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Old 10-22-2012, 12:54 PM   #1
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Another Successful 15" to 16" Upgrade

After our near-miss on a tread separation of our Goodyear marathon, we decided to take the plunge to 16 inch wheels and LT tires. If we had a lighter trailer, I probably would have gone with 15 inch LT tires, but the tire load rating was just too close for comfort.

We went with the Eddir Bauer-type wheels and Michelin LTX M/S LT225/75R16 tires (2,680 lb each at 80 PSI). Looks great (in my opinion)! By the way, the tire pressure in the pictures is about 42 PSI (pressure they came with from Performance Plus), they do look a bit squished. I later inflated them to 65.

So, here's the before and after pictures...
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Old 10-22-2012, 02:12 PM   #2
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What was the inflation pressure, speed, age and condition of tires, etc. of your old tires and what are the recommended inflation pressures from the manufacture for your current tire and trailer combination?
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Old 10-22-2012, 02:43 PM   #3
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I think I have mentioned this before. When it come to inflation pressure you should go to the inflation chart and look at the pressure to support the weight of the vehicle. The number stamped on the side of the tire is just a MAX. and not a recommendation.

http://www.goodyearrvtires.com/pdfs/rv_inflation.pdf

Now some are going to question why I put up a Goodyear chart. The government requires all tires of a given size and rating to meet the same standards and there for pressure recommendations are common for a given size. The chart is good just the tires arn't.

Michelin took their chart off the web a few years back.
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Old 10-22-2012, 02:56 PM   #4
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Looks Great! What was the part number for those wheels at Performance Plus.
We changed to 15" E rated tires a few years ago and that seems to have ended our tire problems. But I think moving to 16" E rated tires & wheels will give us extra comfort.
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Old 10-22-2012, 07:57 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HowieE View Post
I think I have mentioned this before. When it come to inflation pressure you should go to the inflation chart and look at the pressure to support the weight of the vehicle. The number stamped on the side of the tire is just a MAX. and not a recommendation.

http://www.goodyearrvtires.com/pdfs/rv_inflation.pdf

Now some are going to question why I put up a Goodyear chart. The government requires all tires of a given size and rating to meet the same standards and there for pressure recommendations are common for a given size. The chart is good just the tires arn't.

Michelin took their chart off the web a few years back.
HowieE,

Thanks for the post. That chart is the one I used to come up with 65 PSI; probably from one of your previous posts.

Thanks again.
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Old 10-22-2012, 08:04 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by AWCHIEF View Post
What was the inflation pressure, speed, age and condition of tires, etc. of your old tires and what are the recommended inflation pressures from the manufacture for your current tire and trailer combination?
AWCHIEF,

The old tires were the originals on our '05 trailer that we purchased last year. I ran them at 65 PSI also. I was starting to look for new tires when we had a near miss with a tire starting to separate (fortunately it did not come apart - and installed the spare). We typically tow at speeds of less than 60 MPH, but sometimes get as high as 65 MPH.

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Old 10-22-2012, 08:11 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by fltlevel510 View Post
Looks Great! What was the part number for those wheels at Performance Plus.
We changed to 15" E rated tires a few years ago and that seems to have ended our tire problems. But I think moving to 16" E rated tires & wheels will give us extra comfort.
fltlevel,

These wheels are ... "T03 TRAILER BLACK MACHINED RIM by SENDEL WHEELS" manufacturers part number: T03-66655BM.

Regards.
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Old 10-22-2012, 08:39 PM   #8
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We also switched to 16" wheels and Michelin XL.

It is important to note that those with smaller trailers that have a single axle may be carrying more weight per tire than the OP's double axle 30' Classic.

doug k
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Old 10-22-2012, 09:01 PM   #9
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Do you have any plans for your old 15" wheels? I'm looking for a new set.

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Old 11-12-2012, 08:36 PM   #10
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First Trip with the New Wheels/Tires

We just returned from the first outing with the new 16" wheels and tires. I checked the tire temperature with my hand at a rest stop along I-5 a couple of times. The tires were actually cool to the touch. With the old tires, they were always quite warm (it is the cool time of year, but the difference is still very noticeable).

I would like to thank everyone who posted their experiences with changing to 16" wheels (and even those that did not change). The knowledge gained from reading about this made the decision and wheel/tire choice much easier for me.
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Old 11-27-2012, 07:11 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 10Smiles View Post
After our near-miss on a tread separation of our Goodyear marathon, we decided to take the plunge to 16 inch wheels and LT tires. If we had a lighter trailer, I probably would have gone with 15 inch LT tires, but the tire load rating was just too close for comfort.

We went with the Eddir Bauer-type wheels and Michelin LTX M/S LT225/75R16 tires (2,680 lb each at 80 PSI). Looks great (in my opinion)! By the way, the tire pressure in the pictures is about 42 PSI (pressure they came with from Performance Plus), they do look a bit squished. I later inflated them to 65.

So, here's the before and after pictures...
There is a tire industry standard to use for setting your tire pressure. I’m just going to outline the procedure for your new recommended cold tire pressure.

Use the information on your trailer’s tire placard or certification label. Find a tire inflation table for the Original Equipment tires (OE). Then find their load capacity from the manufacturers recommended tire pressure found on the placard. Now find a tire inflation table for the new tires. Your new recommended cold tire pressure will be the amount of pressure required to equal or exceed the load capacity of the OE tires. You should not use anything less.

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Old 11-28-2012, 02:56 PM   #12
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I have the installed the 16" Michelin EB tires/wheels as well. Unsure about tire pressure, I looked at the tire pressure placard on an Eddie Bauer and it was 80 psi. I have the same tire/wheel com on an Airstream so I set mine at 80 psi, not the 65 psi recommended for the old tires/wheels.

doug k
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Old 11-28-2012, 03:10 PM   #13
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Doug

Try this.

http://www.goodyearrvtires.com/pdfs/rv_inflation.pdf
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Old 11-28-2012, 03:21 PM   #14
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Thanks Howie, I did see that table and the 80 psi looks good to me there.

My belief is Airstreams recommended pressure of 80 psi is the one to use, as load might not be Airstreams only consideration.

The 80 psi is also what Discount Tire put in them when they mounted them. I only told them they were going on an Airstream travel trailer.

doug k
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Old 11-28-2012, 06:26 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HowieE View Post
Feel free to dive in please.

Looking at the chart, my interpretation is: take the weight of your loaded AS and divide it by the number of tires (i.e 4 for 30 Classic and 6 for 34 Classic) = X load. Look at your tire size (example LT225/75/16) line on the chart and trace it to the right till you see your X load point or approximate. Now trace that point up till you see the PSI inflation #.

Example: My 30 Ft Classic fully loaded per Cat scale = 9071 Lb
30 Ft Classic tires = 4
Load per tire assuming AS is balanced 9071/4 = 2268 LB
On the Chart
With LTX 225/75/16 my 2268 LB load per tire (single)falls on 65 psi (2335 load point)
With ST 225/75/15, my 2268 LB load per tire (single) falls on 55 psi (2270 load point).

BUT if I load my 30 Ft Classic to the max of 10,000 Lb (load per tire= 2500), then:

LXT 225/75/16 will rise to 75 psi (2560 load point) and,
ST 225/75/15 will rise to 65 psi (2540 load point)
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Old 11-28-2012, 06:32 PM   #16
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Lots of traffic that the recommended tire pressure for trailer tires is the maximum pressure as listed on the sidewall. This is to keep the sidewalls stiff to deal with the lateral forces during sharp turns - especially on tandom trailers.
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Old 11-28-2012, 07:47 PM   #17
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I think we've all seen these lateral forces working on our tandem axle tires when parking the 'stream. I would expect it in crosswinds and when passed by semi's on the freeway, so its also a stability issue.

Beside benefitting from maximum load capacity, that would be more reason to use the Airstream recommended 80 psi.

doug k
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Old 11-28-2012, 08:16 PM   #18
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I think we've all seen these lateral forces working on our tandem axle tires when parking the 'stream. I would expect it in crosswinds and when passed by semi's on the freeway, so its also a stability issue.

Beside benefitting from maximum load capacity, that would be more reason to use the Airstream recommended 80 psi.

doug k
Sooner or later, one of the "My stream's gotta have a soft ride" guys will find this thread. That's when the fun starts.

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Old 11-28-2012, 08:40 PM   #19
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Ken, that crossed my mind too and I suppose we're setting up for another dogfight over it. All the more reason to use the Airstream recommended pressure. When the sweat and blood begin to fly, we at least know we're doing what the mfg tells us to.

doug k
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Old 11-29-2012, 04:42 AM   #20
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A word of caution:

Tires aren't usually loaded evenly. There can be side to side differences and front to rear differences. Any calculation that uses the average is sure to have at least one tire overloaded - unless a factor is included to compensate.
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