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Old 09-03-2016, 12:54 PM   #1
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15" Michelin tires recommended?

We have a 2015 27FB FC that I am interested in putting Michelin tires on. If I stick with 15" tires what tire is recommended? Why are some AS owners moving to 16" ?

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Old 09-03-2016, 01:14 PM   #2
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Weight margins are the primary reason. My 2014 27FB Classic is 9,000 GVW. To get that capacity in an LT tire, I had to upgrade to 16" rims. Got the new Sendel 16" rims, a 16" Dexter steel spare and 5 Michelin XPS Rib tires. I'm very pleased with the results...
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Old 09-03-2016, 01:21 PM   #3
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Hi there. If you put the following phrase into google you'll get dozens of threads in this site that go through this in excruciating detail.


michelin 15 airforums site:www.airforums.com

I can tell you as someone who has the Michelin 15s on my 27FB Flying Cloud, I'm very happy with them, they have plenty of load capacity for my trailer (1985#/tire when used on a trailer and my trailer is 6000# on the scales loaded for camping).

People go to 16s for lots of reasons including the factory uses them on some models, the 15s are a "P" (passenger) rated tire and the 16s are "LT" (light truck) rated, it's hard to find an LT tire in a 15" size, the Goodyear Marathons are limited to 65 mph (which I think is a good thing, actually...), etc.
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Old 09-03-2016, 01:28 PM   #4
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235x15 XL. Rated for about 1985 lbs. And 50 psi max for trailer use. If your axle rating is higher than 3800 lbs per axle you probably want the 16 inch for a better selection of tires and more load capacity. There are very few D rates tires in 15 inch available.
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Old 09-03-2016, 03:05 PM   #5
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15 vs 16 " tires...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Adiredneck View Post
Weight margins are the primary reason. My 2014 27FB Classic is 9,000 GVW. To get that capacity in an LT tire, I had to upgrade to 16" rims. Got the new Sendel 16" rims, a 16" Dexter steel spare and 5 Michelin XPS Rib tires. I'm very pleased with the results...
Our 3rd 25' AS and we are happy with 15's for now. I watch this thread (15 vs 16)with interest and depending on where you live, it may be difficult to find LT tires in 15"; thus the 16" that many have switched to. We do like Michelin over the stock GYM's, but the GYM's that came with our unit have worked out fine for now. You can always spend more money on these units if you want to..
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Old 09-03-2016, 11:14 PM   #6
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The new Michelin Defender LTX M/S is available in 235/75-15. Rated at 2190#. Even with a 10% reduction for trailer use you're at about 2000# per tire. I put about 5000 miles on mine this summer and couldn't be happier with them.
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Old 09-04-2016, 11:22 AM   #7
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Nokian Cargo Van 225/70R15C 112/110S, Load Range D, max load 2469 lbs. (x4 = 9876 lbs.). mounted on my 23' International FB. Sendel, 5 lug, 15" rims.
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Old 09-04-2016, 11:58 AM   #8
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Originally Posted by daveswenson View Post
The new Michelin Defender LTX M/S is available in 235/75-15. Rated at 2190#. Even with a 10% reduction for trailer use you're at about 2000# per tire. I put about 5000 miles on mine this summer and couldn't be happier with them.
My new 2016 30' FC came with the same tyres.
My average tow weight is about 7800-8000 lbs. (Full fresh tank, and two of us.)
Seems to work so far.
Unfortunately, finding a TPM (in Canada)that actually works is like pulling teeth out of a wet hen.
I did have two 'NVision' monitors, that failed, one after the other.
Those plus extra sensors cost me over $1200 to get exactly nothing
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Old 09-04-2016, 12:14 PM   #9
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"Pulling teeth out of a wet hen." Interesting phrase.


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Old 09-04-2016, 12:48 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Adiredneck View Post
Weight margins are the primary reason. My 2014 27FB Classic is 9,000 GVW. To get that capacity in an LT tire, I had to upgrade to 16" rims. Got the new Sendel 16" rims, a 16" Dexter steel spare and 5 Michelin XPS Rib tires. I'm very pleased with the results...
You don't need to go to 16" wheels. Save your money, Michelin LTX/MS2/P235 R15/ T108 E2 tire is what you are looking for. It is D rated at 50 PSI and E rated at 65 PSI. I am on my second year 12,000 miles running them on our 2013 International 30' AS. The best move ever. I run ours at 50 PSI and it gives us a great ride and I rarely have to adjust air pressure.
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Old 09-04-2016, 12:54 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by franklyfrank View Post
You don't need to go to 16" wheels. Save your money, Michelin LTX/MS2/P235 R15/ T108 E2 tire is what you are looking for. It is D rated at 50 PSI and E rated at 65 PSI. I am on my second year 12,000 miles running them on our 2013 International 30' AS. The best move ever. I run ours at 50 PSI and it gives us a great ride and I rarely have to adjust air pressure.
Where are you getting the d rated at 50 psi and e rated at 65 psi? That's completely false.
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Old 09-04-2016, 01:53 PM   #12
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Frank, could you please explain exactly what you are talking about? I do not think the tire you mentioned carries either a D or an E rating. And on mine it says the max inflation is 50 psi.
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Old 09-04-2016, 10:17 PM   #13
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We got Maxxis M8008 tires to replace the GYMs, keep them inflated at 70psi cold which I'm sure is more than necessary, but nothing gets tossed around much except the water melon we forgot and left on the couch.
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Old 09-04-2016, 10:47 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MelGoddard View Post
My new 2016 30' FC came with the same tyres.
My average tow weight is about 7800-8000 lbs. (Full fresh tank, and two of us.)
Seems to work so far.
Unfortunately, finding a TPM (in Canada)that actually works is like pulling teeth out of a wet hen.
I did have two 'NVision' monitors, that failed, one after the other.
Those plus extra sensors cost me over $1200 to get exactly nothing
To clarify, your 2016 30 FC came with Michelin Defender LTX M/S 235/75-15 from the factory?

Your GVWR is 8800 pounds which is more than the 2,000 pound per tire derated for trailer use allowance. I'm surprised that Airstream would do that.
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Old 09-05-2016, 07:05 AM   #15
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Originally Posted by interstateflyer View Post
To clarify, your 2016 30 FC came with Michelin Defender LTX M/S 235/75-15 from the factory?

Your GVWR is 8800 pounds which is more than the 2,000 pound per tire derated for trailer use allowance. I'm surprised that Airstream would do that.
Not from the factory, I do believe.
I think that CanAm in London, Ont. takes the factory tires off, and installs the Michelins on the larger ASs. Check with Andy on that.
As I mentioned, my avg. tow wt.is about 7800-8000#, so I'm just 'under the wire'.
On some previous trips this last summer, (Avg. temps. 30-32C) my tires were warm but not hot, cruising at 100-110 KPH., as felt with my hand at occasional roadside stops.

I would feel more comfortable with higher rated tires, but these Michelins are new, and replacement would be very costly.

I did order from Amazon, a set of 50PSI valve caps that tell you visually if pressure is lower than 50.
Does anyone have any experience with them?
Somebody once said that these things leak air out of the tire; but I have used similar ones successfully on my Hi-Lo, in the past.
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Old 09-05-2016, 08:05 AM   #16
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I got these per recommendation of a friend:

http://m.tirerack.com/tires/TireDeta...omCompare1=yes

They are 15" LT tires with 2096# load capacity. My trailers GVWR is 7500#, axle ratings is 7000# (3500# per axle), so these tires provide a good load capacity margin. Actual axle weight of my trailer axles were 5200#, with water tanks partially full (my trailer's water tanks are on the axles). Hence, I don't think I'll ever get close to max capacity.
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Old 09-05-2016, 08:42 AM   #17
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Frank, could you please explain exactly what you are talking about? I do not think the tire you mentioned carries either a D or an E rating. And on mine it says the max inflation is 50 psi.
Do your research. Took me some effort but I did find the information.
Due to the intense nature of this subject, reading scary posts about "must derate" must go to 16" wheels,must have centrimatics etc.etc,etc. I was confused and concerned so I set out an did my research. Took me quite some time but got the information and went ahead with confidence to install the tires I described and have no regrets, they are performing exceptionally well. I have no stake in this other than noting my actual life experience switching to a non ST Michelin LTX tire.

Same situation with the TPM system. Three years ago I purchased, on line the EEZ Tire T515 Sytem for around $ 290.00. It was a breeze to install and set up and it has been performing flawlessly. Haven't even had to replace a battery in three years.
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Old 09-05-2016, 08:59 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by franklyfrank View Post
Do your research. Took me some effort but I did find the information.

Due to the intense nature of this subject, reading scary posts about "must derate" must go to 16" wheels,must have centrimatics etc.etc,etc. I was confused and concerned so I set out an did my research. Took me quite some time but got the information and went ahead with confidence to install the tires I described....(snip)

You're referring to something you posted earlier - Michelin LTX/MS2/P235 R15/ T108 which you claim is D rated at 50 PSI and E rated at 65 PSI.

Could you share where you got this information? "Do your research" doesn't help. You're making a claim here that no one else (myself included - and I believe I've "done my research" including talking with Michelin directly) has seen. Please share the source of this statement.
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Old 09-05-2016, 11:27 AM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveSueMac View Post
You're referring to something you posted earlier - Michelin LTX/MS2/P235 R15/ T108 which you claim is D rated at 50 PSI and E rated at 65 PSI.

Could you share where you got this information? "Do your research" doesn't help. You're making a claim here that no one else (myself included - and I believe I've "done my research" including talking with Michelin directly) has seen. Please share the source of this statement.
Agree. Wheather ST or LT, E rated/10 ply tires are rated 80psi. D/8 ply tires, 65 psi. After doing an awful lot of speed and load rating research, I've never seen anything different.
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Old 09-05-2016, 11:47 AM   #20
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Just got info from a Michelin rep about the Defender LTX series. While the 235/75R15/ is rated at 2271lbs @5O psi, it has an XL rating and NOT an LT rating. The XL rating (Extra Load) is one grade up from a standard P rated passenger tire, and as such should be derated for use where heaver loads are anticipated. The Defender series does offer LT rated tires, but they start at the 16" rim size and above.

Here is the link that the Michelin rep sent me to for current specs on this line.

http://www.michelinman.com/US/en/tir...s/details.html

Let the debate continue...
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