6 Lug to 5 Lug Adapter - Off Road Capable? (1 Viewer)

[Eire32]

Hi;

So I have a trailer ordered from South Africa, and Alko are supplying 6 lug axle drums. I wanted a 5 lug to match the tow vehicle so I can match the wheels and tires on th tow vehicle and the trailer.
Alko wont supply it in South Africa.

So my question is; are these 6 lug to 5 lug adapters capable of dealing with the off-road stresses?
Or do you see it as such a concern to just accept the 6 lug wheels and not use adapters.

Would like input, but if the concept is such a hassle or risk then the benefit outweighs the whole point of having 2 spares effectively, by using the same wheels/tires on the tow vehicle and trailer.

 

[e9999]

I'm doing the opposite, going from a 5 lug to a 6 lug. I'm thinking that the average trailer weighs likely less per wheel than a vehicle so if the adapters are OK for a vehicle, they should be OK for a trailer. And I'm guessing that the horror stories one hears about adapters have more to do with poor use as in poor tightening than outright structural failure. Plus offroad you are typically going very slow, so losing a wheel may be a pain but is not likely to kill somebody outright. Bottom line, I would likely do it, although keep an eye on things, especially loosened nuts. But I'm no expert on adapters TBH.

 

[spressomon]

Never had a problem with any of the wheel adapters I've used on my trailers including the then AT Horizon (3.5" wide!), Kimberley Kamper (40k miles with TONS of off-road use) and a Trail-Tailor trailer. The keys: Don't cheap out on chinese junk, use LocTite on the hub side threads (I used Red 262 and it was 100% reliable) and check/re-torque wheel side lug nuts for the first 1000 or so miles.

Here's one company I have used to make mine that is worthy (Sparks, Nevada) that makes their own: Wheel Adapters, Wheel Spacers, Hub Rings, and much more! | Motorsport Tech - https://www.motorsport-tech.com/index.html

 

[Eire32]

Never had a problem with any of the wheel adapters I've used on my trailers including the then AT Horizon (3.5" wide!), Kimberley Kamper (40k miles with TONS of off-road use) and a Trail-Tailor trailer. The keys: Don't cheap out on chinese junk, use LocTite on the hub side threads (I used Red 262 and it was 100% reliable) and check/re-torque wheel side lug nuts for the first 1000 or so miles.

Here's one company I have used to make mine that is worthy (Sparks, Nevada) that makes their own: Wheel Adapters, Wheel Spacers, Hub Rings, and much more! | Motorsport Tech - https://www.motorsport-tech.com/index.html

This is great, thanks for this info.

I definitely do not want to cheap out with Chinese stuff, happy to see they are US made.

 

[Cooperd0g]

I have a SylvanSport Go trailer that has a 5 lug pattern. I wanted to swap to larger wheels and tires, specifically to match my GX470, which is a 6 lug design. For one thing I think the setup looks cool, but it also lets you pull spare tires from the trailer. In a pinch you can leave the trailer behind and come back for it later. I found a spacer/adapter set. I will say that it seemed to do fine on some shorter routes, but on the way home from a 2000+ mile trip with a few hundred miles of off pavement I did notice some wheel wobble going through a small town. Turns out the bolts were backing out. I got everything re-torqued and used loctite as well. Haven't had any issues since.

 

[e9999]

^ good point about the Loctite, especially for the softer aluminum adapters, although I would not use the strongest threadlock they have. But I make a point of checking the trailer bolts at the same time as I check the coupling, tires, lights etc before hitting the road. If you make a habit of it, it becomes trivial. I may put a dab of paint or a mark on the nuts too if I have a chance after tightening to make it easier to see if they move.