57 Trotwood
Active Member
Posts: 128 
Likes: 67
Currently Offline
|
Post by 57 Trotwood on Feb 24, 2021 8:11:54 GMT -8
I know a lot of you have scratched your head about how on earth are you going to fix a flat on your camper when your wheel well is not radiused but straight across. There are ways to make removing the wheel easier, letting the air out of the spare, jacking up the body and letting the axle drop.
Sometime this summer i will be done with the inside of my camper. I have built new walls and I am now working on the cabinets. So having the time to think, has anyone modified their wheel wells by adding the radius or perhaps a removable wheel well skirt like a 70's Pontiac where they sat in slots and had a lever mechanism to remove them?
I think this is doable and it would relieve one more road side issue. Please share some thoughts or suggestions.
|
|
|
|
Post by vikx on Feb 24, 2021 10:33:30 GMT -8
I enlarged the wheel wells on my 52 Hanson: opened 2" on either lower end arced up into the original curve. It helped "a little" but the tires still have to be flat to mount. The tires are 195/75R?/15 which is fairly narrow. I may go with bias ply when the Hanson is ready for the road. My tire shop blamed modern wheel offset and radial tire width on the tight fit.
One thing I discovered is that brakes make a huge difference in tire/wheel fit on vintage trailers. My twin 57 Shasta 1500s were identical but one had optional brakes. Without brakes, 205 tires with original wheels were a good fit. (flattened for mounting) The Shasta with brakes had weird low profile tires that still would not clear the brake and hubs to mount. Both wood wheel well edges were cracked from forceful mounting/dismounting.
I like the idea of removable skirts.
|
|
57 Trotwood
Active Member
Posts: 128
Likes: 67
Currently Offline
|
Post by 57 Trotwood on Feb 24, 2021 12:13:39 GMT -8
I enlarged the wheel wells on my 52 Hanson: opened 2" on either lower end arced up into the original curve. It helped "a little" but the tires still have to be flat to mount. The tires are 195/75R?/15 which is fairly narrow. I may go with bias ply when the Hanson is ready for the road. My tire shop blamed modern wheel offset and radial tire width on the tight fit. One thing I discovered is that brakes make a huge difference in tire/wheel fit on vintage trailers. My twin 57 Shasta 1500s were identical but one had optional brakes. Without brakes, 205 tires with original wheels were a good fit. (flattened for mounting) The Shasta with brakes had weird low profile tires that still would not clear the brake and hubs to mount. Both wood wheel well edges were cracked from forceful mounting/dismounting. I like the idea of removable skirts. Thankyou Vikx I appreciate your thoughts. |
|
|
|
Post by Teachndad on Mar 1, 2021 22:36:21 GMT -8
Hi Friends, I know this is late in responding. I have a trailer that came with original fenderskirts. It’s one of the reasons I bought it. It can give you an idea what fenderskirts might look like.  Here is the trailer without the fenderskirts. Looks like a typical rectangular cut out.  The lower picture shows a close up of the fenderskirt in place. As you can see, it’s attached with small screws every few inches. It may have originally had a gasket over the edge, not sure though. I figured out, that Hehr glass seal can be run along the top and side edges of the fenderskirt for a more finished look. That’s what I was going to do anyway at some point. 
I should mention that my Rod and Reel has a very unique sheet metal roll at the bottom of the walls. you can kind of see it in the above photo. It rolls inward at the bottom. It's not just straight at the bottom. Cheers, Rod |
|
57 Trotwood
Active Member
Posts: 128
Likes: 67
Currently Offline
|
Post by 57 Trotwood on Mar 2, 2021 4:50:48 GMT -8
Thankyou Teachndad, That looks like what I want to do. It just makes so much sense.
|
|
|
|
Post by Teachndad on Mar 2, 2021 23:04:06 GMT -8
Glad it helps.  Just to add, the screws that hold on the fenderskirt are screwed into a backerboard behind it. It's not just screwed into the skin. Cheers, Rod |
|
