Michelin Truck Tires

[pappy19]

Originally Posted by gmw photos

Anybody here running 15" using the GoodYear Cargo G26 ??
225/70-15C is a load range D ( 65 psi ) tire with 2470 lbs of capacity.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....5G26&tab=Sizes

I'd let the tire store buy me the ST tires....then pull them off as brand new and sell them on craigslist or similar, then put LT's on it. A bit of hassle, but worth it my opinion.

Why go to all that trouble. Just take your empty rims to Discount Tires and have them install the LT tires. No questions asked, they just mounted and balanced and I took them home and installed.

[gmw photos]

Originally Posted by pappy19

Why go to all that trouble. Just take your empty rims to Discount Tires and have them install the LT tires. No questions asked, they just mounted and balanced and I took them home and installed.

I worded it that way because the OP stated that as a condition, Michelin said they would would credit the store for full amount...and all that yada yada "if" he let them install ST tires.

[r carl]

I wouldn't run ST radials even if they were free. I would still buy my own LT tires.

[pappy19]

Speaking of tires and changing them out, I really want to recommend that every AS owner with 2 axles should consider the Trailer Aid as shown below. It is worth it's weight in gold, IMHO. Forget jacking your AS, just drive on the Trailer Aid and there you are.

Trailer Aid - Free Shipping on Orders Over $99 at Genuine Hotrod Hardware

[rodsterinfl]

Not sure about the 15" tires but I can say that Michelin 16" LTX tires are used by Airstream, mounted on the Sendel rims and sold as an OEM solution. Many have followed that same prescription- tires and rim type. If you look online many vendors now call LT tires "light truck/trailer tires designed to carry heavier loads"
add to that some fifth wheels come with LT tires as well. Truck tires have torsion tests (steering and weight) and are also load rated. These are not opinions. Good Year has been able to get away with inferior product for too long at the cost of consumers. I am not sure why the tire companies do not realize this and take advantage of it but right now the best "tested" products that carry loads are the LT/LTX tires. Avoid the passenger car tires though. Oh and interestingly there is a Michelin chart for mounting tires to different applications.

read this from Tire Rack on this subject:

Also consider that Special Trailer (ST), as well as Light Truck (LT) tires are fully rated for trailer applications. This means ST- and LT-sized tires can carry the full weight rating branded on the sidewalls when used on a trailer.

[J. Morgan]

In my work I use a lot of cargo trailers. Some of my trailers came with ST tires new, but most came with LT tires.

The ST tires didn't wear long even if they didn't blow before they wore out, which they often did.

I run LT tires exclusively. My trailers don't do anything weird, they pull fine.

Now part two, the human side (me) and the Commercial side, (tire manufacturers and retail sales)

I went to my local tire shop and asked that LT tires be installed on my rims, the man behind the counter told me I needed trailer tires. Taking his advise, I disregarded 30 years of personal experience when I gave in.

I just went to the Discount tire website where I read up on trailer tires a bit.

In the description it stated that ST tires are designed to last between 5,000 and 12,000 miles......

What?? Lol seriously? No wonder tire manufacturers push a culture that says ST tires must be used on trailers.

Who thinks tire manufacturers won't push a position based on nothing but dirty money, but claim "safety"?

Never happen right?

[Al and Missy]

... the OP's tires are not truck tires. Although they have "LTX" in their nomenclature, they are, in fact, P-metric passenger car tires that are rated for light truck use. They are, as others have pointed out, not at all the same tire as the LT225/75-16 MS/2 load range E tires that Airstream puts on the EB as standard equipment and other trailers as an option. The similarity of nomenclature chosen by Michelin is confusing, particularly in the case of trailer use. While I can not find anything on Michelin's site regarding the LT MS/2s, Tire Rack states that LT tires are approved for trailer use and the Ribs are listed in Michelin's RV guide.

Al

[xrvr]

Thanks, Al. Been trying to get that said. Thanks again... Jim

[r carl]

Even though a XL tire is built better than a ST tire I would still use a LT tire.

[Wingeezer]

Originally Posted by pappy19

Speaking of tires and changing them out, I really want to recommend that every AS owner with 2 axles should consider the Trailer Aid as shown below. It is worth it's weight in gold, IMHO. Forget jacking your AS, just drive on the Trailer Aid and there you are.

Trailer Aid - Free Shipping on Orders Over $99 at Genuine Hotrod Hardware

Is there an advantage to this over using Lynx levelers which can be used for changing tires and also used as pads for stabilizers and/or to level a trailer side to side on an unlevel campsite?

Just wondering. I have used Lynx levelers many times for removing wheels when servicing my wheel bearings - quick and easy to use. and don't take up a have amount of space when stored.

Brian.

[aswbe]

Last June I swapped out my Goodyears at the factory for 16" Michelin's. They pulled them off a pallet mounted and ready to go. When I inquired about what tire pressure to use it stumped them. They are shipped to them at 72 psi and beyond that it up to you to figure out what is right for your trailer.

I related that story to the AS customer service person at the region 8 rally and he was not a happy camper. He directed me to the Michelin "RV" pressure chart and there I found my tire and at Max trailer weight and it should be 50-55 lbs. On other threads on this topic people from last fall time frame claim the factory was telling them 80 psi (tire wall max) and on this thread I have seen 75psi being used.

Two things learned: Michelin lists this tire on tire pressure chart on their web site titled "Inflation Charts for RV usage Only" (in my mind an implicit OK to use on a trailer). Second: Recommended pressure is way under what every one seems to be running at as related by many in this forum.

I am leaving on a 4000 mile trip and will be dropping psi from 72 to 64.

[jcanavera]

The key is unless you weigh your trailer, with gear and fluids, you really are approximating what the proper inflation pressure should be. No one wants the liability of under inflating your tires so it's no surprise what your tires were inflated to.

The question in my mind is when you have tires with high load capacities and you don't have a high load. I've always wondered whether there is a point of diminishing returns where the tire might be too low in pressure based on its design and tread contact with the ground.

Inflation is not an issue with me because I carry between 8,400 to 9,100 lbs dependent upon if I am carrying full water tanks. I run 78-80 psi in my 16" Michelin's.

Jack

[CapriRacer]

Gee, in just 24 hours, there's been so much activity in this thread, and so much to comment on.

First, the issue of Michelin swapping out the tires: It occurs to me that Bud (paiceman) hinted that he was an attorney, and maybe Michelin picked up on that. Plus, we don't know what tires came off the trailer, but we do know they were bouncing and that there was permission to use P metric tires on the trailer. This would have been a very precarious position for Michelin to be in - and the quick and dirty solution would be to get ST tires back on there to avoid any entanglements. Once done, Michelin would be completely off the hook.

Second, it isn't a clear diving line between tires such that certain kinds of tires aren't suitable for trailer use and others are. For example, just because a tire has the letter "P" in front of the tire size, doesn't mean it is not suitable for use on a trailer (or a Light Truck). The "P" has to do with a sizing convention and appropriate changes in load carrying capacity (beyond what is printed on the tire) would need to take place. Same with LT tires.

Also, when someone says: "Put LT tires on" when we are discussing 15" ST tires, that person doesn't understand that there are few LT tires in 15" - and there isn't a simple exchange that can take place. This has to be carefully looked at to get it right - AND there are situations where you can't do it!!

And relative to XL being better built than an ST: Sorry, but that isn't quite so. In fact, XL's are generally built weaker than most ST's. Where the real differences are is in the design - that is the placement of the materials, not the strength of them.

And lastly, those load/inflation tables: If you look very carefully, you will find those are MINIMUMS, not recommendations. So if the charts says the minimum inflation pressure would be 50 psi, then using 65 psi is OK - and maybe even advisable. Personally I think the inflation pressure should be such that the rated load is 115% of the worst case load.

[BlackAces]

Originally Posted by aswbe

Last June I swapped out my Goodyears at the factory for 16" Michelin's. They pulled them off a pallet mounted and ready to go. When I inquired about what tire pressure to use it stumped them. They are shipped to them at 72 psi and beyond that it up to you to figure out what is right for your trailer.

I related that story to the AS customer service person at the region 8 rally and he was not a happy camper. He directed me to the Michelin "RV" pressure chart and there I found my tire and at Max trailer weight and it should be 50-55 lbs. On other threads on this topic people from last fall time frame claim the factory was telling them 80 psi (tire wall max) and on this thread I have seen 75psi being used.

Two things learned: Michelin lists this tire on tire pressure chart on their web site titled "Inflation Charts for RV usage Only" (in my mind an implicit OK to use on a trailer). Second: Recommended pressure is way under what every one seems to be running at as related by many in this forum.

I am leaving on a 4000 mile trip and will be dropping psi from 72 to 64.

A savvy tire installer would have set your new tire pressures at a psi value that would equal or exceed the load capacity of the OE tires. That would have covered his six and placed any other decisions about it squarely on the shoulders of the trailer owner.

BA

[r carl]

Originally Posted by CapriRacer

Also, when someone says: "Put LT tires on" when we are discussing 15" ST tires, that person doesn't understand that there are few LT tires in 15" - and there isn't a simple exchange that can take place. This has to be carefully looked at to get it right - AND there are situations where you can't do it!!

And relative to XL being better built than an ST: Sorry, but that isn't quite so. In fact, XL's are generally built weaker than most ST's. Where the real differences are is in the design - that is the placement of the materials, not the strength of them.
.

Sorry but field data doesn't support your classroom data.

[J. Morgan]

The Discount Tire website states that trailer tire should always be run at the maximum pressure as recorded on the sidewall. I tend to agree with this position. I always ran truck tires at the max of 100 lbs , even on steer axles where it was common to run tires as 90 psi.

[handn]

There is some other reason for your trailer bounce and you are not going to solve that problem by changing tires. The ride on my rig improved radically with Michelins. I was using E rated ST tires because they were a little better at not self destructing than D's but the ride was like an oxcart and hobby horsing was much worse than with Michelins.
I switched to Michelins 4 years ago after serial blowouts with ST tires and have no plans to ever switch back regardless of Michelin's position.

[Rapa Nui]

I tow my QuikSilver 16-footer behind a '55 restored Ford Sedan Delivery. The first time I used the '55, the Airstream bounced like a basketball. A Forum member suggested I take all of the air out of my air shocks, which I did. Re-hitched, leveled and the bounce was gone.

[paiceman]

I did not intend for anyone to believe I was an attorney, I was and am not. I had attorneys work for me as CEO of several companies in my prior (work) life. I now believe, after much back and forth that the issue is not Michelin tires on an Airstream, but Michelin 15" tires on an Airstream. I have contacted Michelin Customer Care again as well as one of their attorneys along with Airstream and will advise what and if I hear back. I am going to get to the truth on this matter and an now thinking in terms of Sendel T03-66655T) and Michelin LT 235/75-16 tires as recommended by a number of forum participants. I like all do not want a belt separation and blow out.

My Best

Bud

[Wayne&Sam]

Originally Posted by paiceman

I now believe, after much back and forth that the issue is not Michelin tires on an Airstream, but Michelin 15" tires on an Airstream.

I recently asked Michelin, via email, about using LTs on my trailer. My issue was that I had three 225/75 16 MS2 and one MS (not involved in the recall) and I wanted to know if I could mix them. I specifically stated they were on my trailer to make sure they weren't considering I was using them on drive and steering wheels.

Their answer was that they don't recommend mixing them due to different tread patterns- and said nothing about their use on a trailer.