Make your T@B easy to push/pull in gravel or dirt with a 10" Croft Pneumatic Wheel Kit!

Cherokee

 

Typical 6" soft plastic plane bearing swivel trailer jack wheel - cheep, however good enough for smooth pavement, but difficult in course gravel 

Croft's assembly doesn't come with a swivel. So I removed the jack and disabled it - outer tube shown with factory detents that engage a grove in the inner tube to prevent the jack from turning 

I drilled out the detents and used black finger nail polish to finish out the holes

the reassembled assembly

Now the T@B can be easily maneuvered into place by my 115lb wife! All it took was about $90 and a little effort. 

DougH

Very nice looking.  But is it too late to replace those wheels with:

   https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F7Z9T61

...and give her a small throttle remote?  You'd have to have enough tongue weight though to avoid just spinning the tires.   

Cherokee

DougH said:

Very nice looking.  But is it too late to replace those wheels with:

   https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F7Z9T61

...and give her a small throttle remote?  You'd have to have enough tongue weight though to avoid just spinning the tires.   

Glad you like the look Doug! Perhaps in another 10- 15 years, the electric option will be a handy option for my young at hart wife. However, right now she enjoys the fact that our T@B is light enough to push into place by human power. "use it or loose it" is her adopted motto

Homebodyatheart

@DougH, according to the questions and answers on Amazon it states that the pulling weight from a dead stop is max 150kg which is 330#. If this is tongue weight then it's close. If it's dead trailer weight then it's woefully under-powered. Sure would be a nice, less expensive option, but they only seem to talk about scooter and such, not much heavier items. I'd be leery, but let us know if it works! 

bheitkamp

Croft now has a wheel with a swivel.  https://www.crofttrailer.com/tjwk10-s-croft-pneumatic-wheel-kit-with-swivel-feature/  Just pull the pin to drop the old plastic wheel and replace with the new wheel. No modifications required.

Denny16

Nice, this one will,work.  Adding to my “must get” list.
cheers

Bayliss

@bheitkamp, did you purchase the Croft swivel mount?  If so, did you have to drill a larger hole in the jack tube so it will allow the swivel mount to attach properly?  The manufacturer notes this may be required.  Thanks!

bheitkamp

I purchased the mount from Croft. I used the exiting pin from the plastic wheel to mount it to the jack tube.

Bayliss

Thank you!  I appreciate the quick reply.

Dalehelman

I did this conversion with wheels from Harbor Freight. Cost less than $10

JP2558

I have a 2018 Tab 320 CS. My concern is going from a six inch to ten inch tires. Is there enough clearance to remove it once the tab is resting on the tv hitch and the jack is raised to its maximum?

Dalehelman

JP2558 said:

I have a 2018 Tab 320 CS. My concern is going from a six inch to ten inch tires. Is there enough clearance to remove it once the tab is resting on the tv hitch and the jack is raised to its maximum?

You do have to shorten the jack. I cut off about 3”. 

JP2558

@Dalehelman, thank you.

Bayliss

@JP2558, maybe @bheitkamp can shed some light on this, but it does not appear that would be an issue with the Croft design.  The main reason I have not opted to convert the stock jockey wheel is the clearance/height issues it creates.

Tampakayaker

Dalehelman said:

I did this conversion with wheels from Harbor Freight. Cost less than $10

What diameter and length was the bolt?

Did you have to drill out the bracket?

And you said you had to cut off part of the jack?

Addison

Hey wanted to warn you all of something that happened to us last weekend.  We had made this wheel set up about a year ago for out tag. So just after making coffee on morning we hear a bang like a propane explosion, then 2 minutes later another one. Took a while to figure out what it was, it was these air filled tires, popping off the rims.
Maybe heat? 
Anyway i replaced them with solid wheels, not air filled 

MuttonChops

Have been tempted to do the larger air tire modification.
And have had OK success just placing plywood under the standard wheel for short distance moves.  That has got me wondering if the dual Wide Plastic 6-Inch Wheel might be a good solution.
   Smaller size, easy to carry & store
   Wider footprint, won't sink as deep/fast as standard.

Anyone have experience with this wheel?

Dalehelman

@MuttonChops not to try and one up you, but I tried this set up. Great on hard surfaces no good on soft.

Dalehelman

For our purposes this works best. Pneumatic tires work pretty good on softer surfaces, but if you loose air pressure you are screwed. For soft terrain I roll on to a couple of plastic jack pads.

VictoriaP

MuttonChops said:

Have been tempted to do the larger air tire modification.
And have had OK success just placing plywood under the standard wheel for short distance moves.  That has got me wondering if the dual Wide Plastic 6-Inch Wheel might be a good solution.
   Smaller size, easy to carry & store
   Wider footprint, won't sink as deep/fast as standard.

Anyone have experience with this wheel?

Not that exact one, but one nearly identical. Works OK overall, my double pneumatic Frankenwheel setup based on Dale Helman’s design above is better for softer surfaces like loose gravel. But on reasonably compacted surfaces, I think the double plastic caster does perform better than the stock single plastic wheel.

Sharon_is_SAM

@MuttonChops, we changed from the single to the dual caster wheel.  It moves much easier and is better on softer ground - but we still bring a couple of small pieces of plywood to help get us out of a jam.

Bayliss

@Addison, when you say "these air filled tires," can you be more specific (i.e., which brand, if known, or where did you purchase them?)

Bayliss

I decided to buy the Croft Pneumatic Wheel Kit, so I am posting a couple photos of it for general information.  It is very well made (in the USA) and supports up to 600 lbs.  I was happy to see that it has zerk fittings to keep the bearings properly greased.  Additionally, the mounting plate rides slightly lower than the stock jockey wheel, so that is a plus.  It is pricey at $111.95 (with free shipping), but hopefully it will be a useful addition to my trailer.

johnfconway

Just to be certain... Croft kit with dropped mounting plate there is no need to cut down inner jack tube?  Did you get the version with plate that swivels?

Bayliss

@johnfconway, yes, it does swivel 360 degrees.  I purchased the same set up that @bheitkamp linked to above (I have re-posted it below.)

Although I have not yet had a chance to try it out, there is no need to cut the jack tube, thanks to the low profile of the tube attachment, as depicted in the second photo I posted above.  The Croft kit will attach just like the stock jockey wheel.  The bolt that Croft includes for attaching the wheels to the jack tube is a little too thick in diameter to fit through the jack tube.  Therefore, if you want to use that bolt and nut, you would need to drill larger holes on the jack tube.  However, as @bheitkamp has pointed out, the Croft kit easily attaches with the existing PTO pin that comes with the stock jockey wheel.  That's what I intend to use.  It is much easier (and faster) to use than a nut and bolt.

The Croft kit is really well made and worth the money for what you get.  They shipped it immediately, so I received it not long after I ordered it.

https://www.crofttrailer.com/tjwk10-s-croft-pneumatic-wheel-kit-with-swivel-feature/

Addison

I strongly suggest you use solid wheel / tires, not air filled one. 

Bayliss

@Addison, you may have not seen it, but I previously asked where you originally purchased the inflatable tires you previously had.

You suggested that the heat may have caused them to fail, which seems unlikely, particularly since you indicated it happened in the morning.  Do you have any extras loaded on the front of your trailer that may have exceeded the carrying capacity of the tires (i.e., something in addition to the propane tank, battery, and possibly the spare tire?)

rfuss928

My pneumatic jockey wheel&tire is 9 years old and never a problem holding air.  I check the pressure at the beginning of each season and it has always been fine.  Quality parts will perform and last a long time.
That Croft dual wheel set up looks real nice!
Have fun!

Addison

@Bayliss
I had the double wheel system, purchased here in canada at Princess Auto, each tire was rated for 300 pounds. I have a 2021 TaB BD 320. The tires were new last year, for a 2017 TaG I had.
All 4 stabilizers were down, no one was in it. Nothing on the tounge. Sad the 15th night out so far this year in it
We have no idea why they blew, I'm just sharing my experience, so i switched to a solid tire

Bayliss

Thanks for the info, @Addison.  That's a bummer, but at least a relatively easy fix.  I'm not sure when I will get to test out the Croft setup.  Thanks to Covid-19, we haven't been able to travel at all this year.  Our plan was to travel across Canada.  My wife is originally from Sudbury, Ontario.

BrianZ

I fixed up an 8" set of pneumatic wheels following Dale's example, thinking it would be ok versus 10" wheels, but it still ended up being too tall for leveling in many situations.  And the bigger issue was not being able to get it on/off while hitched, so we replaced it with the same one as @Sharon_is_SAM showed (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MWHZGGX )
It works well & is more compact, but the truth is we rarely need to use it, and we keep a flat foot plate on most of the time (which gives the most flexibility for dropping the tongue very low - necessary for leveling in our extra driveway parking area).  Also, I'm glad that I never cut any length off the jack post, because ever since I elevated our jack post mounting to clear a storage bin (and installed air lifts in the TV rear springs), we must crank up the tongue as high as it will go to get hitched up while using the short foot plate.