Wheels for beach wheels

Try shopping for 'wheeleze' maybe you can find a better price? maybe not.
http://www.wheeleez.com/beach-wheels-polyurethane.php

At $137 per wheel, the wheelez aren't any improvement. I actually have a set of wheels that use the wheelez and I'm not overly happy with them. They don't work well with my boat.

Anyway, I'm looking to make a cheap set of wheels that I can keep by my beach boat and don't have to worry about them getting legs.

sm

I've been down this road a number of times. Never quite got to building my own wheels, mostly because you can't find suitable tires for less than $130 each. I just forked over my >$500 for a new set of Cat Trax, simply because they are the only wheels I've used that work well each and every time, no matter the surface. Other beach wheels don't roll easily on soft sand, weigh more, and are easier to puncture.

Your problem however is one that I sympathize with. My boats live on the beach during the summer, which is a 5 minute walk from my house. In general, I'm not worried about stuff getting stolen, but it has happened, and given the current economy is more likely than in prevalent times. I've also had a set of beach wheels stolen or trashed at a different location (not a beach or waterfront for that matter). I doubt these new wheels will be spending time overnight on my beach. So I am relegated to carrying them back and forth, or moving them on the trailer, all of which is a huge pain I'd rather not deal with. The other solution is to lock them up, which I might do on a weekend. As to solving the alternative problem, PVC pipes work pretty well as surfaces to slide the boat on and are very inexpensive compared with wheels.

Look around the local lawn mower repair shops. Maybe you can find a trashed lawn tractor.

I have a trashed lawn mower you can have, but have to take the whole thing.

Where are you located? You can sometimes find used Cat Trax.

I might even have a spare set... <img src="<>/wink.gif" alt="wink" title="wink" height="15" width="15" />

Mike

New Jersey.

I have not had any luck finding any used sets for less than about $250. I think I could probably make a decent pair that's good enough to drag my boat 50 yards across the sand for about 1/2 that price.

Right now I have to cart my current wheels with me to the beach each time I sail and it's a pain (especially because they don't work that well to begin with).

sm

I tried making a set out of ATV tires and rims and they worked OK, but always had problems. That was for my first boat when I was 24 and did not have much money. In the end I would have been better off buying a used or new set with the amount I had in the set I made it was not that much more to buy some Cat Trax.
I did buy some Cat Trax in 1996 which I still use today.

What was the problem with the ATV tires?

sm

Spend the money. They're essential, work reliably, and like Dave you'll find they last for years. Support a small sailing business.

I'm pretty sure a pair of cat trax will easily last 10 years, that's less than $60/year, which is a pretty good way to justify the purchase.

I have one set that has lasted since 1997. I did have to replace the tires once, but that was well worth the investment. In hindsight, I'm sure that I probably could have gotten away with just tubes, but my dealer had a spare set of tires at a fire-sale price.

I have yet to see a set of home-mades that work as well as the Cat Trax or Roleez. Most of them wind up to be extremely heavy, and/or dig into the sand too much.

$250 for a used set is about as cheap as you will ever find them, and worth every penny in the long run.

Mike

I vaguely remember paying $300 for my Tiger Tracks in 1985. They need new end caps, but stil work.

There was not a problem with the tires or the aluminum rims it was making a hub and bearing that worked good. Getting all the parts that fit together and last in salt water is the biggest problem.

Find a place that services golf carts. They will give you the worn tires and rims for free. Since you don't need or want the tread(extra weight) these work great. I used to use a PVC drain fitting that I could bolt to the rims and was greased to slide on a aluminum pipe. You can make cradles but turning the boat over and using the hull for a mold. But trax will always work better and ater I had used a set of homemade for a couple of years I just broke down a bought a good set. They lasted 14 years( money well spent). Check craigs list and some of the sites and you might be able to pick up a set cheaper.

I had mine stolen while being stored (I now lock them to the trailer)...I made my catrax .... you'll need to purchase the wheels and rims from the outfit in Ft. Lauderdale that makes the catrax and also purchase the cradles (alternate source). Beyond that the other parts can be purchased. You'll save a hundred bucks or so ... so in the end probably not worth doing yourself.

Yep.

Cat-Trax are a one time purchase assuming they don't get stolen, fall off the trailer, or die in a drunken rage. I refuse to sell a boat with beach wheels anymore, just because they cost too frickin much, and the next boat needs em' anyway.

I had a set that went from 1984 to 2004 with virtually no repairs. I lost an end cap (Daytona, 1995) and one of the inflation points leaked. I fixed it by shoving a plugged inflation needle into it. I sold them in 2004 for $150 and got one of the

EuroTrax

for my Tiger. What a POS those were. They got sold with the boat in 2008, and I'm back to owning another set of CatTrax. I'll probably die before they do.

The set of CatTrax that I currently use for my TheMightyHobie18 was purchased in 1986(?). Now they leak a little and need to be re-inflated every month or two .... so I keep a

bicycle

pump in my trailer box. A couple pumps ... and

hi ho a diary-o ... a sailing we shall go

...

I made my first set of

beach wheels

(for my first Hobie a 3-digit H16!!!) from two

appropriated

1/2 barrel beer kegs ... I should say I ATTEMPTED to .... while being ROUND ... they didn't roll to well on New Jersey sand!!!

To Mr SRM .... you reconize most of the

Forum

members who

posted

in .... and there ain't a novice among them ... if there was a cheaper solution ... they would have found it. But if you do find alternate solution ... let us know ... when it comes to saving $$$'s ... I'm all ears !!!!

Harry
H18Mag/P19MX

jesus Harry, makin' it too easy.

and get some tubes.

If you're really having trouble finding a used set, and if you have the cash, you could always buy a boat that comes with a set, then flip the boat and keep the Cat Trax. This takes cash and cajones (you don't want to get stuck with the boat)...

This works best with a boat like a Hobie Wave, you can usually turn them around very quickly. During the start of sailing season, they don't last on CL for very long.

Mike

I think the wave only has a 7' beam so those wheels wont work on most beach cats ... make sure you get wheels that fit your beam.. or you will have to add weight, expense (and a new and exciting way to bleed when you get your hand pinched by the extension).

OK, speaking of leaky beach wheels and adding inner tubes...

Does the valve stem on a 12x12-8 inner tube exactly match the location of hole on a tubeless wheel? I have those POS EuroTrax and wonder if they used a metric (S.I.) measurement in locating the hole in the wheel. I'd hate to have to figure out where to drill a new hole for USA tubes.

And why should they leak to begin with? Couldn't you just clean and reseat the bead on the tire and wheel, maybe grease it up to help the seal?

If you get Wave Trax or something, just visit your local metal supply joint and pick up a new axle - pretty sure it is 2-inch aluminum tube. I used the Trax Mike Fahle sold me with a Mystere 4.3 for four or five boats, just swapping the axle to fit whatever boat I owned at the time. The Glasers have those Trax, now, and they just put tubes in.

If you have tubeless beach wheels that are leaking or you can't get the tire to seal to the wheel, try adding a sealant made for tubeless mountain bike tires. This has worked for me on various beach and lawnmower tires. Some problems like hard to seal to the rim can be fixed with one application. Other issue will require that up refill the tires with sealant once or twice a year as the sealant dries up or is used up.

Right now my preferred sealant for big tires is Caffélatex. Next is Stan's. I don't use Slime especially on beach wheels because it has ammonia in it and can corrode aluminum wheels.

Trying this will cost you $10-25 depending on product and wheel size but if it works you can get a couple of extra years of life out of a set of wheels. This has extended the life of my original Rolleeze by 5 years.

There are some cases such as a damaged rim and tire bead where nothing short of a tube will work and the damage keeps poking a hole in the tube so you have nothing to lose. In cases like this SLIME makes some heavy SLIME filled tubes that will sometimes work.

When it comes to sealing the tire to the wheel, you could try cleaning it real well and taking it by a big tire shop like Tire Kingdom. They have a commercial bead sealer they put on wheels to prevent leaking. They don't use it all the time but just on old ones that won't close up.

Makes sense

NO!
I've changed a lot of tires, that sh!t is straight up nasty to deal with, and it doesn't really work that well in the first place. It will eventually leak again. And I really don't care if it worked for you, you're an anomaly.

Put a tube in, the tires are soft as hell, and easy to get off of a rim, or go somewhere and pay them $4 to put the tube in. You don't even have to pull the tire off, just break the bead on both sides, get the tube in. I think I broke the bead on mine with my foot.

This isn't a high stress application. Cat-trax have a strange tire size, and its tough to get a tube that is the right size. The tire is a 21x12x8, I think both of mine have a 22x12x8 tube in them. You aren't putting any load on them, and the chance of the tube pinching itself and leaking is pretty low. I threw tubes in close to three years ago, and I don't think I've added air since then.

You guys mean to tell me that no one has successfully made a decent pair of beachwheels on their own using ATV tires or something similar? Of couse I could buy a set of Cat trax. My folks have a pair that they've used for close to 20 years. I know they work well, but I also know that it didn't take a rocket engineer to design them. All we're talking about is a pair of wheels, an axle, and a basic hub/bearing assembly.

Throwing a fist full of cash at the problem is a simple and obvious solution, but unfortunately one that isn't available to me right now.

If anyone has any actual input about the original post topic - sourcing parts to build a set of wheels - that would be most helpful.

sm