Steel spare wheel

There are several threads about replacing steel wheels with alloys and the problems of finding the correct offset and stud lengths etc and also about where to stick your spare assuming you have one...

My 'new to me' Dandy 4/5 came without a spare wheel and I will need to get one before making any trips.

The current wheels are 10" with 4 bolts. The tyre has 5.20-10 on it. Is a used 10" mini wheel the way to go, or just buy a new trailer wheel. If new I suppose I need to measure carefully to see if it is an old 4" (just over 100mm) or new 100mm pattern.

Any suggestions......

Try reading a few of the tyre and wheel related threads.

The P.C.D. is 4" or 101.6mm As I've never needed to buy a wheel I've not measured the wheel offset but there is at least one thread mentioning that.

If you can find the age of the tyres you may be considering replacing the tyres as well. The tyre age to replacement rule isn't quite what most people think it is. See what you think it is?

The other choice is the type and size you replace with. Again look. If your stuck We're more than willing to help. There are a lot of new users at the moment so if we give full answers to you all we won't chase other things that we need to. If you're stuck or just don't get something. Shout back we're here to help.

Try posting in here
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one of our members who've replaced wheels for alloys may spot it, you never know they may still have the old wheels.

If you are keeping the 5.20x10 tyres you are unlikely to be able to source a spare crossply of the same size. The only ones available now seem to be 5.00 which you can get fitted to a wheel for about £50 from most trailer places. 10" mini wheels are becoming scarce but a new trailer wheel which will fit (4" PCD) is about £20, again at most trailer places. If your tyres are old or need replacing then it is probably easier to replace them all with 145x10 radials which are slightly cheaper and easier to obtain than crossplies.

After taking the wheels off and looking at them in better light, I could make out some numbers behind the painted over rust.

in a clockwise order 3.5B x 10 x 24, H4C, 21A2744, DunlopSymbol, 1611

The important one for ordering a replacement seems to be the 21A2744 which makes it a standard 1970's steel mini wheel.

The 24 is I assume the offset in mm, but not relevant here as I am replacing like for like from the part number.

Looking up the 21A2744 part number also tells me it is a 4" PCD confirming Tow Itch's post. I did try to measure this, but given that part of the hub prevents a straight line measurement, getting the accuracy to distinguish 101.6mm from 100mm was nigh on impossible.

Next step is to get three new tyres - radials as suggested Jake001. In this case age is not the concern, it is the deep cracks between the tread and the fine cracks in the sidewall. The new (old) spare wheel will also need a new tyre.

One wheel is now with my local tyre place while they check with their suppliers for a suitable replacement. More details when I have the new tyres as to what was fitted

Good to see you back you have done quite a bit of work. Alas I have as many questions as answers.
The wheels look like original standard 3.5" Mini wheels but how old is your Dandy? I'm assuming ply or plastic sided otherwise the wheels have been grafted on.
The original pressings were Rubery Owen as was the suspension but if Dunlop supplied the wheels cheaper then no doubt they would be fitted.
The later caravan or trailer type pressing is I think without measuring is zero offset so I'd presume clearance issues if 1" of offset had been added. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Do you want another Dunlop wheel or three matching wheels? It might be cheaper to buy three wheels with tyres.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] N.B. This is actually 3.6" not 3.5"

if you really wanted crossplys to keep a certain look they would be available as are the similar looking bias belted tyres. N.B. you fit crossply,or bias belted or radials not a mixture.(there are even 145 sized bias belted) I think the crossplys stand a little higher.
Though only shown as available with wheels there are a greater variety here. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Though crossplys may well slow your maximum speed if towing in France.

I assume a Mini specialist forum might be the best place to sort like for like wheels or three good matching second hand wheels.


Unless someone has grafted on new suspension it will be 4" PCD

Strange fettish time are the brakes rod brakes or cable. If rod brakes a picture of the coupling please.

Took some pictures of the brake linkage. It has rods at the front, but the split in the third image looks like a thick cable, so I am not sure if this is the type you need pictures of. I can send the high resolution ones if you tell me where to send them. They are 4 to 4.5 MB per image

The date on the hitch is 1985. I had missed that when looking earlier. The 21A2744 mini wheel was standard on minis until 1984, but was in use for 15 years , so there must have been an easy supply even in 1985.


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You can see in the last image that my breakaway cable is missing. I will be putting a new one on, so it will all be legal when it gets on the road.

I have a spare mini wheel from ebay, so I will have three tatty old wheels with three nice new tyres once this job is done. Then it is just the breakaway cable, one brake light to fix.

You took me at far too deep a level. I was in shock when you mentioned rod brakes, I was wondering about the age of the Dandy. I was wondering if the dandy would have come with the Mini wheels originally. mid eighties it could have been either I suppose. I was just ruminating about new trailer wheels being cheaper for a set.


As an aside what is the cable coming down the polypipe and under the Dandy?

They must have connected to a battery in the front box at some point. They just end there with no terminals at the moment. The pipe comes up in the kitchen unit, but as for where they go after that, I have no idea. I will look when I next open up the trailer. That will have to be after the wheels are back on as I will need to push it out of the garage .

When I had a destiny, I did not use the built in 12v. I had a battery which was transported in the car so that I could get two gas bottles in the front box. With this Dandy there is room for two bottles and a battery, but it does make the front heavy. I am not sure if I will put my battery in the front, or inside in the small bench closer to the axle or in the car like I used to. Inside is good for weight, but harder to charge.

My Designer had a pipe like that through which I pushed the hose for the water pump and the wire to power it. The pump was turned on and off by a rocker switch on the side of the kitchen unit.

I kept the battery in the front box and it had a plug and socket arrangement that brought the power into the underseat cupboard to the left of the kitchen.

With the larger Destiny and it's bigger leisure battery, I've moved the battery inboard over the axle. However with the smaller units I think the front box is the perfect place for the battery. You won't have any noseweight problems even with the two gas cylinders in there.