'89 Excella 25' - Wheels

[bjeppson]

New here!!! We have had an 89 Excella for a little over 7 years. The wheels are not OEM and was wondering if anyone has a picture or directions to a thread that show the original wheels/rims?

Many thanks,

Bob

[msmcv51]

Just went out and took this picture. It is on a 1987 25' Sovereign with upgraded wheels. Airstream did not have an Excella 25 footer in 1987, but this one has all the upgrades. I hope this picture will post and it helps.

[msmcv51]

I have a picture of the aluminum rims on my 1987 25' Sovereign, but I cannot seem to be able to get them uploaded. Help !!!!!

[Condoluminum]

Our '88 Excella 25 came with steel wheels with cutouts and then chrome trim rings and center "bullets".. I am not sure if cast or forged aluminum wheels were an option back then... Wheels were 15" with 6 bolt pattern and "Zero Offset"... The shredded tire is just a remembrance of need to be careful when tires get really old, and hot, even if tread seems OK...

John

[HowieE]

If you are considering new wheels pay attention the the "OFF SET", "WIDTH", and the "WEIGHT RATING' not all wheel are the same. Yes they are all round and hold a tire but that is as far as it goes.

[Farmer Dan]

Bob,
Our '89 25' Excella had the same steel spoked wheels w trim rings, etc as Condoluminum shows in the above pic. We changed to the 16" aluminum w Michelins just last week.
Dan

[bjeppson]

Thanks all,

This helps a lot. One question then begs another. I understand the zero off-set. What weight rating should the wheels have? I am looking at wheels with a rating of 2830# with a width of 6. The tires on the a/s are st225/75r15 and are only 4 ply. That being said and the age of the tires, they are in need of immediate replacement. They were on when we bought it. The age and ply make me very nervous. I appreciated the picture of the shredded tire as confirmation of my nervousness.

Another subject re. rehab of our unit, I installed engineered hardwood flooring and had the upholstery redone. P&S replaced two badly repaired curved aluminum panels a while back.

Thanks again,

Bob

[Condoluminum]

That weight rating should be adequate.. Wheels (in aggregate) are responsible for GVWR weight minus hitch weight, which is close to 500# on that Excella.. Net on wheels should be around 6,600#, so there is a cushion with wheels rated at 4x2,830 or 11,320# total.. One reason you need a safety factor is trailer will actually be towable on 3 wheels/tires, though only at low speed and hopefully not very far.. Our blowout/shredding occurred on freeway at 65 mph, and after pulling to shoulder, and learning AAA wasn't going to come and help, we drove 1/2 mile off freeway and 1/2 mile to RV park for night on 3 wheels..
I think a lot of the ST Tires are rated as 4 Ply, though our Carlisle ST's (from America's Tire/Tire Rack) are 2 Poly ply bodies and 4 ply tread radials, with 2 steel belt ply treads.. What is important with ST (Special Trailer) tires is Load Rating, and should be at least Load Rating "D" for the Excella. Ours are D-rated, with max capacity of 2,540# per tire, again to provide safety cushion if you are 3-wheeling...
The folks here who have gotten frustrated with ST Tires (including Goodyear "Marathon" tires (abbreviated GYM) have generally switched to a 16" diameter wheel, with a larger selection of LT (light truck...) tires available, including Michelin's...
You can search for Goodyear Marathon or GYM and read lots and lots of stories and opinions.. I believe Carlisle or Maxxis ST tires are better than Goodyear's, and from pure speed/strength/reliability angle Michelin or other high=load LT tires are probably more durable, though less flexible, and thus ride more roughly at same pressures... As you noted, risks rise when tires get really old (more than 7-8 years) and hot, and perhaps have history of running under-inflated or over-inflated.. We were lucky tread that flew off as a strip was on front axle, and went under rear wheel and didn't damage trailer. Rear separation would have been different.. Also worth noting that tire inspection ((including inner edges and tread surface for "flatness" are worth doing, as we caught the tire failure below before heading out on long freeway drive on 110 degree day.. Would have shredded within first hundred miles...