Will Upgrading 6 Lug Hubs to 8 Lug Hubs Increase Trailer Capacity

Published 07/30/2021

Question:

Hi i bought a 66 miller tilt trailer. I need to install electric brakes. I bought the 12x2 backing plate with shoes and everything but my current drums wont work with the new brake assembly. It has mobile home style drums so i went to switch to the regular style but im debaiting if i should go 8 lug or 6 lug. My axles are 6k lb axles so from what i read the 6 lug would be ok. But it would be nice to go with the 8 lug if it will give me a little more capacity. But not sure if it really would since all im doing is changing the drums and the wheels. The axles will still be the same. They did look pretty beefy though. Like they can actually handle more weight than what are rated for. thanks.

asked by: Christian E

Helpful Expert Reply:

Simply upgrading to a higher capacity hub won't necessarily increase the capacity of your trailer. You will still be limited to the capacity of the lowest rated component, whether it be the hub, the axle, the wheels or tires or even the structure of the trailer itself.

In order to swap out your hubs to a different bolt pattern, you'll need to choose hubs that are compatible with your existing spindles. If you can provide the reference numbers from the existing bearings, I can check to see what we have that's compatible. If the reference numbers aren't there or are unreadable, if you could provide the inside diameter of the inner and outer wheel bearing to the thousandth of an inch, I can usually determine which bearings they are.

Just a heads-up, though. If the axles you have are mobile home axles, be aware that because mobile home axles are intended for a one-time use only, there typically aren't much in the way of replacement parts available for them so you might find yourself needing to replace the entire axle or at least the spindle so you can use modern hubs and brake assemblies that have replacement parts available for them.

expert reply by: Mike L