Before I order 16" wheels and tires, would like to know

[SilverEagle6]

Tomorrow I order our 2014 FC 25FB. Before I order the 16" wheels and Michellin tires, for you owners of FC 25's who have made the conversion, I have two questions:

Are there any clearance issues with the increased tire size?

Are you pleased with the outcome of having 16's?

[Pahaska]

On one side only, I thought there was too little clearance between my rear tire and the trim on the banana wrap. I removed a screw and trimmed the banana wrap back just a bit. No problem now. Took about 10 minutes. Can't see that I did anything.

[lsbrodsky]

No clearance problems, do not have anything else to compare to. I put 16s on it before I drove it off the lot. I wanted peace of mind.
Larry

[Ridgerunner3]

Originally Posted by easiryder

Tomorrow I order our 2014 FC 25FB. Before I order the 16" wheels and Michellin tires, for you owners of FC 25's who have made the conversion, I have two questions:

Are there any clearance issues with the increased tire size?

Are you pleased with the outcome of having 16's?

Have you also considered the Michelin LTX MS/2 P235 75 15XL tires. I have been very happy with them on my Safari 25 footer. Many post on here discussing the 15" Michelin option.

[Silver Hawk]

15" vers 16" - seems the difference is the weight loading - after considering the issue I went with 15". My AS weighs 6,000to 6,500 loaded thus didn't need the 16" extra carrying ability. Just got back from a 3,500 mile fall trip on back roads and couldn't be happier how the 15" Michelin's performed!

[SilverEagle6]

I am still debating whether to go with just 15" tires. Seems like the concern has been lack of choice/options with 15" wheels. I have checked with many tire distributors, and good 15" LT' should be around forever.

[switz]

The factory wheels will work fine with the 15" Michelin tires. I used the four OEM aluminum wheels and steel spare wheel from our 2013 25FB International Serenity with no issues. Crossing the scales camping ready an using a Hensley hitch, the trailer axles and wheels were supporting 5,880 pounds of the 6,690 weight associated with the trailer. There was a more than adequate safety margin as the four Michelin LTX (P) 235/75R15 XL tires are derated to 8,732 pound payload when used on a trailer.

Per Andy at CanAm, I used 44psi air pressure in the tires.

Look below my avatar and click on the word "images" to see one of the the original Goodyear tires removed after towing the unit home still mounted on the factory aluminum wheel beside a new 15" mounted Michelin also on a factory wheel. The GYM tire is 28.3" in diameter while the 15" Michelin is 28.9" in diameter, so the trailer sits just over a quarter inch higher.

A 25' Airstream can very safely utilize the existing OEM wheels and 15" Michelin tires. My 31' Classic Model 30 has an empty weight greater than the GVW of my 25FB International Serenity, so I had to migrate to the 16" tire and wheel world and use the same items Airstream sells at their store and installs on the Eddie Bauer models: SenDel T03-66655T wheels and Michelin LT 225/75R16E LTX M/S2 tires.

For additional piece of mind, you could consider the Dill TPMS model 1506-453 as an addition to the better tires.

[Alumitater]

We purchased our 2007 25FB Safari 2 years ago end of Jan. Drove directly to Jackson Center and had 16" Michelins put on + spare. No issues at all and spare fit w/o problem also.

[carl2591]

Originally Posted by Alumitater

We purchased our 2007 25FB Safari 2 years ago end of Jan. Drove directly to Jackson Center and had 16" Michelins put on + spare. No issues at all and spare fit w/o problem also.

are they ,JC, competitive on pricing for the rims and tires?? did that include mount and balance of tires.

how they working out so far?

[dkottum]

We have no clearance issues and the peace of mind the 16" Michelins gives is good. I have seen no reports of a failure of these tires on an Airstream.

You may want to order the wheels and tires after the Airstream is delivered to save some money. Here's my reasoning.

I could see no reason to buy a fifth wheel and tire to use for a spare when my present 15" spare was nearly new and the chance of using it are unlikely. And if I did, it is more than adequate to get us home, or if on a long trip, to a tire dealer.

We bought four 16" Sendel T02 wheels, Michelins, new plated steel lug nuts, and metal valve stems and mounting from Discount Tire. About $1500. Brought them home and changed them ourselves. Then sold the 15" tires and wheels for $500. Cost of the upgrade was $1000. I felt this was reasonable, money doesn't grow on trees at our house.

Our Airstream is a Flying Cloud and we like the design aesthetic, including the wheels. Sendel T02 wheels are of the same appearance as the original FC wheels. Sendel T03 wheels are styled same as the Eddie Bauer Airstream wheels. We don't have an Eddie Bauer, no black wheel well moldings, so chose the T02 wheels to stay with the FC appearance.

[Howard L.]

I went a much cheaper route and an very pleased so far. Replaced 15 inch GYMs with 25 inch Maxxis 8008 E rated trailer tires. $145 each. There are a couple of airstream reports of ply separation with the tire but all other reviews I could find were outstanding. There is a negative review for any tire selected somewhere out there, and that includes the LTX MS. The Maxxis is by far the highest rated trailer tire for the 15 inch wheel--and it's a 10 ply tire. Hopefully everyone will keep reporting results with the 16 inch wheels and E rated LT tires. If long term results are as positive as the hopes are, the 16 inch route might be a future move for me.

[Howard L.]

Originally Posted by Howard L.

I went a much cheaper route and an very pleased so far. Replaced 15 inch GYMs with 25 inch Maxxis 8008 E rated trailer tires. $145 each. There are a couple of airstream reports of ply separation with the tire but all other reviews I could find were outstanding. There is a negative review for any tire selected somewhere out there, and that includes the LTX MS. The Maxxis is by far the highest rated trailer tire for the 15 inch wheel--and it's a 10 ply tire. Hopefully everyone will keep reporting results with the 16 inch wheels and E rated LT tires. If long term results are as positive as the hopes are, the 16 inch route might be a future move for me.

Dummy me!! How about: replaced original goodyear marathon 15 inch with 15 inch Maxxis 8008 E rated trailer tires.

[mefly2]

YES; the 16" are standard on our EB ...

[Alumitater]

Originally Posted by carl2591

are they ,JC, competitive on pricing for the rims and tires?? did that include mount and balance of tires.

how they working out so far?

It was January and they were competitive because of Winter parts and labor sale price; plus we were in the area to bring it there. The old rims we sold very quickly to recoup some of the cost.

[HowieE]

When buying wheels you have to know the Offset of the wheel to insure there is not a clearance problem. All wheels are not made to the same offset. The 16 in. wheels I use have a +5mm offset, that moves the wheel inward by 5mm. to give fender clearance.

http://www.trailertiresandwheels.com...-trailer-wheel

[switz]

The SenDel wheels used by Airstream have a "zero" offset. That is why I ordered the same wheels and tires as Airstream uses to preclude clearance issues on our new trailer.

I lack the knowledge to comment on the more "mature" Airstreams still being enjoyed.