GYM's "Atta Boy"

[Ducatiman]

With all the negative threads on these tires, (I know there are more of them on the road than anything) just had to tell this story and show the pics.

Pulled the trigger on a 1968 31' Sovereign International Sunday morning. $1600... Jumped in the Tundra drove 400 miles to Laramie, WY. She looked good. Transferred the title Monday morning. Got a ferry permit. Hooked her up. Got about 20 miles before checking the tire pressure.

The front tires both showed zero, zip, nada on the gauge. Whoa... was this a bad dream? Filled 'em both up to 60psi and jumped back on the interstate. Never went over 55mph. These Marathons got me home...

Would I do it over again? Not on your life!

P.S. They were stamped "Made in the USA"

[purman]

Time for LT tires

[Silver Otter]

Like all of you, I've read and read and read the threads on GYMs. I've learned a lot. That said, we got a good 25,000 out of the ones the P.O. had on our rig. Wore them out without a blow up before we replaced them with Maxxis 8008. They ran fine to the end of their useful lives.

[AWCHIEF]

Looks like those tires were just plain worn out, that does not have anything to do with the brand just lack of proper maintaince by the previous owner. No way would I have tried to tow 400 miles with tires that looked like that.
Personally I am happy with the wear and performance of my GYMs.

[azflycaster]

Those do not appear to be GYM tires. The one picture clearly shows that the size is 7.00 x 15. Most likely a Bias tire.

[reddogfox]

Ducatiman
How old were the tires on your newly purchased 30 foot Sovereign? Might they be dry rotted by exposure to sunshine over too many year. I would appreciate you posting the month and year date molded into the back of the tires near the bead. Thank you.

[safari62]

Originally Posted by azflycaster

Those do not appear to be GYM tires. The one picture clearly shows that the size is 7.00 x 15. Most likely a Bias tire.

Good eyes AZ...I'm guessing Goodyear Workhorse trailer tires.

[Ducatiman]

Oh, you guys are good. Took a second look. They are Work Horses.. Hi Rib. Here are a couple more pics.
21st week of 2006?
Your comments are truly appreciated.

[dannydimitt]

thats one great thing about a bias ply nylon tire ! To be able to transport a 30 ft trailer from Larimie to salt lake on what just might be the tires that came on the 68 trailer from the factory ! If not the originals , I bet the old Airstream was not over 10 years old when they were put on !
These old Goodyears were built many years before there was such a thing as "trailer tires " ALL trailers simply ran whatever car or pickup tire that would carry the trailer weight down the road. The date stamp on tires built before 2000 only used one number for the year , 1992 tires only would have a 2 for the last # . same # if they were built in 1982 , or 1972.
If your old Airstream had some old radials on it you would likely as not never made it out of Larimie !
Did these tires all have tubes in them ?

[Getahobby]

Wonder when the production moved to China?

[Ducatiman]

Two of the four tires have now been broken down and yes they both had tubes in them. I remember savoring the fifty cent ice cream cones at Little America on the way home and telling my wife that I really thought the tires could be the original ones that came from the factory. One steel rim was a six inch the other a seven inch, so four new steel rims are on the way. The pilot hole (center bore) is 3 5/8". Many might disagree, but it was imperative to me to retain this specification because in my mind the hub/wheel union on the '68 is hubcentric - not lugcentric. For an explanation of this concept, which is REALLY important to me, this article does a good job:

Hub-Centric vs. Lug-Centric Wheels

It was tempting to order the Sendel T03 black machine faced "bullit" rims as used on the new Eddie Bower from the factory, but the 4.25 center bore specification made it a no go. I do not want just the wheel studs holding the weight of the trailer, I want the axle hub to carry the weight and the wheel studs and lug nuts to hold the wheel and hub together.

Enough rambling... The people, ideas, and dialogue on this forum are nothing short of stellar.

[purman]

Originally Posted by Ducatiman

Two of the four tires have now been broken down and yes they both had tubes in them. I remember savoring the fifty cent ice cream cones at Little America on the way home and telling my wife that I really thought the tires could be the original ones that came from the factory. One steel rim was a six inch the other a seven inch, so four new steel rims are on the way. The pilot hole (center bore) is 3 5/8". Many might disagree, but it was imperative to me to retain this specification because in my mind the hub/wheel union on the '68 is hubcentric - not lugcentric. For an explanation of this concept, which is REALLY important to me, this article does a good job:

Hub-Centric vs. Lug-Centric Wheels

It was tempting to order the Sendel T03 black machine faced "bullit" rims as used on the new Eddie Bower from the factory, but the 4.25 center bore specification made it a no go. I do not want just the wheel studs holding the weight of the trailer, I want the axle hub to carry the weight and the wheel studs and lug nuts to hold the wheel and hub together.

Enough rambling... The people, ideas, and dialogue on this forum are nothing short of stellar.

Interesting Ideas, but looking at my 5 cars, 4 of them are not like this. 1975-2008. I would agree it makes sense, but I doubt you would ever have any type of rim failure if you went with a 4.25 center bore. NEVER have I heard of a rim bending apart at the lug nut holes and flying off the hub. and the 68 is so light to begin with.

Even my 1968 AS has about a 1/32 gap between the rim and hub/axle so it's not taking any of the weight, it's still on the lugs. but if they ever started to slip (which they Can't) it would take the weight.

I would worry more about new axles and tires than rims. But it sounds like you got the rims. I drove mine with bad axles and did damage that didn't need to occur. Should have gotten the axles right away.

[Alumaholic]

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.