1963 Bambi wheel (4 lug @4.5" spacing)

[mrzog]

I am usually very resourceful and find or build most challenges I come across. This one has me completely stumped. No one has been able to help. I have tried www.vintagetrailersupply , www.airstreamsupplycom, local and national trailer wheel stores...no one has a solution for me.

Here is my problem:
4 lug axel with 4.5" lug spacing.
13" wheel well
I need a spare tire.

The spacing on the lug/axel is the problem. I don't know how to fix this. I finally found a specialty wheel where the pattern fits, however the wheel depth is too deep and it doesn't fit in the wheel well.

Any help or suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

[duckdave]

Yes, we are having the same problem—where can we source this wheel for her Bambi. Any suggestions, greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

[PKI]

The early Ford Falcon was a 4.5 in pattern. There are 4.5 and 4.25 dual lug pattern after market wheels sold. The 4.25 is used on Pinto and Mustang II. Maybe a bit of checking to find an original falcon steel spare. Maybe you can find a dual pattern set of chrome wheels.

Just what I Google, so may be all wrong. Good Luck. Pat

Edit - a wheel shop can narrow the rim or re-position the wheel center to correct the back space.

[mrzog]

I never found a replacement wheel. We ended up replacing the axel with a current 5 lug. No regrets.

[duckdave]

Mrzog and PKI,
Thanks so much for your tips. Turns out Patti’s wheel was not damaged beyond repair—a bit of concrete from the curb encounter was stuck between the rim and the tire. Tire shop cleaned it up and she’s holding air, so she’s still road worthy. But Patti wants insurance, so we are still trying to source two 13”, 4 lug, 4.5” spacing wheels that will take her pan hubcaps.

The tip to look in the Ford/Merc vintage Falcon enthusiasts is a good one. Many more of those were built than Airstreams!

Thanks again, and if you think of anything else...well, you know what to do!

[Action]

The issue with using a car wheel on a travel trailer is weight rating or capacity.
Not sure about early Falcon, but Pinto was a 2000 pound car. The 60-64 Falcon with 4 hole wheels is lighter duty than the five hole wheel. When Falcon got a V-8 Ford shifted to larger brakes and a 5 hole wheel.

Falcon/Pinto also has 4 wheels to support the weight. Bambi is likely on a single axle with two wheels. Meaning more load on each wheel for the travel trailer.

Be careful about using car wheels on a travel trailer. Just because it fits does not mean it will do the job. Unless your trailer is just being parked for use.

>>>>>>>>>>>Action

[duckdave]

I understand what you are saying Action, and we will proceed cautiously keeping the auto vs trailer issue in mind.

Here are my thoughts so far:
1. Did they even make specific "trailer rims" back in the 60's?
2. A 1962 Ford Falcon had a ship weight about 2400 lbs Ford Falcon Weight
3. A 1962 Airstream Bambi weighs in at 1875 lbs Airstreamguy

Not sure how to factor the 2 wheel (trailer) vs 4 wheel (auto) issue. Which is complicated by the fact that trailer weight I presume is the "dry, empty" weight, and the auto weight probably does not include passengers, luggage, or gas.

[Action]

Older rims on trailers were truck rims or split rims. These could handle far more weight than trailer rims. Trailer rims can handle more weight than passenger cars rims.

The rim on a used on a trailer should have lots of reserve. Trailers see lot more stress than a car will ever see. Travel trailer suspension has about half the movement than a passenger car. The tire takes a lot of shock which is passed on to the rim.

>>>>>>>>>>Action

[duckdave]

Good points, thanks Action!

[Aerowood]

The early Airstreams with the 4 lug axle had a reduced diameter spindle that was prone to breaking. The issue was more prevalent on the Caravels. I’m sure that there is a thread somewhere addressing this issue. I know of one owner personally that this happened too. The skin damage was extensive.
I’m not a doomsdayer here but it looks like you have a nice Bambi. The bummer here is that the 63’s had the Axles welded on and are more difficult to replace.

[Action]

For that arrangement the spindle was too small under certain conditions . The wheel were OK.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f437...ion-29429.html

http://vintageairstream.com/65-caravel-axle-damage/

>>>>>>>>>>Action

[duckdave]

Just for closure...

The wheel we thought was damaged causing it to leak, turned out to be OK. There was a bit of concrete wedged under the rim that was causing the leak. A tire shop inspected the rim and resolved the problem by dismounting, cleaning and remounting the tire.

But the difficult search for a new rim left Patti nervous about not having a spare. So we continued to search, and I eventually located someone selling a Bambi rim in California. I found it by going through old postings on Airstream Classified. I can't for the life of me figure out now how I did it...there doesn't seem to be a way to search that part of the forum with a specific keyword, but anyway, we did find a couple of very old postings for Bambi wheels, and we were able to contact the folks that posted them to see if they still had the wheel available. We found one that was still available. The guy jacked the price up from $30 to $50. But it was off a 1962 Bambi that he sold a few years back. Fifty bucks and a pile for postage, and she got what looks to be a near new 13" rim for her spare. It even had the tabs so her little hubcaps would fit.

Thanks to all that helped out here! And for the information shared.