16" wheels for '05 31' Classic

[artwester]

I'd like to replace my 15" wheels with 16" wheels, primarily because I've had 2 very expensive problems with Marathon tires. I get half the life of the tires on my 2500 Silverado, and they blowout.

What bold pattern do I need and what offset? I cannot find this info in the owners manual.

[wkerfoot]

Six on 5 1/2" with zero offset.

Bill

Originally Posted by artwester

I'd like to replace my 15" wheels with 16" wheels, primarily because I've had 2 very expensive problems with Marathon tires. I get half the life of the tires on my 2500 Silverado, and they blowout.

What bold pattern do I need and what offset? I cannot find this info in the owners manual.

[Phoenix]

See details on 16-inch wheels and tires in this post:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f465...s-69297-7.html

[Gregg S]

Is the only place to get the 16" rims Jackson Center? I also have an 05 31' Classic and would like to do the same.

[Gene]

You can get wheels at tire stores or the internet. The ones sold by Airstream come from Tredit and Tredit has a website.

Make sure they are rated for Load Range E tires. Measure your tires carefully and make sure you have clearance between them and the wheel cutout. You can find the outer diameter of various tire brands on company websites and some tire store websites.

Gene

[artwester]

Thanks for all the help. I think I know how to proceed. One question, I am not familiar with any of the tires that Tredit sells except the Marathon. Anybody have any experience with them the others? Also, the 80 profile is a marginal fit., their diameter is too big. TireRack has a number of LT tires with a 70 or 75 profile that offer better clearance. Anything wrong with using LT instead of ST as long as the load rating is OK?

[Phoenix]

You can review and compare tire specs on www.tirerack.com.

I think you will find that most LT tires in load range D and E are spec'd similar to ST tires. We switched from 225/75x15 LR-E ST tires (Maxxis) to 225/75x16 LT tires (Michelin XPS Ribs).

If my memory is correct, there was only about 1/2 inch difference in radius (which reduced clearance in the wheel wells and raised the trailer only 1/2 inch). Also, I think the new LT tires were actually rate a couple of hundred pounds higher than the ST tires.

The biggest difference -- the Michelins cost about twice as much as GYM and Maxxis tires. However, it was worth it to put multiple ST tire failures (including Airstream-damaging blowouts) behind us.

225/75x16 LT tires are available about everywhere in many different brands and models, as they are a very common size. We got ours at Discount, but they were also available at Costco and numerous other places. We picked Sendel wheels online, then ordered them through Discount; and had both mounted at the same time.

Because of numerous tire failures on our Bambi, we purchased these through Discount to get the tire warranty. I usually don't get extended warranties on anything, because I think it is just extra profit for the store. However, with our history with trailer tire failures, I thought it was worth the extra price.

We got the extended warranty on the Maxxis ST tires when both OEM GYMs failed. Then, when the belts slipped on one of the Maxxis tires, we got credit from Discount Tire for a free tire, which we applied to the cost of the 16-inch wheels and XPS Ribs. I figure until we actually replace tires on our Airstream because they're bald or weather-checked/dry-rotted, I'll continue to buy the extended tire warranties. Hopefully, these XPS Ribs will boringly dry-rot in 6-7 years, at which time, I will willingly toss them and buy two more.

[artwester]

Thanks, that's what I needed to hear. I've had very good service from the Michelin LT's on my Suburban and Silverado, usually in the 60k range. I'll check out the Sendel wheels. We crossed 200 miles of southern California desert yesterday, air temperatures were always above 95. I kept my speed to 55, but my heart was in my throat the entire way. Even though the tread depth is good, I've got 17k on my Marathons in 16 months and I'm getting nervous!

[Gene]

Airstream ordered the Tredit wheels for us—our OEM wheels looked bad because the clear coat was coming off and we made a deal with Airstream. I picked up Michelin LTX 16" tires in Dayton and Airstream mounted them on the new wheels. Since the OEM spare had to go, we bought 5 wheels and tires and rotate them 5 periodically.

The tire carrier can have the sides bent to fit the larger tire, but mostly I carry it in the back of the pickup.

The Michelins are wearing evenly and have lots of tread after almost 25,000 miles. They have been trouble free.

Gene