INVESTIGATOR 563

My trailer rims are close to being stuffed as are the tyres which are cracking, more from disuse than use as the trailer does few k’s. I know I could measure studs etc but wondering if anyone knows what the standard wheels for the trailer are . They are 5 stud, Holden bearings turning 165r13 tyres . But which Holden . The paternity of my old box trailer was HT-HK which I think was standard for trailers in the 70/80s

I’m hoping to pick up some resonable seconds off gumtree as a package. There are lots advertised.

Any input appreciated.

Edit HT-HK not HT-HQ

Tyres have a use by date. Cracking side walls are dangerous and you will be pinged on a rego check. My 10yo tyres with perfect tread had to be replaced for this reason. Light truck tyres are harder to get at 13 inch size, but not impossible.
I seem to remember that my hubs are Holden standard, but yours could easily be different. If the hubs are also rusty you might as well do the lot.

Hi Ozzie and Ian
Coincidentally (are you psychic Ozzie?) went up to the Myalls a fortnight ago but almost did nt make it. Left home at 5am fully loaded and immediately got a clang clang clang noise. Stopped, expecting mast dragging on road or trailer collapse but could see nothing. Went home and got my trusty Cree torch out for a close examination. Saw the rh tyre wall had ballooned out the size of an egg. Fortunately I live close to Blairs tyres and they replaced both tyres 175 r13 light truck. They said a common problem on boat trailers left standing in one place for months. (Like mine)
The disturbing thing for me was treads were ok and no signs of obvious wear. Dread to think if I’d have gone on - 100k/h on busy Princes highway! Advice from Blairs replace tyres every 6 years and move trailer often.
Cheers guys

Yes LT 13 were hard to get when I replaced them some years ago . I remember now I rang around and one *&# hole dealer over the other side of town said “yeah mate tons of em” . Of course when I got there he had “tons” of retreads. As I was there with the rims I let him talk me into the retreads against my better judgement. Now not only are the original cases cracking but thet tread is showing signs of delaminating. Never again.

There are 13”gal spoked steel wheels on eBay from Oz suppliers for about 40 so I may go that way and hunt for Lt tyres again locally.

Thanks for input.

Cree torches were on again last week at you know where got a few doubleAAA minis for $4.99 . Showed them to my brother in law who could not believe that much light was coming from a $5 torch so he promptly went out and bought two the next day for his work truck.

Wasn’t going to mention it Emrys

http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/archiv ... 60966.html

Doing a little reading and these posts are very old so prices are way out of date but one poster suggests you can get 14” wheels with old stud pattern and profile of the 13” which opens up the tyre selection considerably. Anybody gone that way?

I doubt that there is a "standard" size rim. My trailer is a 1976 Redco, and is fitted with 9" rims which were common at the time. My Investigator was "only" about 16 years old when I bought the boat, so I am pretty sure that this was the original trailer. I have replaced just about every piece of the trailer since that time, but have kept the rims.

When James Hill tested number 64 in 1977, he commented that launching was easy due to the Mantra tilt trailer he was using. The picture of the trailer is pretty grainy and you can't see the rims well enough to guess the size.

I replaced my tyres and bearings not long back. The tread was still good but the sides of the tyres were perished. I think they were probably the originals as I hadn't replaced them before.

Yes, I would only go to 14” if the height of the tyres is close I didn’t want to make launch/retrieval any harder.

I’ll let you all know what the wheel designation is when I find out.

I noticed that the Investigator for sale at Crawford marine has he same 9" rims as mine. The trailer looks original.

Gday all,

My old spare 13" tyre and rim floated off forever in the Townsville Feb 2019 flood, it did have a bad looking tyre on it but was sad to see the rim go. The two trailer tyres sidewalls were also developing very small cracks and the rims had some rust inside (which i treated). Two motor professionals told me it was really dangerous to highway drive on these as cracked sidewalls could easily blow out when heated up.

So I've gone ahead and replaced both 13" wheels with new galvanized rims/ light truck tyres. Bought them at "NQ wheels and castors" for $120 each - good value (About $80 per tyre and $40 per rim). The Rims are WH1245GALMulti-wheel 13x4.5 (they can fit ford or HT Holden studs). Each hub has 5 studs.

The tyres are 165R13C TL8 H120 94/92Q radials, almost the same as the old ones on it. The load rating is 670kg each for single axle.

The 2 old rims/tyres can be the new spares for now, until budget allows a new one. I'm using the best one, still allot of tread left on both, it just the sitting in the sun while parked up doing most of the damage.

So the trailer must be about 70% renewed now. Planning to do some long highway trips to cruising grounds around Townsville. One way its 135kms to Lucinda ramp (Southern Hinchinbrook Isd and Palm Islands), 160 km to Cardwell (Northern Hinhinbrook Island and Gould Island) and 275km to WhitSunday Islands. So will be allot safer out there now.

Not having a storage shed yet, as a matter of preventative maintenance to stave off those tyre cracks a bit longer, i always cover up the tyres exposed to the sun with double shade cloth pieces. Anything will do, I previously used a piece of corrugated roof iron cut to measure. Plywood might also work. (Also have a tarp over the boat/mast)

Trailer sounds great Andrew. If your doing long trips a reliable trailer is a must.
I finished up with two secondhand HT wheels off gumtree for peanuts. Basically the same as the originals . Not gal but as the originals lasted 4 decades and as I only use the trailer for annual haulout plus odd trip with kayaks I figure they will see me out LOL.
I thought I would put the money into the tyres so got Bridgestone LTs 13 inch but of course the joke was that the tyre guy told me my vintage wheels although rust free and freshly painted were probably not suitable for tubeless tyres. So had to fork for tubes. Still better off probably than some of the stuff from the eBay sellers with better quality tyres I’ve replaced bearings with genuine Timkins and that’s all good.

I’ve fitted my LED lights using brackets made from an old wall hanging frame for the old monster analogue TVs . The metal was very strong and thick and fitted the existing square brackets on the trailer. Looks the part as well. Wooden bunks are now replaced with treated pine and marine carpet , the last one was pretty crepe. Still have some rust repair to do but generally the trailer is roadworthy and meets my current needs.

I’ve been checking gumtree regularly and I see Investigator563 size trailers going for around a grand. These are of course not drop axle and would be much higher and require transplant of my tall bunks but I think if my current trailer gives up the ghost completely I’ll look at something like this which will do annual haulout even though I’ll have to use a deep ramp and sink it . Luckily my local ramp fits the bill and has a new jetty .

Somehow this bunk pic was duplicated and yet does not appear in the editing window and I can’t delete it ..curses