Trucks & Trailers - Best place to buy Aluminum Rims with Tires?

Had a sidewall blowout with one of my 4 year old tires coming back from NC to MD. Luckily no damage and I was able to change the tire and finish the trip.

Although the tires did not show any signs of cracking, dryrot, etc and the tread is good, I will go ahead and change them all before my next trip.

Does anyone have a recommendations for the best prices to order 4 tire / rims ? Searching the internet, I am getting prices of around $900 shipped for radial 225 / 75 R-15, 6 lug, D rated.

Looking for this style aluminum rim:

I like those.

Eastern marine,
eTrailer.com,
Shadowtrailers.com

Timely post...i am planing on changing out my tires and wheels too. Thanks bc22

I payed extra for aluminum rims on my new trailer, and now I wish I had purchased galvanized rims. The problem with boat trailer aluminum rims is that they are not anodized. You cannot find an anodized 6 lug anywhere. All they do is coat them with clear coat. So, long story short, the salt water penetrated the clear coat on my rims and now they look horrible. In addition, the studs are made of steel, so the steel to aluminum contact has an electrolysis effect which induces corrosion.

If I had to do it all over again I would have saved $400 and gone with the galvanized. The galvanized rim is much stronger too. Save your money.

Nice point hotdog but i use a lift so the wheels never hit salt water

bc22 - thanks for the sites.

Hotdog - good point and I have heard that. I would like to hear more from people that do trailer back and forth to ramps and dunk their trailers on how their aluminum rims are holding up. I see more galvinized that aluminum rims for sure. The aluminum ones I have seen look good. No way of knowing how old they are or how much salt water they see.

i know that my galvanized lost their shine very quickly and look pretty dingy now. Maybe there are better quality galvized ones out therre that I should look at.

I do always rinse the trailer in freshwater after a salt water dunking.

Give eastern marine a call,I buy all my trailer tires there,and have been for a while.

Good service and no tax in Delaware

wwweasternmarine.com.

bc22 - thanks for the sites.

Hotdog - good point and I have heard that. I would like to hear more from people that do trailer back and forth to ramps and dunk their trailers on how their aluminum rims are holding up. I see more galvinized that aluminum rims for sure. The aluminum ones I have seen look good. No way of knowing how old they are or how much salt water they see.

i know that my galvanized lost their shine very quickly and look pretty dingy now. Maybe there are better quality galvized ones out therre that I should look at.

I do always rinse the trailer in freshwater after a salt water dunking.

My wheels are doing the same thing. No amount of fresh water rinsing will stop the inevitable. I spend 80% of my time in salt water.

http://www.easternmarine.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/8/2/8283_st.jpg



http://www.easternmarine.com/goodyear-st225-75r-15-radial-tire-aluminum-split-spoke-rim

http://www.easternmarine.com/towmax-st225-75r-15-radial-tire-aluminum-split-spoke-rim-6-l

Easternmarine...thanks.

I need the D rated so it would be the Goodyear. very nice and a good price.

How are they holding up for use in the saltwater ramp use ? I do spray down with fresh water, but I know that doesn't get rid of all of the salt.

Basically, how long do they look decent ?

What lug nuts do you recommend ?

http://www.easternmarine.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/8/2/8283_st.jpg



http://www.easternmarine.com/goodyear-st225-75r-15-radial-tire-aluminum-split-spoke-rim

http://www.easternmarine.com/towmax-st225-75r-15-radial-tire-aluminum-split-spoke-rim-6-l

Those are the same rims that came on my Magic-Tilt, Load Star 6 lug load range D

JTHill - How are they holding up from saltwater corrosion ? how long have you had them installed ?

Alu rims look nice but I would not put them on a salt water trailer, unless they were not clearcoated. the clear coat will get a break in it and then it will corrode underneath the clear, because it will not dry out. I have alu diamond plate fenders on my trailer and they look fine because they are not clear coated. The alu rims save some weight but honestly the best thing for a salt water trailer is galvanized rims. Pretty much will last forever.

My aluminum rims get dunked a few times a week. The finish holds up for about a year I think. I rarely wash my trailer down though. The rim finnish last longer if you keep them clean of oil as well.

I buy aluminum rims because they are stronger than the galvanized ones. Galvanized rims start to come apart on boats over 13k lbs. For me, aluminum is cheaper in the long run and it looks much better.