Troubleshooting the Removal of Tire and Wheel Rim on Old Trailer

Updated 08/02/2020 | Published 07/29/2020

Question:

1996 Zieman with original tires and rims never removed. Tires are flat and I need to remove but bolts 5 lug won’t budge! They look more like bolts as opposed to lug nuts. Any ideas?

asked by: Marty B

Helpful Expert Reply:

Whether your trailer has wheel bolts or lug nuts they will still remove in the same way about 99 percent of the time so you would simply use a tire wrench or what is called a breaker bar with a socket. For increased leverage sometimes a longer bar or pipe is needed to assist. You may want to use a penetrating oil or WD-40 at the closest part of the lug nut or wheel bolts to the threads. Then a little vibration from a rubber mallet or other hammer that won't damage the components

The 1 percent that is different is when there is a reverse threaded wheel bolt. This would rotate in the opposite direction so I recommend reaching out to the manufacturer with your vin or serial number to assist.

It appears since you asked the question from the Karrier ST175/80R13 Radial Trailer Tire with 13" White Wheel - 5 on 4-1/2 - Load Range D # AM31985 that you want to replace both the wheel and tire. You will want to match the bolt pattern of your hubs and use the same size tires which will have numbers printed on the sidewall. If these match, this is a great option. All our combinations are ready to be installed on your trailer without any additional balancing needed. Just check the air pressure and you'll be good to go. I've also linked the page to all the options we currently carry to assist if you are interested in a different style, load capacity, or bolt pattern.

expert reply by: Jason S