Upgrade tires not wheels?

[NoResults]

Most on this topic seem to fvor the Michelin tires and recommend you run not walk to your trailer and replace them. My question is why does everyone seem to think you need to go to a larger wheel ie 14 to 15, 15 to 16 etc.

Will you not get the benefit of the better tires without the extra expense on new wheels?

Dave

[dkottum]

Two reasons.

The load ratings of anything but ST tires is low with 15" tires, and ST tires are unreliable

Airstream has chosen 16" Michelin XLT M/S as their upgrade and we followed their lead.

[J. Morgan]

My 15" tires are rated at 2040 lbs each.

This leaves me with over 2,000 lbs to spare.


Talis gentium ceciderunt.

[Mrjkq]

Hey Dave, this is a beat up, rolled over, kick ass topic on this forum. I too do not want to replace my new wheels but understand the tire difference. The 16" wheels allow a tire with a E rating whereas the 15" wheels don't. Personally I'm in the process of replacing my new GY Marathon tires with 10 ply E rated Maxxis tires. That decision is a roll of the dice as I would prefer Michelin BUT for the 15" application Michelin is a C rated tire which my be very capable for my 25 ft AS, but my decision has been made with much thought.

[J. Morgan]

D rated Yokohama tires.


Talis gentium ceciderunt.

[barts]

Dave -

Most of the folks upgrading their wheels have newer, heavier rigs. Those of us w/ lighter, smaller vintage trailers do not need to the extra capacity, and the 15" Michelins are an excellent choice.

And those 15" take-offs from the newer Airstreams look really nice on our vintage steel-wheeled trailers

- Bart

[dkottum]

Our 2012 FC 25 is rated to 7300 lbs, 2040 rated tires would leave us 860 lbs to spare unless we derated them 10% if not ST tires (according to tire engineers), which leave us 44 lbs to spare. That doesn't bother me but there's a good chance one tire may be carrying a heavier load than another, so that's kind of pushing our reliability efforts that led to the tire upgrade.

We did sell our 15' wheels tires to a fellow with a small fifth wheel rig he just takes out to the lake on weekends, they look terrific and serves his purpose.

For $500 he got a great deal and for $1,000 we got new four new wheels and Michelin tires that we don't have to worry about 2,000 miles from home.

[tjdonahoe]

Going to change to Taiwanese maxxis??

[RamblinManGa]

Hi from AZ. . . Ahhh, the thread that won't go away. I put Carlisle STRs on my FC 28 And 12k miles to Alaska and back had NO problems. Course I had never had a problem with GYMs on either AS either ! Keep em covered, properly inflated, & don't worry ! regards, Craig

[jcole]

I am also thinking of replacing my 15" GYM on my single axle 2016 Sport 22FB to the Loadstar ST225/75R-15 Radial Load range E just to get the Xtra 2 Ply from 8 to 10. No need to change wheels because overall diameter is just .1" larger than the 15" Marathons. Also a few hundred pounds of Xtra weight carrying does not hurt.

[Bob Little]

Originally Posted by barts

Dave -

Most of the folks upgrading their wheels have newer, heavier rigs. Those of us w/ lighter, smaller vintage trailers do not need to the extra capacity, and the 15" Michelins are an excellent choice.

And those 15" take-offs from the newer Airstreams look really nice on our vintage steel-wheeled trailers

- Bart

Ladies and Gentlemen: While on this topic, I will have a set of two unused 15" Airstream Flying Cloud allow rims and two brand new (or three) GYM's that I will have to liquidate on or about April 1st. Any takers while I shift up at delivery time to the 16" LT 225 Michelins?

[FreshAir]

I am very happy with my new 16" Michelins....however the do not come in the size needed for my '66 Trade Wind. The tires were only available in too small or too large for my 15" wheels. I did not want to spring for the extra cost but if I wanted Michelins after a few tire failures of Chinese made tires it's worth the extra cost. A blowout....and with new tires.....is not fun on a trailer.

Neil

[Bill M.]

Some people think the tire must say LT on it. I am perfectly happy with the 15" XL tires with about 8000 lbs capacity for the 5600 lbs my rig (25') actually carries on the axles. But for a 30' I would probably do the 16 inch wheel conversion. Also you gear a greatly increased choice of tires in the 16 inch size.

[franklyfrank]

Originally Posted by NoResults

Most on this topic seem to fvor the Michelin tires and recommend you run not walk to your trailer and replace them. My question is why does everyone seem to think you need to go to a larger wheel ie 14 to 15, 15 to 16 etc.

Will you not get the benefit of the better tires without the extra expense on new wheels?

Dave

Good question. For some, to have piece of mind, they need triple E rated tires, a diesel one ton and $ 3,000.00 hitch.

As to the tires I and many who have posted on this subject before, it is Michelin LTX MS/2 P235 R15 T-108 tires does the job beautifully without the hassle of changing wheels. It is equivalent to D load rating, 2183 lbs at 50 psi.

[PKI]

Originally Posted by franklyfrank

-- snip -- Michelin LTX MS/2 P235 R15 T-108 -- snip -- without the hassle of changing wheels. -- snip -- load rating, 2183 lbs at 50 psi.

Unless you have a 23 with 14in original equipment wheels. Then you have to replace the 14s with 15in wheels before you can install that sweet tire. Note this tire is a XL P tire, which is an extra load passenger car tire. It gets derated by 10% when used for trailer service. But since the 23 gross weight is around 1500#s per tire, there is no problem with a capacity of 1967#s per tire.

Travel safe. Pat

[Bill M.]

Actually I think a C load rating is 50 psi. A D is 65 psi.

[Mrjkq]

The new Michelin Defender tire 235/75R15 has a higher load rating than the current Defender, so even after the derating of 10% it will de a better fit for all 23 & 25 ft Airstreams. It hits the market this month & that's why I'm holding off buying the Maxxis ST tire, just can't decide!

[bullet661]

I just upgraded to the 16" wheels and Michelin tires and besides the reasons already mentioned I'm looking foreword to the increased ground clearance. I've drug the rear skids once and that wasn't a good feeling.

[MelGoddard]

Originally Posted by J. Morgan

My 15" tires are rated at 2040 lbs each.

This leaves me with over 2,000 lbs to spare.


Talis gentium ceciderunt.

\MY Michelins are rated for 2100+ lbs. each, for a 30 Flying cloud that grosses at 8800 lbs. leaving me short about 400 lb.s at gross.
Means that I cannot load the FC to max, although I seldom do anyway.

[J. Morgan]

Remember, all of the trailer weight does not sit on your trailer tires.


Talis gentium ceciderunt.