I bought a trailer a while back, made from a bed/frame of a 1995 F150. Came with some aftermarket aluminum rims that I'm trying to identify. I'm esp. trying to determine the rim width, because they desperately need tires. The push-through caps say American Racing, but that doesn't mean much. I haven't found this design anywhere online yet.



I tried measuring the width through one of the slots, using a straightedge (well, a piece of flat lumber) on the inboard and outboard faces of the rim, and WAGging it with subtracting for the thickness of the bead lip. I came up with aprx. 7.5". But I don't see any 15x7.5 rims out there, only 15x7 and 15x8. So knowing which of these it is will help me narrow down what tire sizes will filt.

It's got 31x10.5x15 LTs on it now, which are, as you can see, nearly to the wear bars.




That's roughly close to a 265/75/15 using the metric system. There's quite a bit of sidewall bulge, which tells me it's a pretty wide tire for the rim. So who's a good eyeballer? Based on the numbers, and the amount of sidewall bulge you see, can anyone venture a guess as to whether this is a 7" or 8" rim?

Also, as you can see, I need a lug stud. I might just replace them all, and get some fresh nuts. Anyone know the right stud size offhand? I believe U-Haul has quite a few sizes on their eBay surplus site.

 

Those are probably 7" wide but it makes little difference on the tire for your needs.
Just figure how much weight that trailer will have in it max. Then tell them you want a set of tires for a "trailer" it makes a difference in the load rating. Trailer tires are going to be a heavier rated tire. Will not be as wide as you have there would be my guess.
Prior owner was going for a bit of looks cool factor when he bought those.
In all honesty I did the same thing with my quad trailer. I also have 15" wheels and put on a set of 12" wide tires. I gave up load rating doing that but 5,500 lbs was more than enough for my purpose.

The tread looks pretty flat so I would say you can get the same size if you like the look and the load rating is enough.

Good Luck with that. BTW I do like those wheels they look good.

 

Well it's still an F150 bed and frame, so I would think load rating it as such would make more sense. It's more the tire width I'm shooting for. Question is - what tire width range would fit these rims?

And there's no one to "tell" what tires I need/want. I spent $150 on the trailer; I intend to spend less than that on tires, which means I'm buying used on CL. That's why I need to know in advance what sizes would fit. Worst case, I'll pull one and leave that side on a stand, then find someone who can dismount the tire so I can measure the rim, and go from there. I don't think the PO was going for a "look"; no doubt he just found a matching pair of rims and tires in his collection.

 

Those rims should have the size and weight rating cast into them on the back side. Anything made in the last 40 years or so has that info if it's a DOT approved wheel.

Used tires--check the "born on date" and look them over good.

 

Thanks, I was wondering about a size stamped somewhere. Didn't see anything obvious, but the original brake backing plates are still there, so I reckon I'll pull one and get a better look.

 

First I would not get a "trailer only" tire. If you go over to the trailer towing area and read all the issues they have with trailer only tires you would understand.


I also have never ran a trailer only tire on any of my trailers. My car trailer I run H78/15 LT tires on it. When did they stop listing "Hxx" tires? Tread wise they are like new and I have towed a lot of miles on them. 4 times from CT to OH, 5 trips from CT to NC, too many trips on east cost to race tracks to list.


What was the stock size tire for that year bed? Maybe a 235/75/15? If so now go to Tire Rack's site look up that size tire and it will list the rim size it should fit.
If it fits a 7" wide wheel then you know what size tire to go for.


A trailer tire is not going to wear like a car/truck tire will so if the tires are not dry rotted and cracked you still have a lot of miles left on them.
I had the same make & size tires on a 86 K5 diesel Blazer and loved them. Think 3 sets in 230K miles I put on the truck.


Just saying what works for me.
Dave ----

 

Thanks again. Yeah, I think the letter width designation, along with the ubiquitous 78 profile, went away in aprx. the late '70s. My dad's cars always had FR78s, G78s, etc. My '80 Omni had... hmmm... 175s?

Well I pulled the wheel, and thankfully, it's a 15x7, not a 15x8. So a LOT more "middle of the road", and therefore more choices in the used arena. In fact, the 10.5 tires on them are wider than what should be mounted on these rims.

Anyone know about the lug thread/length? Still researching that.

 

Those look like wheels from a Ranger or Explorer if that helps any.

 

Well they're marked "ARE Inc." on the back side, so I'm guessing that's American Racing. Did Ford source from AR like they did with Alcoa?

Managed to get the bent stud out, too. I used one of these - https://www.harborfreight.com/3-4-qu...tor-99849.html - just had to file a bit of the head off on either side to get it to span. Fortunately I can source a replacement locally. Unfortunately it's Dorman.