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Old 08-22-2012, 09:45 AM   #21
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Originally Posted by pmclemore View Post
Brian, did you replace your wheels with 16" aluminum ones? If so, do you remember what they cost?

Thanks - Pat
Not Brian here but I put new 16" aluminum wheels on my 20' Argosy and they were about $120 each, purchased locally. Less on line.

I am running 235/75 R 16 LT D range Goodrich tires (not Goodyear) and have had very good results in the past two years. I have 60 psi in them.

The tire is the one that most of the '70's GMC motorhome people have found to work best for them in handling and ride. As the back 4 tires on the GMC are like trailers, with duals front to back not side to side, I decided to try them and so far have been very pleased. I have always been a Michelin fan but went with the somewhat softer ride of the non steel sidewall Goodrich LT tires.
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Old 08-22-2012, 10:02 AM   #22
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Brian, did you replace your wheels with 16" aluminum ones? If so, do you remember what they cost?

Thanks - Pat
Yes, the new wheels that I got for Lucy are aluminum. We got them and had them installed at Jackson Center in November of 2010. I purchased the wheels and Michelin LT's as a package. The cost at that time was $328.95 per tire/wheel. We bought five to include the spare.

We had priced the tires and wheels separately, and that by the time we got the tires, got the wheels, had them mounted and balanced, the price was close to what Airstream charged.

We decided to take Lucy to JC and have it done there as we wanted to make sure that everything would fit right. Airstream also sold our old tires and wheels on Ebay for us, and split the proceeds. We ended up getting back about $110.00. We considered this really good as the tires were kind of junky, and the OEM wheels were corroding pretty badly.

Brian
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Old 08-22-2012, 11:41 AM   #23
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Brian, did the spare tire holder need any modification for the new tire to fit?
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Old 08-22-2012, 11:45 AM   #24
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Brian, did the spare tire holder need any modification for the new tire to fit?
No, it did not. The new tire/wheel fit perfectly in Lucy OEM spare tire holder without any alterations.

Brian
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Old 08-22-2012, 03:48 PM   #25
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Quote:
Originally Posted by moosetags View Post
...

It seemed like we were always dealing with trailer tire issues. That is why we finally decided to spend money and go with the 16" wheels and Michelin LT tires. We are now approaching 40,000 miles on the LT's, and are very satisfied with their performance. They show very minimal tread wear. They maintain tire pressure very well. We have hardly ever had to add any air. We run with Centramatic wheel balancers. We have not rotated the tires, and do not plan to do so.

If we were ever to replace our Airstream with a new one. It would be another 25FB, except it would have 16" LT Michelins from day one.

Brian
Excellent information, Brian. Even though I have had a good run with them, it's nearly time to change out our current Marathons, and I'm strongly considering 16" LT tires with the Centramatics. We do a lot of traveling, and are tired of worrying about the right tires. Your actual experiences are very helpful. Thanks.
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Old 08-22-2012, 03:55 PM   #26
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We bought our 20 ft in May and have taken trips to the beach. We just got back from the Mammoth area driving through Bishop at about 100 degrees. GYM felt hot but the Bridgestones on our Tahoe felt hotter. They ran fine without problems. 15 inch and 65lbs. By the way, Goodyear went back to making these in China. Our trailer has a built stamp of April 2012
Same here: 15s and 65 psi. Great tire as far as I know. Purchased my Airstream (19') in June and have put over 4000 miles over the summer. No problems -- knock on aluminum.
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Old 08-22-2012, 05:47 PM   #27
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We have a 2004 30ft. Classic trailer we bought in late 2004. We don't travel the 1,000's of miles per month many people travel like Brian (Moosetags) drives but by early 2007 we experienced our first GYM failure with a tire while parked in our side yard just before a trip. The inside wall about the size of a salad plate was peeled off the sidewall. You could see the chords inside the tire. Goodyear replaced the tire at 90% refund since the tire showed little wear.
Off on our vacation and two weeks later I checked the tires. I noticed one tire was down on pressure by five lbs. I told my wife THIS TIRE will be the next one to fail. Sure enough the next day on I-5 near Redding the tire lost all its air while traveling no faster than 60 MPH. Put the spare on and came home. Checking tire three when we got home showed tread separation.
By this incident changing a tire on the freeway shoulder I was done with GYM's and used the advice from this site to go to Michelin 16 inch XPS RIB tires and have never looked back.
I NEVER worry about checking tire pressures every rest stop on the freeway to make sure the pressure has not changed. Nor do I worry about blow outs doing damage to the wheel well. I check the tire pressures every spring before our first trip and see no more than 1-2 lbs of loss.
People saying they have a 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 or 25 trailer will probably NEVER have a failure of a GYM tire but realize 30ft Classics weigh over 7,300 lbs dry.

Paul
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Old 08-22-2012, 06:07 PM   #28
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"People saying they have a 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 or 25 trailer will probably NEVER have a failure of a GYM tire but realize 30ft Classics weigh over 7,300 lbs dry."

That would be similar to the weight the late single-axle 19' and 20' are carrying per tire. Heads up small trailers?

doug k
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Old 08-23-2012, 03:18 AM   #29
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I am understanding this correctly that Airstream makes trailers as long as 23 feet with 14 inch tires?

Ken
Yep, ours is a 2011. It is a pretty light 23', I will say that. It seems to pull easier than out 19' Bambi did, but that may be due to the second axle.
I still wish it had the 15" wheels though..

Jeff
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Old 08-23-2012, 07:31 AM   #30
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I'm no expert on tires, but I own and have towed single and double axle Airstreams all over this country and throughout Canada, including the Yukon and British Columbia. It quickly became apparent how important it was that I needed to be vigilant about making sure the pressure in each tire is identical at all times. I also try to tow at, or below, the recommended tire speeds. Fortunately, other than a valve stem issue, which was picked up by the tire pressure monitor, I have had no tire failures on either (yet).
Probably just lucky.
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Old 08-23-2012, 08:03 AM   #31
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Welcome aboard, JackDog. We're former Casita (2010) owners who also changed out the 14" GYM's for 15" MAXXIS's, partly for greater offroad clearance, and partly because of the many scare stories on the Casita forum. On our 2011 FC23FB we retained the 14" GYM's and have had no problems in 15,000 miles of aggressive use (freezing, broiling, rough roads, deserts, CO mountain passes etc.). I plan to retire the GYM's at either wear point or 4 years, whichever comes first, and look seriously at fitting 15" MAXXIS Load D's.
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Old 08-23-2012, 10:36 PM   #32
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Tires

To my knowledge all ST tires are still 65 MPH tires EXCEPT for the Cooper Custom Trailer plus which used to carry a speed rating of 99 mph.. The rubber compounds will still fail at lower temperatures than a tire that carries a speed rating of 99 MPH or better. My personal opinion is that on the lighter trailers if you can find a car (Pmetric or no letter) tire of the proper weight carring capacity written on the sidewall (1. weigh the trailer. 2. Subtract the tongue weight from the gross weight. 3. Divide the remaning number by four. This will give you the weight on each tire. Better yet, slide a portable scale under each tire and weight each one) you would be better off because car tires carry generally a Speed Rating of 99 MPH or better.
This is my opinion, not a recommendation.
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Old 08-25-2012, 10:00 AM   #33
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GYM Feedback

Just replaced the three GYMs that came with my 2007 Classic Limited and the one GYM I installed last year when I picked up a nail and ruined a tire.

The tires had run flawlessly on this 10,000 GVW Airstream and still had nearly new tread, after a year of use by me and three years of use by the PO who purchased it new.

I had the tires replaced because they had "aged out" not "worn out."

I replaced the GYMs with Load Range E Maxxis manufactured in April-June of this year. I will run them with 65 to 70 psi as the Maxxis Tire Load/Tire Pressure chart recommends.

This experience pretty much mirrors the experience with my 2000 Safari. I ran the GYMs that came with it until they aged out in 2006.
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Old 08-25-2012, 11:04 AM   #34
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Question about the 16" wheels. What tires do you run? My trailer came with load range c and suggested 45 psi. I am currently running 15" Michlen LTX's which, intereting enough, is a P metric size but max inflation is 50 psi, which I run. But when I look at the 16 inch tires all I seem to find arouund 225 size are E rated for 80 psi. No way I am going to deflate those to the 50 psi or so that I run. For the people running the 16 inch wheels on 25' or less trailers. What pressure and tire do you use?

I need tires. Choices are another set of the 235x15 Michlen, which is the way I am leaning, or GYM load range C if I can get them (steel wheels, 50 psi), or go to the 16" wheels and what?
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Old 08-26-2012, 04:39 PM   #35
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Gym's blow and go!

I finally had my fill of GYM's, pulling a 31 S/O over the last 8 years. Of the 8 tires, 3 blew side walls, 2 were road kills and the rest were just waiting to blow. I tried tire monitors, balance beads, and nothing helped except to give them a heave. I went the Michelin LTX , 16 wheels from Discount Tires and hope these are my last set. I reduced the tire pressure from a max of 80 to 65 to improve the ride. They run cool, look good and they match my trucks LT's. In 35 years, I have never blown a Michelin tire and sorry I didn't move to these for my A/S sooner.

As a side note, Goodyear never gave me a single refund on any of their tires, even tho I tried. Goodyear customer service blew me off, so this is my exit.
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Old 08-26-2012, 05:15 PM   #36
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More GYM Thoughts

Our experience with GYM tires has been good. The unit had GYM tires on it when we purchased it (We are the third owner), and we replaced the tires based on age. This set of tires looked good at the time of removal. We installed GYM tires when we replaced the previous set, and have now driven about 12,000 miles with no problems.

It is difficult to understand how, when someone experiences multiple tire problems on the same TT, one can assign the blame only to the tire.
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Old 08-26-2012, 06:13 PM   #37
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It is difficult to understand how, when someone experiences multiple tire problems on the same TT, one can assign the blame only to the tire.
Ya, who in their right mind would think that a tire made in china is junk.
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Old 08-26-2012, 06:25 PM   #38
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Question about the 16" wheels. What tires do you run? My trailer came with load range c and suggested 45 psi. I am currently running 15" Michlen LTX's which, intereting enough, is a P metric size but max inflation is 50 psi, which I run. But when I look at the 16 inch tires all I seem to find arouund 225 size are E rated for 80 psi. No way I am going to deflate those to the 50 psi or so that I run. For the people running the 16 inch wheels on 25' or less trailers. What pressure and tire do you use?

I need tires. Choices are another set of the 235x15 Michlen, which is the way I am leaning, or GYM load range C if I can get them (steel wheels, 50 psi), or go to the 16" wheels and what?
Bill, I ran the first 1500 miles or so at 65 psi and watched the wear pattern closely. I have recently decided to bump it to 70 psi. I was also seeing a little too much pressure rise on long pulls at 65psi. (7 to 10 psi)
I need to run over the scales again, but haven't done it this year. I'd wager I'm at 8000 - 8200 on the axles.
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Old 08-26-2012, 06:36 PM   #39
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Thanks guys. I am at a bit under 6000 on the axles. Guess I will stick with the 15" wheels and 50 psi tires.
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Old 08-27-2012, 12:22 PM   #40
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nicmeloy Nails It

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It is difficult to understand how, when someone experiences multiple tire problems on the same TT, one can assign the blame only to the tire.
My thoughts exactly, nickmeloy. That's why I continue to post fact-based information on the topic.
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