It is not the first time somebody asks us where they could buy balloon wheels for beach carts. Sure, you can find carts with large balloon tires fairly easily nowadays, but when it comes to finding replacement wheels? Such an unnecessary hassle!
However, you won’t ever have problems again now that you have our ultimate guide for all things balloon wheels, from the best resellers and manufacturers to the proper maintenance to max out your wheels’ life spans.
Let’s get started!
What Are Balloon Wheels
First thing first, what are balloon wheels? It seems like all of a sudden, people are talking about beach carts with large balloon wheels, without anybody properly explaining what these are.
The technical name for balloon wheels is actually “low-pressure wheels.” They are inflatable tires that reach an ideal pressure of 2.5 psi — although the pressure is usually much lower in reality.
The Benefits of Balloon Wheels
Thanks to the low air pressure and the soft, wide surface, balloon wheels are extremely resilient against rough edges and harsh surfaces.
Meanwhile, since the pressure from whatever load you’re carrying is spread out through the surface, balloon tire beach carts are naturally the most efficient carts for soft sand and rarely ever sink or get stuck. In return, the wheels make it so much easier for you to navigate and move around.
Why It Is So Hard to Find Balloon Wheels for Beach Carts
As we mentioned earlier, it’s not the hardest thing to find wagons with balloon tires, but to find replacement wheels? That could be quite challenging.
The main reason is that balloon wheels actually are not manufactured in the U.S. at all. Therefore, your only choices would be resellers importing from offshore manufacturers, who often pay a hefty customs tax for the products. Or, you can try to order directly from manufacturers in China and other countries. However, that would raise new concerns especially when we’ve all heard about everyone’s Christmas gifts being stuck in the middle of the ocean.
Where to Buy
So, where can you buy balloon wheels? Below are a few listings we’ve found, and we will list the pros and cons for each one.
Balloon Wheel Conversion Kits from Amazon
The listing used as an example is a 12” balloon wheelset, with all the accessories and tools you need to make a beach cart with balloon tires.
As we all know, when you don’t know where to buy something, going with Amazon is usually the safe choice. You know you’re protected, especially since this is a Prime listing.
However, Amazon charges sellers an additional fee. So, we’d rather you use Amazon as a search tool and directly buy from the sellers. Support small, shop small, right?
Wheels Only from Storey Your Board
Storey Your Board is a great site for beach cart accessories and outdoor gear in general. But their balloon tire deals are definitely recommended. Their wheels also have a much higher capacity (240lbs!) than most similar products in the market.
The downside with this site is the wheels are sold individually, which means you’ll have to get the axles and whatever other hardware that is needed from somewhere else. This could be quite problematic for those less handy and you may risk damaging the wheels or your beach cart.
Directly Buy from Suspenz
Most balloon tries you see in the market probably came from Suspenz. So, a smart approach would be directly buying from them, knowing you have a full customer support team behind your back.
However, since Suspenz is mainly tailored for kayaks, most of their products are tailored for kayak transportation. If you’re looking for a basic wheel substitution for your beach cart, going to Suspenz might be a little over the top, and will cost you more than you need to spend.
Drops hipping or Off-shore Shopping
We cannot stop you from going that route, and we won’t argue because the price does look quite tempting. However, customers often encounter more problems than benefits when they shop from a drop-shipper or directly from an offshore website, such as Alibaba.
The main problems with this method are
- Shipping could take more than 6 months.
- Little to zero customer support
- No guarantee on quality
- Basically impossible for a return or exchange
- Many drop shipping sites are scams
So, think twice before you place that order.
Why Buy Balloon Wheels from Glampin’ Life
So, why choose Glampin’ Life over all other balloon wheel sellers? Here are the main reasons.
- We work directly with manufacturers and ensure the quality of every product, whether it is our beach carts with balloon tires, or the tires themselves.
- We are a family-owned small business. This allows us to treat you with the utmost care, instead of throwing your case to a part-time offshore customer service representative.
- We are the only place where you can buy the large, 16” balloon wheels for beach carts.
- We also teach you how to maintain your balloon wheels so you can get the most out of them.
Additionally, although we don’t provide any warranty (nobody does!) for the tires, we do cover manufacturer defects. In the case when a return is necessary due to a product defect, we will also cover the return shipping. However, you do need to inspect the tires on your own as we cannot perform any inspection for you.
Purchasing Balloon Wheels for Beach Carts Directly
There are two numbers you should measure if you’re purchasing to replace existing balloon wheels: wheel sizes and bushing sizes.
Simply measure the radius or diameter (2x radius) of your balloon wheel. Our wheels come in 12” or 16” sizes in set of 2 with a hand pump to fill the tire up.
Then, measure your bushing, aka axle’s diameter, and choose the correct option from our shop. Our wheels fit 20mm or 12mm bushings, which are standard sizes in the market.
If you already own our Ultimate Beach Cart XL or Folding Cart XL, you’ll notice our product description already tells you what wheels are for which cart.
Purchasing a Balloon Wheel Conversion Kit
On the other hand, you can purchase our conversion kits if you’re hoping to turn an existing cart into a beach cart with balloon wheels.
Our kits come in two different sizes. To know which one you need, measure the distance between the rear cart legs from outside-of-leg to outside-of-leg. If the number is 18.5” or shorter, you need the 34” long axle. If the distance is greater than 18.5” then you need the 36” long axle.
For a detailed guide on how to convert your beach cart to balloon wheels, click here.
Featured Image Credit: Glampin' Life