New Thule Trailer (3 Viewers)

[perkj]

How do you like the floor,im thinking about bolting in a aluminum floor instead of welding steel in my trailer,its steel trailer and not a thule.
Looks great!

@Quinton Love the floor so far...have only had it on the trailer for a few days now. I went with 3/16" so I can bolt things to the floor with the need for back plating or fear of bending the floor. The 4'x8' piece ran me $450 so it pricy. The place I purchased it from made the cuts to it for me for free. The aluminum is so much lighter than steel and my goal with this trail is to keep to light while strengthening it. The other advantage of the aluminum is no need to paint (like you would for steel) and will never have a rust issue.

This weekend I bolted a D-ring to the underside of the floor to mount my spare tucked up under the floor and within an open space in the frame so it is tucked way up....couldn't have done this with 1/8" without an ugly back plate on the top side of the floor.

 

[perkj]

This weekend I bolted a D-ring to the underside of the floor to mount my spare tucked up under the floor with a threaded J-hook and within an open space in the frame so it is tucked way up....couldn't have done this with 1/8" without an ugly back plate on the top side of the floor.

 

[Fox Mulder]

Hey Thule trailer lovers!

I just wanted to give some info on something cool I found, that I'm not sure is common knowledge. I contacted Knott in Fox Lake, and specifically asked about getting a hub in an SAE size. Anita sent me a drawing of my axle, and in one of the boxes, there is a A, B, C, D option. The D option is 114.3x5, which translates to a 4.5 on 5 bolt circle. I contacted her back, and she confirmed that A B C and D were hub choices, and my axle had the B choice 4x100. She confirmed that any of the hubs would fit the axle and ordered me a set of the D hubs for about $28 a hub, and $20 shipping to my house. So, around $80, which did include bearings, seals and a castle nut. I just got them today, so I haven't confirmed that they fit yet, I will post back after I swap them over. I have a different axle than most of you, mine is a VG6L (drawing attached), however back in post #170, perkj posted a drawing of his axle, and that drawing also has the 114.5x5 option, which is actually SAE 4.5 on 5. So, we can actually convert to standard sized wheels!

I hope that info helps someone else to keep a Thule on the road!

 

[perkj]

@Fox Mulder wow this is fantastic! Wish I read the spec sheet more closely. Please keep us posted on the install.

 

[Fox Mulder]

I’m pretty excited about it! Reading the spec sheet is difficult unless you can read German, although I did through a few words into Google Translate as I was trying to figure things out!

 

[perkj]

@Fox Mulder can you post the part numbers for the new 5x114.3 hubs you received?

 

[Fox Mulder]

@Fox Mulder can you post the part numbers for the new 5x114.3 hubs you received?

Sure can, here’s how they referred to it: 6B1232.008 HUB FNK11 114,3×5 M12×1,5

I assume the 6B1232.008 is the actual part number. I’m not sure what the FNK11 is, the rest is the bolt circle and tap size. Also, apparently in other countries they use the comma like we use a period as a decimal point.

 

[perkj]

@Fox Mulder thanks for posting the new hub part number. Can you also check the part number on your existing 4x100 hub as I'd like to see if it is the same part number as mine. The part number should be on the rear of the hub (no need to remove the rim). Mine is 6B1229. Finally, does the 6B1232.008 number match was is stamped on the back of the new hub? see pic below of the back of my hub.

BTW - looking at your schematic for the 6A2012 and mine for the 6A2013 it appears your trailer may be the 3'x5' Thule 1500 Adventure Trailer vs the 4'x7'1700. I'm thinking this b/c your axle is stated as having 650 KG rating, which matched the 1500. where as my 1700 axle is 750 KG. Also the overall width number look smaller. All that said the torsion arms that hold the hub are the same part number per the schematics and therefore I believe the hubs should be the exact same p/n as well.

 

[Fox Mulder]

Yes, mine is the little guy. I have a truck, and I also have a bigger flatbed, so the little guy is perfect to haul camping gear with my wife’s car. I’ll check my hubs out tonight.

 

[Fox Mulder]

Yes, mine is the little guy. I have a truck, and I also have a bigger flatbed, so the little guy is perfect to haul camping gear with my wife’s car. I’ll check my hubs out tonight.

You did a much better job than I did with your photo, or the numbers are just less clear. However, they are stamped 6B 1229. I haven’t installed the new ones yet, I’m hoping to get to it tomorrow.

 

[perkj]

@Fox Mulder awesome thanks! Part numbers of the 4x100 are the same so the same 114.3x5 should work. Already reached out to Anita (via Sara) at Knott to try to get an order placed.

 

[Fox Mulder]

I installed them tonight, so I can confirm they went on easily. For those that have interest in this project, I wanted to point out something. The hubs came with the inner bearing and dust seal preinstalled, but the inner bearings weren’t greased. I didn’t feel comfortable trying to grease them in place, so I had to be very gentle removing the bearings so I didn’t ruin the seal. If I were ordering them again, I’d have them add an extra set or two of seals, as I’m not sure if they easily obtainable.

Also, the factory wheels were hub centric, which makes it relatively easy to put on and then line up the holes. I think whatever wheels I get will have a much larger center hole, so I’m going to convert to wheel studs and nuts so that I can more easily line things up when installing the wheels.

 

[Fox Mulder]

As far as tires and wheels, I’m planning to order some 175/80r13s mounted on silver mods or spokes from eBay. You can get radials for about $150 a pair mounted which is significantly less than I can get locally. With 0 offset, they will stick out about 1.75 further than my stock wheels, and they’re about 1.25 wider than the stock tires. So a little further, about a half inch, from the body of the trailer. I anticipate needing new fenders, but I’ll see how they fit first.

 

[perkj]

I installed them tonight, so I can confirm they went on easily. For those that have interest in this project, I wanted to point out something. The hubs came with the inner bearing and dust seal preinstalled, but the inner bearings weren’t greased. I didn’t feel comfortable trying to grease them in place, so I had to be very gentle removing the bearings so I didn’t ruin the seal. If I were ordering them again, I’d have them add an extra set or two of seals, as I’m not sure if they easily obtainable.

Also, the factory wheels were hub centric, which makes it relatively easy to put on and then line up the holes. I think whatever wheels I get will have a much larger center hole, so I’m going to convert to wheel studs and nuts so that I can more easily line things up when installing the wheels.

@Fox Mulder can you post some pics of the new hubs on the axle?

 

[Fox Mulder]

Sure can!

 

[perkj]

@Fox Mulder love it! Sara and Anita at Knott confirmed this hub works on both the 1500 and 1700's axles (exact same p/n). I have them ordering me up a set...fingers crossed they still have 2 more available.

 

[Sir Velo]

Hey Thule trailer lovers!

I just wanted to give some info on something cool I found, that I'm not sure is common knowledge. I contacted Knott in Fox Lake, and specifically asked about getting a hub in an SAE size. Anita sent me a drawing of my axle, and in one of the boxes, there is a A, B, C, D option. The D option is 114.3x5, which translates to a 4.5 on 5 bolt circle. I contacted her back, and she confirmed that A B C and D were hub choices, and my axle had the B choice 4x100. She confirmed that any of the hubs would fit the axle and ordered me a set of the D hubs for about $28 a hub, and $20 shipping to my house. So, around $80, which did include bearings, seals and a castle nut. I just got them today, so I haven't confirmed that they fit yet, I will post back after I swap them over. I have a different axle than most of you, mine is a VG6L (drawing attached), however back in post #170, perkj posted a drawing of his axle, and that drawing also has the 114.5x5 option, which is actually SAE 4.5 on 5. So, we can actually convert to standard sized wheels!

I hope that info helps someone else to keep a Thule on the road!

@Fox Mulder - Wow, that's more than I ever received from Knott here in the states. They never returned any emails so I eventually found what I needed to rebuild the existing hub, which was a pain in the aspirin. Congrats on not only getting answers but also product!

I'm not sure if you've gone through all 18 pages of this, but you can see the progression of several excellent builds/rebuilds if you need any further ideas.

 

[Fox Mulder]

@Sir Velo I was very persistent! I found that multiple emails were needed, and I usually got something back in a few days, but I had to follow up often.

 

[perkj]

@Sir Velo I was very persistent! I found that multiple emails were needed, and I usually got something back in a few days, but I had to follow up often.

Sara At Knott has been extremely responsive...she actually had been checking in proactively with me daily for the past 4 day.

 

[Sir Velo]

Sara At Knott has been extremely responsive...she actually had been checking in proactively with me daily for the past 4 day.

That's cool and a tad surprising given the current situation (I'm finding that people aren't as responsive-maybe all the working from home?). I was just looking through related emails and I see that you had initiated contact with Katie about rims and tires which you had CC'd me in on. I think because nothing came of it after several calls I went straight to the German side. They were very helpful and shipped out the needed stuff quickly. Anyhow, I need to clean it out and off if we are to hopefully head up to Mammoth at the end of next month