What is minimum clearance between tire and fender?
 

I was looking to upgrade from a ST205-75-14 to a 215-75-14, but I only have about 2 inches of clearance between the top of the tire and the fender with the 215's. I have about 3 inches with the 205's. It is an older Eagle trailer with leaf springs. Fenders are welded to the frame, so no easy way to relocate fenders. I thought about a block between axle and leaf spring, but have read that this is not recommended because of the high torsion loads it puts on the u-bolts when cornering.

Looking for any advice / input.

Going from a 205 to a 215 tire should not decrease your clearance by 1”. It would decrease your clearance by a much smaller amount...see tire manufacturers specs for details.

205/75R14 - 26.1" in diameter, 8.1" wide
215/75R14 - 26.7" in diameter, 8.5" wide
215/70R14 is 25.9" in diameter, 8.5" wide.
That is the general standard measurement for tires, but not all tires are the same. So you have to make sure with each brand as some of the measurements are a little different.

So according to those numbers 0.3 inch closer to the fender when going from the 205 to the 215.

Actually, .02" closer to the fender. 1/2 the difference. Remember, some 215's and other tires are not exactly the same. They may be wider than the standard measurements show. I have seen them .5" wider than the standard measurement. Look at the specs for the specific tire you are interested in to be sure of the width.

Got to www.tiresize.com and put in your current tire. It will give you everything that is close to it. I'm thinking about going to 17's from 14's and I don't have much clearance. I have to go to a 205/55R to keep the diameter and width almost the same to prevent tire rub. I will lose almost 2" in sidewall, but I think it will be ok for my purposes.

26.7” - 26.1” = 0.6” overall diameter increase when going from 205 to 215’s. Half of the 0.6” goes down towards the ground, and the other half goes up towards the bottom of the fender. Hence 0.3” closer to the fender.

Ok. I was talking width (75). My bad. You are correct. I am a couple of whiskeys in the bag tonight, so I can make a mistake.

I have about 1" to 1.5" clearance and my 205's occasionally rub the bottom of the fender. I have leaf springs also.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...7a6e9020b7.jpg
Here are a few pictures 215 is on the front, and one of the 205 Carlisles is on the rear. Viewed from the side, you see that I could actually use some more backspacing. These are the original wheels and axles that came on the traile . The other side was jacked up in this picture. I probably need to get it settled on all 4 on the ground for a more accurate picture.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...08ddde5b21.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...d26cf5d3dc.jpg

How much room is on the backside of the tire (tire to frame)? The wheels look like AR Outlaw II's, maybe? The 215 looks like it has a lot more room than my 205's have, height wise under the fender. Hard to tell about width from the pics, but it looks wider than the 205 by at least the outside rib.

Just by eyeballing your picture, it looks like you have just as much, if not more, vertical clearance between the top of the tire and the bottom of the fender than I did on my last two trailers.

Here's a few updated pictures with all 4 tires installed. I have access to the same tire in a 205, but from looking at the specs I will only gain maybe 1/4 to 1/2 inch. If they sass at back under the fender I would feel better about it. If I hit a really big dip and that tire came up into the sharp outer edge of the fender it would slice pretty good. It's like they installed axles that are too long for the offset of the wheels.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...e44314145f.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...3796c8ed87.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...5580d0717a.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...82ab9e00f5.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...165d0d45ad.jpg

Yes that's no good. Also your tires are not square to the fenders. Are the axels bent or are the fenders not square to trailer?

Probably a little bit of both. It has been wearing right side tire on outside edges. I checked both sides with a straight edge and the axles are in line horizontally. Going to put it on an alignment rack, but thinking seriously about new axles in near future. If I go this route might try to find some an inch or so narrower.

I would bet that the axles on it are the correct length. If you go to a shorter axle, you will solve one problem but may create another. Shorter axle may not allow enough clearance on the inside of the tire to keep the tires from rubbing the frame or fender support.

Are the wheels on it now, the wheels that came with that trailer originally? I would bet not. So, if not, they could be wider or have a different offset than the OEM wheels did. If Eagle is still in business you could call them and find out what wheels (width, offset, etc.) they generally used in production. I have found that most trailer manufacturers use 6" or 7" wide with 0* offset wheels.

What is the measurement from the inside of the tire to the frame or fender support at the place where the tire would first contact it? Depending on how much room there is, new wheels with a different offset could move the wheel and tire in and back under the current fender. Or, cut that old rusting fender off and install some new, wider fenders. Guessing those fenders are probably 9", so maybe going to a 10" wide fender would get the tire back up under it. Plus, 10" fenders add some "very cool" to your trailer. (JMO). Another plus, you can mount new 9" or 10" fenders as you like, in more or out more to solve the coverage issue. I prefer bolt on fenders, just because they are easy on or off for repair/replacement, but welding would work just as well. New steel fenders are not too expensive, or you could even get some polished aluminum fenders if you preferred and save the paint matching.

I am fairly certain that those are the wheels that came on the trailer. A friend of mine has a nearly identical Baja Force with the same Eagle trailer under it, and his had the exact same rims. In fact, when he got new wheels for his trailer, I took one of his old ones for my spare.

I found some old pictures of the boat on the trailer from ten years ago. Looks like I had about the same clearance as I am showing now, and I don't recall having the tires hitting the fenders. So I guess those leaf springs just don't compress that much.

Thanks for the replies!

Need more pictures-of the 69 Camaro in the backround...

That's my all original, unrestored RS/SS 396 convertible. Had it for 25 years.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...adef50d79e.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...4bd4240908.jpg

I have very little clearance on my cabin cruiser trailer. I needed every possible sacrifice to keep the boat at 13'6" to the top, which is exactly where Myco got it. 12,000 miles in 2 seasons, and 0 issues.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...ff711b5dee.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...52070f38bd.jpg

So far so good with mine. I-65 southbound was a good test near Lebanon Junction Kentucky. Like being on a roller coaster. Did not rub or bottom out. Springs got a workout though.