing so presumably it's OK. If I see evidence of rubbing I suppose I'll have to trim down the skirts. If one of the tires develops a sidewall bubble it could get ugly. For what it's worth, I have no idea what the clearance was here with the original 14" tires. Maybe it was the same.

3) When I went to check the tire pressure before the trip, I found out that my trusty dial gauge only goes up to 60 psia (need to inflate the new tires to 65). My closest auto parts store did not have any dial gauges that went higher, I was forced to buy a cheap plastic digital one with a non-replaceable battery . I'll be looking for a dial gauge with a bigger range online.

[scrubjaysnest]

Glad to here it worked out.

Let us know where you find the dial gauge I've been looking and have not been able to locate any.

[wbmiller3]

JC Whitney has this one http://www.jcwhitney.com/tire-gauge/...id=c21464u0j1# but the shipping is $7 which is too rich for my blood on a $20 item. I'll keep looking and try to find something local.

Update: ordered this one: http://www.amazon.com/Topeak-Shuttle...2443225&sr=8-4

[Barb&Tim]

If you have an Ace Hardware: 10-100psi $6.99

http://www.acehardware.com/product/i...Id=53676369504

Tim

[countrygirl]

Cool info thanks.

[ShrimpBurrito]

Originally Posted by wbmiller3

2) There is also only about a finger's width of clearance between the tire sidewall and the wheel well skirts. I checked it carefully each time we stopped and I saw no evidence of any rubbing so presumably it's OK. If I see evidence of rubbing I suppose I'll have to trim down the skirts. If one of the tires develops a sidewall bubble it could get ugly. For what it's worth, I have no idea what the clearance was here with the original 14" tires. Maybe it was the same.

I had the same problem when I went to 15" wheels, so to give a little more clearance, I simply added a few washers behind the skirt around the bottom screws, which is where I was having clearance issues. It was a roadside fix, as we did the upgrade in the middle of a trip, but it worked like a charm and I haven't changed a thing since.

Originally Posted by wbmiller3

3) When I went to check the tire pressure before the trip, I found out that my trusty dial gauge only goes up to 60 psia (need to inflate the new tires to 65). My closest auto parts store did not have any dial gauges that went higher, I was forced to buy a cheap plastic digital one with a non-replaceable battery . I'll be looking for a dial gauge with a bigger range online.

I have found these to be excellent. They are most accurate in the middle of the range, and you can buy different range gauges. Since my TM's tires are of significantly higher pressure than my TV's tires, I actually bought 2. You can also get all kinds of different chucks on them. They are reasonably priced, and are true bourbon tube gauges, which are supposed to be highly accurate.

http://www.getagauge.com/Tire-Gauges...ge-RDF160X.cfm

You can also get all kinds of different chucks on them, and essentially configure your own:

http://www.getagauge.com/Accu-Gage-HSeries.cfm

Dave

[wbmiller3]

Thanks for the info. Good idea on the washers.