Hi,

I need some advice from trailer guru's. My Checkmate Starflite 21 sits on the original C-Hawk single-axle trailer, which is in excellent original condition. I am however doing a number of upgrades simply due to age, and I'd like to upgrade from the original 14" rims to 15's. This is partly just for looks (it looks straight out of 1987 ), but I'd also like to add hydraulic surge disc brakes and I'm 99% sure the 14" wheels won't clear the caliper. I have these brakes on my Scarab trailer with 15's for example (ugly steel wheels though). I'm having a heck of a time finding decent-looking 15" 5-bolt aluminum trailer wheels at any kind of reasonable price. Any advice ?

Second (related) question: It current has a 3500 pound drop axle, in good shape, but does have some wear on the axle seal surfaces. I want to move the axle rearwards several inches to help with tongue weight. When I restored the boat, a fair bit of weight came out of the bow (wet foam and plywood gone), and I now have a considerably heavier stern than original (hydraulic jack plate and ETEC 250HO, as compared to a manual jack and Merc 2.4-BP on it originally). I was thinking about upgrading the axle during this process. Should I go to a 6-bolt axle/hub system to give me more wheel options ?

Because I tow over the Rocky mountains multiple times per year, I'm more concerned about safety and reliability on all this than cost.

Thanks,
Matt