Which Tires?

[Coaster]

I have carlisle radial trail st225/75/r15 tires two of witch have duratrail technology. 3 tires have steel valve stems, the one that lacks asteel valve stem went flat on our maiden shackdown cruise. Are these good tires? What is the rule of thumb on rv tires.

[mstephens]

I think there are sort of three schools on this subject. I think the following might help.

1. Use Original AS tires which are Goodyear Marathon. Many swear by these, and many feel they are not up to the task and can be bested by other tires. It is a so-called "ST" tire, for trailers ONLY.

2. Replace the 15" wheels with 16" and wheels and use a Light Truck tire (LT) such as Michelin RIB or Michelin XLT and so on. Many people have done this and are happy.

3. Stay with the 15" wheel and use the Michelin XL tire such as this one: Michelin*LTX M/S2
They have a 2184 pound load rating at 50 PSI. Again, many people have done this and are happy with it. I have these on my 25 FC and I am 100% happy so far (8,000 mi).

The thing boils down to how much you believe in the "ST" tire designation. There have been hundreds of posts on tires, and many analyses done. I believe the progressive thinking is to change to the Michelin tires and leave the GYM behind owing to its uncertain construction, manufacture, source, performance and so on.

But in fairness, there are plenty of fans of the GYM and some other brands too.

[switz]

There is probably at least a week's worth of reading in the Airstream forums on just the tire issues.

I started reading the tire forums in September when I joined WBCCI and this forum. After lots of reading, I came to the conclusion to exchange the five new factory installed GoodYear Marathon ST225/75R15 tires (just under 500 miles from the trip from the dealership to my local area) for five Michelin LTX (P) 235/75R15 XL tires. I wanted to minimize the chance for tire trouble that could also generate very expensive repairs to the Airstream in case of a failure.

Everyone has to reach their own conclusions on the tire issue. Each owner has the opportunity to reach decisions on tires, tow vehicles and other issues related to the safe operation of their rig.

YMMV

[overlander64]

Greetings Coaster!

Welcome to the Forums and the world of Airstream ownership!

Originally Posted by Coaster

I have carlisle radial trail st225/75/r15 tires two of witch have duratrail technology. 3 tires have steel valve stems, the one that lacks asteel valve stem went flat on our maiden shackdown cruise. Are these good tires? What is the rule of thumb on rv tires.

I have had the above mentioned tires on my 1964 Overlander for three seasons without problems. Prior to this set of Carlisle DuraTrails, I always utilized Good Year Marathons (since 1980). I seem to be one of the few who never had any issues with Marathons. Regardless of manufacturer, I have followed the guidelines below with my ST tires:

• Check my air pressure each morning prior to departure and adjust the pressure in each tire prior to departure. I carry a portable 120-Volt Sears portable air compresser for this purpose. I always run steel valve stems on my trailer rims as well as my tow vehicle rims.
• I maintain a 55 MPH speed maximum when towing . . . for short distances, I might push 65 MPH, but that would be merging onto the Interstate or other similar situations.
• I never run an ST tire for more than four seasons.

So long as I don't encounter any particular issues with my current set of Carlisle DuraTrails, I will be running them through next season with replacement scheduled for the beginning of the 2014 season.

Good luck with your Airstream!

Kevin

[10Smiles]

We had Carlisle tires on our SOB box trailer ('04 Forrest River Wildcat). It weighed about the same as our current AS. Over the course of two years, we had three blowouts; two on one trip (to Yellowstone NP). I would not recommend these tires.

[dkottum]

We (and many others) relieved our tire concerns by setting aside a mountain of conflicting opinions and recommendations, and getting the 16" wheels/tires Airstream uses as standard equipment on their upscale Eddie Bauer model, as an upgraded option on new trailers, and sell and mount at their Service Center in Jackson Center. We air them to 80 lbs pressure as recommended by Airstream for these tires on their trailers.

doug k

[BAB]

It'll take a long time to read all the threads on the tire thing. After journeying through all of this, I bought the 16" Tredit wheels and put on the 16" Michelin XLT's. After three long trips and careful watching, I think this was a smart move. (Also installed a TPMS system.) While I don't tow at 70, if I get stuck in the left lane -- and I have -- then I don't worry about exceeding the max speed of the 15" GYM's. Ran into a nice guy last summer who had a 30' classic. It was a few years old, but beautifully maintained. He had tire failure on 3 of his 4 GYM's on a single trip. Not sure what happened....old tires? Inflation issue? Don't know, but for me this affirmed the attention paid to wheels/tires. (Oh, and one of the tires ripped out about $3,000 worth of aluminum.

[polarlyse]

My first trailer had several year old Maxxis tires. Over the 4 years we had it and about 30k incident free miles I have no complaints with them. I did have a screw in a tire and needed to plug it while on the road in Kansas. That does not count as an incident in my book. We have a newer trailer now and it came with very new GYM's. This past summer we put 7k miles in some very, very hot weather and no problems. I will keep the GYM's and may think about the Michelin LT's as a replacement when the time comes but I think I will stay with the 15" wheels. I like the look of them. They are AS original Alcoa wheels.

[Hoonanea]

Originally Posted by overlander64

Greetings Coaster!
[*]I never run an ST tire for more than four seasons.

Did you really mean 4 seasons (as in 1 year) or did you mean 4 years? Just curious as mine are now 1 year old.

[overlander64]

Greetings Hoonanea!

Originally Posted by Hoonanea

Did you really mean 4 seasons (as in 1 year) or did you mean 4 years? Just curious as mine are now 1 year old.

My reference was to four camping seasons - - for me, the camping season runs from April through November.

Kevin

[Hoonanea]

Gotcha, thanks for the great info!

[BlackAces]

Originally Posted by Coaster

I have carlisle radial trail st225/75/r15 tires two of witch have duratrail technology. 3 tires have steel valve stems, the one that lacks asteel valve stem went flat on our maiden shackdown cruise. Are these good tires? What is the rule of thumb on rv tires.

The reference below is from the new Carlisle web page. Like any manufacturer peddling their goods it's going to have some pats on the back. But, the basic information is about ST tires and their care. Go to download #2.

Carlisle Tire Warranty Claim Form | Carlisle Dealer Warranty Adjustment Form | Trailer Tires: Tips & Best Practices

BlackAces

[switz]

I had a 14" Carlisle delaminate in the spare position on a single rail trailer for towing motorcycles. It had never been on the ground and was about three years old.

YMMV

[Bill M.]

Just an opinon since you asked. How old are they? I personally would lean toward replacing those tires if I was doing much traveling in the trailer. I see the trailer age but no indication of the age of the tires. And why did the one go flat? Do you have steel wheels? Suggested inflation around 45 psi? No reason a fresh rubber valve stem should fail that I can see. The choices I would consider for replacement are GYM's load range C, or a P metric or LT tire in 235 x 15. I have been running a set of the P Michlen LTX tires for the past 4.5 years with no problems. If you have aluminum wheels and D rated tires and inflation up to 65 psi and need to carry 8000 lbs or so none of the above fits and the choices are a little more limited. Have not seen any D rated LT tires in the sizes that will fit. D rated GYM's was my choice but I do not pull that trailer very often.