How to upgrade ten inch wheels on a very old Cub camper?

Hi Geoff, while it may be as simple as just changing the hub, you need to be a little bit careful with the offset of the new wheels. I decided to change mine over to 14” standard Hilux rims with the mindset that they are a very common rim and easy to find (They’re Ford stud pattern). The problem was, with that rim, the tyre rubbed on the chassis, so it was either a different rim or a different axle.
Have you considered 13” if they fit as they may be more available than 12” tyre?

remove axle, renew with a ford bearing axle, slightly longer to accomodate the new rim offset, place under springs, fit your new rims and tyres

Geoff
As Andrew L has mentioned, the axle under the springs will give more vehicle height and apart from the offset of rims etc. The tyre will be larger in the sidewall, so with appropriate inflation, not too much and not too little, the cub should ride a lot smoother. ie using the tyre as the primary suspension, which they are anyway. Guard clearance may be an issue, and a BIG DISC of cardboard taped to the current tyre, but the dia of the intended tyre will allow you to gauge where things will sit/be positioned.
Make sure you allow for the curved spring pack when deflected, to straighten, which moves the wheel rearward as it goes UP, ie, makes the rim tyre combination move rearward and so MIGHT negate any clearance you think you initially have.

Did similar with my trailer form 13"s to 14" rim and the tyre DID get very close to the guard as it moved back and up.

Take it to a trailer specialist near your area. He will advise on what to do after taking measurements. This way if anything goes amiss its on him to sort it out.. Getting wheel widths, offsets, diameters , bearing types, guard sizes etc.etc needs plenty of sorting out.

What are the key considerations when upgrading the wheel and tire size on a vehicle, particularly in regards to suspension among us and clearance?

Morris 1100 wheels....12 inch rims...same stud pattern as Mini from memory. 1100S had slightly wider rims ( Fatter tyres ). Cant remember actual tyre sizes....but could get radials to fit....may be a bit hard these days...but ya never know.

Cheers Keith

We did exactly that back in the early 80's, jacked the chassis off the springs with 100 x 50 RHS steel blocks, Put springs on top of the axle, replaced light pipe axle with 40mm square solid axle then fitted normal Holden hubs with 13" wheels and found that 13" tyres were hard to find outback so then went to 14" rims and fitted LT radials as fitted to vans and utes.
Never had any more tyre problems and the added height made it much easier to put the camper up as we carried wooden blocks in various sizes for the legs and the roofrack to allow for uneven ground. We could open it uphill and not need many blocks at all.

Hi Geoff,

Have you considered what effect the larger wheel and tyres will have on the “hard floor” fold down end of your camper? Once folded down, it will be higher off the ground, do you have enough length in the adjustable “feet” to accommodate being further off the ground?

Macca.

Going back about 30 years or so!

I owned a 14ft. runabout on an aluminium trailer fitted with 10" Mini wheels.
We travelled long distances to enjoy our pastime several times a year.
Every season a wheel bearing or three required replacement despite the Bearing Buddy kit usually on the side of the road somewhere during our travels.

I eventually replaced with 12" Hillman Imp wheels with the same stud pattern that fortunately fitted within the fibreglass mudguards.

I never had to replace another bearing for the next 10 years or so of ownership.

The RPM difference made it worthwhile.

The OP has not said he currently has Mini wheels only that they are the same size as Minis. Assuming they are Mini wheels, why not go for Moke wheels. Started off at 10" but are also in 12" and 13" - all available relatively cheaply from Moke parts suppliers.

If not Mini wheels - try Fiat, Lancia, Alfa wheels with a hub change.