User Tag List

Thanks Thanks:  0
Likes Likes:  0
Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 23
  1. #1
    Seasoned Camper PaulCalvin's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Location
    Carleton, Nova Scotia
    Posts
    100
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

    Wheels for 303RLS

    We are getting a new 303RLS soon. Have struck a deal here in Canada on a 2015 model and will pick it up as soon as we can.
    For those who have changed the 15's to 16's what exactly did you put on your trailer for wheels and tires (size and rating, material etc) and where did you get them ?
    Do you think the 16's are worth the extra, does it make a difference in towing?
    Its not an option for us to order a trailer with the tire option becuz of the American dollar now, the cost difference would be punitive. So I am on my own if I want to switch.

    Thanks for your help

  2. #2
    Site Team WhittleBurner's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Sitting in the sun! FL for along while
    Posts
    8,061
    Blog Entries
    19
    Mentioned
    90 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Marcy and I bought our 303 last January. We had ordered it with 16 inch wheels, but the dealer forgot to put that down on the order. When it came in they had to order them and put them on afterwards. Well what we found out, that by doing that the trailer wasn't set up for them. What we found was that the trailer is bottoming out on the tires. If they had ordered the trailer with 16 inch they would have used the longer brackets from the 337 which comes with 16 inch wheels. Now the dealer has to put in 2 inch spacers to make it work. I would suggest ordering the trailer with the tires to avoid the added expense and trouble down the road.
    Marcy & Gary
    2014 Grand Design - Reflection 303RLS
    2022 GMC 3500 Denali Duramax Longbed SRW
    2015 GMC Denali 3500 - Retired
    2003 F350 - retired
    Michigan
    We're in trouble now, the dog are bloggin'!
    https://3dogsandatrailer.wordpress.com/


  3. #3
    Rodney
    Guest
    Hi, just picked mine up from dealer last week. Had the dealer put 16 inch tires and wheels on. Biggest reason for me was to make it ride more level. I pull with a Ram 2500 4x4, and the truck would make it ride nose high. Wheels help along with lowering hitch in bed of truck. First outing was this past weekend, and so far so good. No bottoming out for us, and I have been watching it. Worth the money in my opinion.

    Rodney

  4. #4
    Long Hauler Paul & Deb's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2014
    Location
    Carlsbad, CA
    Posts
    2,959
    Mentioned
    10 Post(s)
    Tagged
    3 Thread(s)
    Gary is correct. i upgraded my last 5th wheel to 16" and it created a new set of problems. The trailer was hitting the top of the tires and I was in a position where I needed to lift the trailer. I spent a good deal of time researching and I thought I would go with 2" spacers but a number of suspension shops that deal with trailers warned against it. They all suggested a 2" (or whatever) sub-frame. Basically they removed the axles and all existing brackets, fabricate the sub-frame, re-weld all the brackets and re-install the axles. Most quotes were close to a grand. You need to have a good 3" between the top of the tire and the floor of the trailer. They poo pooed the spacers due to the extreme lateral forces that are put on a trailer suspension during tight turns, especially when backing.

    Anyway, the move from 15" to 16" is a good upgrade but you need to be prepared to do it right.
    Paul "Poppy" and Deb Cervone
    2022 Imagine XLS 22MLE
    2021 Imagine XLS 17MKE - SOLD ; 2015 Grand Design Reflection 337RLS - SOLD
    2016 GMC Denali 3500HD SRW Duramax/Allison CC 4x4; Tire Minder TPMS

  5. #5
    Site Sponsor Cate&Rob's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
    Posts
    8,880
    Mentioned
    85 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Gary & Poppy . . . Interesting confirmation of what GD said would happen if sufficient clearance was not maintained at the top of the tire. On another thread GD stated that unloaded design jounce clearance is 4" . . . and I think they said loaded clearance should still be at least 3". Just adding 2" or more to the OD of the tire is going to significantly reduce this required space.

    Is anyone aware of Reflection 303RLS that was factory built with 16" wheels ? Pictures of the suspension on such a unit would help us understand how Lippert would have accomplished this.

    PaulCalvin, I presume you have a tall TV and need to raise the RV to be able to tow reasonably level ? Otherwise, the original 15" wheels and tires are rated to safely carry the 303.

    Rob
    Cate & Rob
    2015 Reflection 303RLS

  6. #6
    Long Hauler
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    NW AL/NE GA Mountains
    Posts
    2,083
    Mentioned
    4 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Regarding your tire size, most use LT235-85-16" that are E rated.

    I bought Bridgestone Duravis R250 ribbed tires at Costco for $197 each, not including mounting. With steel belts wrapping from bead to bead, they're a really heavy duty tire.

    We had a blowout on my tow vehicle last night, and replacement tires were ordered. I again found Costco's prices to be better than the big internet retailers like TreadDepot, Discount Tire Direct and TireRack.

  7. #7
    Seasoned Camper PaulCalvin's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Location
    Carleton, Nova Scotia
    Posts
    100
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by Cate&Rob View Post
    Gary & Poppy . . . Interesting confirmation of what GD said would happen if sufficient clearance was not maintained at the top of the tire. On another thread GD stated that unloaded design jounce clearance is 4" . . . and I think they said loaded clearance should still be at least 3". Just adding 2" or more to the OD of the tire is going to significantly reduce this required space.

    Is anyone aware of Reflection 303RLS that was factory built with 16" wheels ? Pictures of the suspension on such a unit would help us understand how Lippert would have accomplished this.

    PaulCalvin, I presume you have a tall TV and need to raise the RV to be able to tow reasonably level ? Otherwise, the original 15" wheels and tires are rated to safely carry the 303.

    Rob
    Well I have a 2005 GMC duramax, not as tall as some, no lift, but I do run 18 inch wheels. I seen a pic of a 303 RLS being towed by a 2wd dodge and it was level so I am thinking i might be high with my truck. Strangely enough my current 5th is a 2007 JAyco RLS and it has 3 adjustments on frame brackets to drop the wheels of the trailer up to 3 inches. I have it in the lowest of positions and its not level but is close. Why dont they just incorporate this kind of thing in all trailers, it always amazes me how they seem to miss the obvious. Anyway I will wait and see when I hook it up. I did get the salesman to check and he said the trailer was built to take the 16 inch wheels.

  8. #8
    Seasoned Camper PaulCalvin's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Location
    Carleton, Nova Scotia
    Posts
    100
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by Bamaman View Post
    Regarding your tire size, most use LT235-85-16" that are E rated.

    I bought Bridgestone Duravis R250 ribbed tires at Costco for $197 each, not including mounting. With steel belts wrapping from bead to bead, they're a really heavy duty tire.

    We had a blowout on my tow vehicle last night, and replacement tires were ordered. I again found Costco's prices to be better than the big internet retailers like TreadDepot, Discount Tire Direct and TireRack.
    So are you saying you blew one of the Bridgestone Duravis tires? Was it old and worn?

  9. #9
    Site Sponsor 2hams's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    Virginia Beach, VA
    Posts
    764
    Blog Entries
    21
    Mentioned
    4 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    We had changed our previous trailer from 15" to 16" wheels so we could run LT tires. We wanted the LT for the higher speed rating. The ability to put 16" wheels on was one of our must have features. We coordinated with Grand Design (Micah Staley) and our 303 came from the factory prepped for the clearance.

    We swapped the wheels and tires from our trade in to the 303. We got the wheels from tredit.com. The tires were B/F Goodrich Commercial T/As. Those tires were from the dates of the big recall for tread separation, but our size wasn't recalled. After our blowout/tread separation last spring, we changed to the Bridgestone Duravis R250. We got them at the local Firestone store. It was about $850 for 4 tires installed and balanced. We kept our old 16" spare as it had replaced a tire with a nail in the sidewall and wasn't that old. Our local Costco won't mount LT tires on a trailer. So far no problems.

    Kay & Dave - Virginia Beach, VA
    Golden Retriever Molly - Been swimming in 28 states
    2019 Solitude 310GK
    2019 GMC Denali CC/LB SRW
    Previous rig: 2014 Reflection 303RLS #314 and 2008 Silverado 2500 D/A

  10. #10
    Long Hauler
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    NW AL/NE GA Mountains
    Posts
    2,083
    Mentioned
    4 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by PaulCalvin View Post
    So are you saying you blew one of the Bridgestone Duravis tires? Was it old and worn?
    No. I blew a Toyo Open Country tire on my tow vehicle. The Duravis R250's are on my 323BHS. My truck tires are getting worn, but I was trying to get another few months out of them before replacing. Costco locally doesn't stock 3/4 ton truck tires, but they're getting me a set of Michelins from the local tire distributor. I'm moving my fiver home from Gatlinburg tomorrow--before we head to Vegas and Hawaii for the rest of February.

    As far as I can tell, you cannot wear out a Duravis ribbed tire. Mileage of 140,000 miles are common even when they're on heavy 1 ton work trucks.

Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. Changing to 16 Inch Wheels on 303RLS
    By MLCOEN in forum General Discussion
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 04-30-2017, 07:46 PM
  2. Replies: 20
    Last Post: 09-21-2016, 05:19 PM
  3. 16 inch wheels on the 303RLS
    By KeithS in forum General Discussion
    Replies: 21
    Last Post: 12-24-2015, 06:13 PM
  4. Wheels for 303RLS
    By PaulCalvin in forum General Discussion
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 02-02-2015, 11:55 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

DISCLAIMER:This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Grand Design RV, LLC or any of its affiliates. This is an independent site.