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dgray · 02-20-2013, 08:59 AM

It has been interesting to read all the posts about tires but I am still confused. I have a 27' FB International CCD and I need to change all my tires before going on the road for a while this year. My current tires as installed by AS are Goodyear ST225/75 R15 Load D. I understand from many posts that I should go with LT and it looks like the Michelin LTX 235/75R15s is a favorite. When I called the store they did not have Michelin in that size that would hold that load that my trailer needs. The salesman said that is a passenger rated tire and would not work with my trailer. He said that Michelin has an LT tire 235/85/16 that would work but we would have to check to see if the increased size will work with the trailer and have to change out wheel and tires. I do not know anything about tires and I want to make sure I get domething good so that I do not have any problems on the road. I would appreciate your help

**moosetags** · 02-20-2013, 10:43 AM

We have now towed our 2005 25FB over 100,000 miles. We had really bad experiences with the OEM Goodyear 15" ST tires. We went to the Maxxis ST's and did better, but still not satisfactory. We finally decided to go 16" wheels and Michelin LT tires. That was 40,000 miles ago, and it has worked our great.

Our only regret has been that we did not go to the 16" Michelins at the start.

Keep in mind that our experience is based upon our heavy and consistent use of our Airstream. If you are the type of Airstreamer who pulls the trailer 60 miles to the lake three times a year, you probably don't need to go to this expense.

Brian

Cally · 02-20-2013, 11:00 AM

We bit the bullet last summer and went to 16s and Michelins, haven't had a problem since.

Florida 55 · 02-20-2013, 11:13 AM

We have a 2008 27FB Safari that we upgraded to 16" wheels and Michelins in the fall of 2011 after purchasing the trailer. We put new Michelin LTX MS 225/75 R16 Load Range E on our 2008 Safari, replacing the original Goodyear Marathons and 15" wheels. Cost installed was $188 per tire plus sales tax tax and NC 2% scrap tire tax. Installation at an local independent tire shop included mounting on the new rims, computer balancing, and mounting on the trailer. Total cost of the 16" LTX MS tires was $1022.25 for five. Unfortunately the tire shop couldn't adjust the Airstream spare tire carrier to fit the new 16" spare so I had the carrier adjusted at Jackson Center when I had some other repair work performed in early 2012.

For aluminum wheels I purchased 5 Sendel T03 66655SM 16" zero offset rims for $112 each or $560 for 5. These are like the Eddie Bauer wheels except they are silver machined instead of black machined. I bought them from Performanceplustire.com who delivered them to my door in 4 days with free shipping.

Total for the tire and wheel changeover from 15" GYM to Michelin LTX 16" was $1582.25. I sold my 5 old 15" wheels and tires locally for $400, about a week after listing them on Airforums classifieds, reducing my wheel and tire upgrade cost to $1182.25 or $235.50 per wheel (5 wheels).

Note we bought the MS tire not the MS/2 due to the extremely positive experience we've had with the MS on my wife's 14 year old SUV (we tow with a newer pickup with 20" Michelin AT). We now have over 5000 miles on the new Airstream tires with 16" wheels and we've been very happy. The pressure stays constant under load. We run at 75 pounds cold.

There should be enough clearance on your 27FB for this upgrade. You may need to make some minor hitch adjustments after installing the larger wheels and tires.

Bill M. · 02-20-2013, 11:37 AM

Yes, the Michlen LTX 15" tires that many reccomend are a P labeled tire. They do take up to 50 psi. I use them on my 25' trailer and have been pleased with them. I would not use them on a 27'. Airstream did, and maybe still does, sell 16" wheels with the Michlen trailer tires mounted. Around $350 each. I think they pretty much fit most Airstreams that came with the 15" wheels. I think they are an 80 psi tire so you have to decide how much pressure to run in them. A e-mail to Airstream service should get a reply as to if they will fit. They had 6 of the 16" wheels and tires in the vendor booth at the Sarasota rally last week.

Lance M · 02-20-2013, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dgray

It has been interesting to read all the posts about tires but I am still confused. I have a 27' FB International CCD and I need to change all my tires before going on the road for a while this year. My current tires as installed by AS are Goodyear ST225/75 R15 Load D. I understand from many posts that I should go with LT and it looks like the Michelin LTX 235/75R15s is a favorite. When I called the store they did not have Michelin in that size that would hold that load that my trailer needs. The salesman said that is a passenger rated tire and would not work with my trailer. He said that Michelin has an LT tire 235/85/16 that would work but we would have to check to see if the increased size will work with the trailer and have to change out wheel and tires. I do not know anything about tires and I want to make sure I get domething good so that I do not have any problems on the road. I would appreciate your help

dgray,
If I had your trailer, I would put a set of these on.
Continental Vanco2 225/70/15 Load range D

You will lose 1/2" ground clearance, but well worth a quality tire in my opinion.

Bluto · 02-20-2013, 12:30 PM

Bill M.
Why would you not use the P labled tires on a 27'? Weight?

dkottum · 02-20-2013, 12:41 PM

Spend a little extra for the 16" Sendel T02 or T03 wheels, and get the Michelin tires Airstream puts on the Eddie Bauer models and say goodbye to these tire problems.

I haven't seen one disappointed Airstreamer who has taken this route.

doug k

RLS · 02-20-2013, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dkottum

Spend a little extra for the 16" Sendel T02 or T03 wheels, and get the Michelin tires Airstream puts on the Eddie Bauer models and say goodbye to these tire problems.

I haven't seen one disappointed Airstreamer who has taken this route.

doug k

Have you seen or heard of any that took the 15" route with anything but ST tires have any trouble?

I have been using the Vanco2 tires for almost 4 yrs. I have yet to read about anyone using 15" tires other than ST ones having any problems.

Seams to me that like all things, some need to go way overboard on what is really needed. I myself feel an E rated tire?? JMHO

dkottum · 02-20-2013, 02:29 PM

RLS, I have not. But the o.p. is buying new tires anyway, and headed out "on the road for awhile".

The Michelin LTX 16's are building an impressive success rate here among forum members. It's a matter of a few hundred bucks extra to have that confidence, not really way overboard. And he will have it as long as he has the Airstream.

I'm with you completely on going overboard, wasting big money to accomplish something that can be done as well with much less.

doug k

hissilver · 02-20-2013, 02:32 PM

Wow...this is confusing. What does the factory recomend?

idroba · 02-20-2013, 02:34 PM

If you consider going to 16" wheels as I did on my Argosy 20', the BF Goodrich LT 225/75 R 16 is another very good alternative to the Michelin in the same size. Mine are E range and I run 60 psi to cary the load of the Argosy. Two years and about 10,000 miles of flawless service to date. Mine came from Costco, special order, 2 weeks.

I had a GMC motorhome, and the Goodrich LT tire was the one that most run on their GMC's as the sidewalls have a bit more flex than the Michelin, and the ride and handling were better. Cost is a bit lower also. There had been so many good reports on the Goodrich LT tire in that 225/75 R 16 size I decided to try it on my Argosy. I am happy that I did.

kscherzi · 02-20-2013, 02:44 PM

Tirerack has these 15" trailer tires in load range E for $109.

Power King Towmax STR ST225/75R15

2,830 lbs at 80psi. Times 4 is 11,320 lbs vastly exceeding most Airstreams GVWR.

Ridgerunner3 · 02-20-2013, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RLS

Have you seen or heard of any that took the 15" route with anything but ST tires have any trouble?

I have been using the Vanco2 tires for almost 4 yrs. I have yet to read about anyone using 15" tires other than ST ones having any problems.

Seams to me that like all things, some need to go way overboard on what is really needed. I myself feel an E rated tire?? JMHO

I have been studying what to do when I buy my next set of tires. The Vanco2's are one the ideas I am thinking about. I too have a 25 footer. Does the 1/2" loss of height have much negative effect?

COUNTRYSONG · 02-20-2013, 03:11 PM

Without going into a long dissertation, we have a 2008 Classic 25 foot FB -- After going thru 8 GYM tires I fell off the deep end and went one step higher than the Michelin MS LTX light truck tire and went with Sendel 16" T-03 wheels (I believe that is correct number) and Michelin 225-75-16 XPS Rib Light truck tire.... Can't tell you what retail should be as my brother is a huge wholesale tire dealer...I will say the peace of mind is worth the expense...especially if you plan on towing on hot roads in Florida or SW united States...I hate changing flat tires alongside interstates....

newroswell · 02-20-2013, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hissilver

Wow...this is confusing. What does the factory recomend?

Airstream Inc, considers the Sendel T03 16" wheels with Michelin LTX tires a premium upgrade that is available on their Eddie Bauer Edition coaches, a special build order option (additional price) and as a Service Center upgrade.

None of the other options (some of which come out to nearly the same price) have the same documented success as the Sendel T03 wheel and Michelin tire combination.

It has been documented in another thread that there are now cheap look alike Sendel wheels being manufactured that are quickly having problems. I contacted Sendel to verify the set I purchased in September are authentic. Rick Papelian, Director of Wheels, verified that performanceplustire.com is in fact an authorized dealer. He was also able to verify my purchase was fulfilled through Sendel stock. They also happen to have the best price several of us could find ($112 per wheel).

Selling the old set of wheels & tires, nearly offsets the price of the new wheels. I'm still getting PM's and emails from people asking if I have them for sale. As for the price of the tire, I'm not interested in the absolute cheapest tire I can find to run on a verify expensive Airstream, where the penalty for tire failure is very HIGH.

RLS · 02-20-2013, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ridgerunner3

I have been studying what to do when I buy my next set of tires. The Vanco2's are one the ideas I am thinking about. I too have a 25 footer. Does the 1/2" loss of height have much negative effect?

No negative effects that I have noticed. Seams to track better than the Marathons. Have not dragged the back end yet. Take a ruler out and look at what a 1/2" is. And by the way, the actual difference is a tad less than 1/2"

I run these on the hot FL interstates at 75 MPH all the time.

Shacksman · 02-20-2013, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dgray

It has been interesting to read all the posts about tires but I am still confused. I have a 27' FB International CCD and I need to change all my tires before going on the road for a while this year. .................

All cleared up now

dkottum · 02-20-2013, 04:48 PM

Airstream offers two tire choices for your 27' trailer, the 15" Marathon, or 16" Michelin as an upgrade or standard equipment on Eddie Bauer models.

Pick one, couldn't be simpler than that.

Otherwise you'll be reading an endless variety of single experiences and quotes from tire charts of this tire manufacturer and that tire manufacturer, no positive resolution to the 15' wheel problem, and confused.

doug k

Andrew T · 02-20-2013, 06:27 PM

We have been using the Michelin P235/75R x 15" XL (extra load) tires on every size Airstream for many years now. Even a fully loaded 30' classic does not overload these tires.

That I know of (and I am sure I would hear about it) none of our customers has ever had a flat with one. They stay in balance, run cool and ride very smooth and have considerably more traction in panic stops.

The advantage over the E range 16" tire is a much smoother ride in the Airstream. We have actually switched the 16" E tires on some Eddie Bauers to a softer riding tire to smooth out the ride. Most tire stores are going to be nervous putting these on trailers because they are told that trailers should have ST tires but ST tires are inferior to passenger or LT tires.

I hope this helps.