New Tyres!!!Help

marypie · 05-27-2006, 08:53 AM

I have a lovely 1963 Bambi in the UK. I have been digesting this site so many hours now I should be clued up on airstreams but I fear I am not and value any advice on 101 things that I have questions on my trailer. Firstly I want new tyres for her at present she has MK 4 Ford Zodiac Tyres on and the tread seems good but there isnt a spare what should I go and get for good quality strong replacements??? I wont waffle on with other queries as I havent had a reply on any of my other questions yet and fear I am not entering my questions commnets into the forums quite right!!
Hope to hear from someone!
Mary Pie

Van · 05-27-2006, 09:16 AM

Any quality trailer tire should do the job, marypie. Just make sure that they are rated for the load(weight) that the Bambi will put on them. Dont get the cheapest brand offered and unless you want them, you shouldnt need the most expensive either. Either take your wheels off the trailer and take them in to a tire shop or take the whole trailer in. They can suggest a tire that should suit your needs. There are a lot of different brands and since your in the UK im sure you will see a number of brands strange to what us Colonials are used to.

Just keep asking your questions too, thats what we are here for.

Melody Ranch · 05-27-2006, 09:18 AM

Hello,
You will receive many suggestions here. Let me tell you what I did. ..and I did research this.
I just put tires on both of my small Airstreams. Small is probably important here because you will not be dealing with many of the factors considered by other owners....controlling mass.
I went with Towmaster tires. LT205 75 15....radial ply. They are made by the same factory as Marathons (highly recommended here) and most importantly have a high UV protection factor. They are Canadian made. Good for you in the UK. Cost about 55 dollars apiece, balanced and mounted here in Texas.
LT225 75 15 tires did not fit my Caravel wheel wells. Probably won't fit your Bambi...I don't know. I went with Radials because of the trailer size and weight and the fact that Airstream still uses them on production Trailers. (All my other trailers have a Bias ply for strength and stability under load...not a factor with a Bambi.)
Carry a spare...somehow.
I miss my visits to the U.K.
Robin C

**Action** · 05-27-2006, 04:59 PM

As Van alluded to in the above post, the total load of the trailer is key when buying tires that are correct.

So weigh the trailer at it's most loaded state, then add 10% and then divide that by the number of tires. In your case two. The tires need to have a load rating of that number or close to it.

I have seen so many tires mismatched to the load and the result did not work.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Action

Beginner · 05-27-2006, 08:47 PM

You indeed have a quandry.
Goodyear Marathons "So highly recommended" have a bad habit of suffering belt seperation due to overheating. They are only speed rated(a European convention) to 65 Miles Per Hour(MPH). So at 60 MPH you only have a 8% safety margin. Lt tires here are generally speed rated. they are usually around 99 MPH. Those of us who have had these "superior", "highly recommended" ST tires come apart with tire pressure monitering systems installed and know that the tires were not underinflated until the belts seperated, have come to the realization that the 65 MPH rating is just not enough.
The speed rating is an overall acid test of the tires ability (under full load and speed rating) to generate heat, dissapate heat and not come apart with the heat that it could not dissipate. That being said if a tire can survive 99 MPH at full load then 62 MPH (38% safety margin) is a piece of cake. I did a lot of research including talking to the Engineer responsible for the testing procedures (a United States Federal Employee working for the National Highway Transportation Safety Adm.). His advice was to select the highest speed rating available, not because you are going to run 99 MPH, but for the safety margin. My 31 foot Excella originally had Michelin XCA 7.00/15s, which was an LT tire. The BF GoodRICH Commercial TA LT225/75R16 that I went to (along with new rims) is the same Outside diameter as the original XCA and the width of the Goodyear Marathon ST225/75R15.
My recommendation is simply this.
1. Determine what size tire came on your trailer originally.
2. Email the manufacturer of that tire and request the outside diameter (OD) and Maximum tire width on on the original wheel(usually 6 inches wide.) and load range. They have this information on record, trust me.
3. Email Michelin or B. F. GoodRich (now owned by Michelin) and see what they have in your specifications.
4. Considering the cost of having a body panel replaced, I also recommend a Tire Pressure Monitering System.
I have only presented an alternative. The choice is yours.
Here is the latest thread on this subject.
http://www.airforums.com/forum...res-16506.html
If you have any questions or want assistance, feel free to email me and I will do my best.

Beginner.

**Action** · 05-28-2006, 08:47 AM

Depending on use, shipping tires (or tyres) from the US to the UK may be a bit expensive.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Action

**overlander63** · 05-28-2006, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beginner

Lt tires here are generally speed rated. they are usually around 99 MPH.
Beginner.

LT tires have a speed rating of 75 miles per hour. Never more than that.

Beginner · 05-28-2006, 08:13 PM

I'm sorry overlander63, but you are mistaken.
Refer to the B. F. Goodrich web site below:

http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/asset...all_season.pdf

and you will see in the column labeled Service Desc. All the numbers have a three place number, a slash another three place number and then a letter. The letter is the speed rating. Every LT tire in that page carries a speed rating of Q except for the last one which is S.

If you refer to this web page:

http://www.dunloptires.com/care/speedRatings.html

you will see that the speed rating of Q equates to 99 MPH or 160 KPH, not 75 MPH.

The LT 245/75R16s (Dunlop Radial Rover AT) on my tv are speed rated at R(106MPH/170KPH)

The blanket statement that all LT tires are speedrated at 75 MPH is not true. It depends on the manufacturer of the tire. Some have a higher speed rating than others. I seem to remember that most of the 19.5 inch truck tires are rated kinda slow. Those with 19.5 inch tries can check it out. Each manufacturer has posted this information under their Specifications web page.

I do not recommend that marypie order from America the tire that she likes. Instead she should follow the advise in my previous posting then look at the tires sold in her area via internet, Michelin I sincerely hope, and get her tires from the local vender. Service and warrantee work will be a lot esier to obtain. After all frederic.c01 emailed me from France and told me that the only tires they are NOT having trouble with are Michelin, B. F. Goodrich(Michelin) and Pirelli.

As I said before, the Cooper Custom Trailer Plus has great specs, especially the speed rating, but because of their marketing structure, they are next to impossible to obtain or I'd have bought them.
Beginner