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Old 05-20-2019, 10:01 AM   #1
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2009 30' SO Classic
Alexander City , Alabama
Join Date: May 2007
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Upgraded our 15" Wheels and Tires

We recently upgraded our 30 foot Classic with S/O’s factory 15 inch wheels and spare that were running Maxxis M8008 ST225/75/R15 tires. The new setup has aluminum SenDel 16"x6 with a 6x5.5 bolt circle. Part #:T03-66655T. The tires we went with are Michelin Defender LT225/75/R16 115/112R. I know there have been several discussions on this particular topic so I wanted to post some pictures in hopes that it may help others with their decisions as well. We will be taking our first trip in a couple weeks so I will have to report back on how they worked out, but so far I am please with the slight increase in height. The front tire is close to the wheel well but it should not cause any issues since the tires travel up and down instead of front to back. Here are several photos so you can see the differences.
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Old 05-20-2019, 11:02 AM   #2
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2012 25' FB International
Trent Woods , North Carolina
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Lots of us have upgraded to 16" from 15" and never had a problem. Airstream even offered the upgrade on some models, without modification. They may still, I have not kept up with that.
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Old 05-20-2019, 12:30 PM   #3
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2016 27' International
Sherwood Park , Alberta
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We made the same change on our 27FB Serenity, along with Centramatics, and did not need to make any trailer mods for clearance. Great peace of mind when rolling down the road compared to the 15" GYM.
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Old 05-20-2019, 01:43 PM   #4
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Lin , Ne
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Now if you ever have a tire problem, it will be a normal problem, not an abnormal ST tire problem.
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Old 05-21-2019, 09:18 AM   #5
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2019 22' Sport
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Do you think that will work on my Bambi Sport 22?
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Old 05-21-2019, 09:34 AM   #6
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2015 27' Flying Cloud
Conroe , Texas
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thewarden View Post
We made the same change on our 27FB Serenity, along with Centramatics, and did not need to make any trailer mods for clearance. Great peace of mind when rolling down the road compared to the 15" GYM.
Made this same upgrade to our 27FB FC - love the Michelin’s + Centramics !!!!
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Old 05-21-2019, 09:39 AM   #7
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Vienna , VIRGINIA
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Has anyone made this same upgrade to a late 70’s AS/Argosy? I’m wondering if the distance between axle centers and front/back width of the wheel wells have changed over the years.
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Old 05-21-2019, 09:46 AM   #8
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Nice! Thanks for posting
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Old 05-21-2019, 10:05 AM   #9
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2005 25' Safari
Santa Rosa Beach , Florida
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We have done the upgrade to 16" wheels and Michelin LT's on two different Airstreams. The first was on our 2005 Safari 25FB. We did this several years into ownership after multiple ST tire disasters. When we traded this trailer in, it had almost 60,000 miles on the Michelin LT's and showed very little tread wear.

When we bought our new 2015 Flying Cloud 25FB. we made the switch to the Michelin LT immediately. The five 16" tires and wheels cost us $1,600. We sold the OEM 15" tires and wheels for $600, so this upgrade cost us $1,000. This set of Michelin LT's currently have 49,000 miles on them and show no discernible tread wear.

The photograph below was taken today.

Brian
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Old 05-21-2019, 10:15 AM   #10
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2005 25' Safari
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We did the same upgrade two years ago and best decision ever!!
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Old 05-21-2019, 10:29 AM   #11
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Bugtussle , Oklahoma
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@Tyrinius
Nice wheels. I chose the same style for my Overlander.
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Old 05-21-2019, 10:32 AM   #12
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2019 25' Flying Cloud
Greeneville , Tennessee
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Smart move. I did this a couple of years back. Sure takes the worries out of summer highway travel.
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Old 05-21-2019, 12:30 PM   #13
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2000 30' Excella
Toledo , Ohio
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tyrinius View Post
We recently upgraded our 30 foot Classic with S/O’s factory 15 inch wheels and spare that were running Maxxis M8008 ST225/75/R15 tires. The new setup has aluminum SenDel 16"x6 with a 6x5.5 bolt circle. Part #:T03-66655T. The tires we went with are Michelin Defender LT225/75/R16 115/112R. I know there have been several discussions on this particular topic so I wanted to post some pictures in hopes that it may help others with their decisions as well. We will be taking our first trip in a couple weeks so I will have to report back on how they worked out, but so far I am please with the slight increase in height. The front tire is close to the wheel well but it should not cause any issues since the tires travel up and down instead of front to back. Here are several photos so you can see the differences.
If you lay your wheels on the center line of the axle opening you will see their is only 1" difference in diameter . So you will be fine I did the same on my 1985 29' and now on my 2000 30'
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Old 05-21-2019, 01:10 PM   #14
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2016 25' Flying Cloud
Selbyville , Delaware
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Did the Michelin defender and Sendels when my rig was a year old. Got rid of the mounted GYM’s on Airstream classified in a snap. Peace of mind!
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Old 05-21-2019, 01:57 PM   #15
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2019 26' Flying Cloud
Roanoke , Texas
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Are there ANY negatives to making the change?
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Old 05-21-2019, 02:30 PM   #16
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Originally Posted by blingtin View Post
Are there ANY negatives to making the change?
Yes.

CONS:
- Cost would be a primary negative. Both procuring new wheels and incrementally more expensive tires for 16" as opposed to 15".
- Ride quality. Generally larger wheels result in less tire sidewall. Yet the tire size also has gone up. So this may be a wash but it could again be incrementally worse. There is an opportunity to upsize 15" tires too (225/75r15) and gain more sidewall overall and better ride quality.

The 16" upgrade was driven by a period of time where there were a dearth of good 15" tire choices. The market has since changed and there are many great 15" tires to be had.
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Old 05-21-2019, 02:57 PM   #17
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I would like to look at a list of many great 15" tires to be had.
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Old 05-21-2019, 09:25 PM   #18
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2020 27' Globetrotter
2017 30' International
Sun City , Arizona
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Also swapped to the 16s

Like many, I read dozens and dozens of negative reports on the 15” GYMs, and an equal number of positive reports. So many in fact that I was going to keep the 15s and be happy with them. Until I talked with my dad. He spent 40+ years as an industrial engineer and many of the applications he developed were mounted on an integral trailer. I asked as an, “oh, by the way, have you ever used Goodyear GYMs on anything you worked on?” Without prompting he said something to the effect, “oh, yea, I know the GYMs, most worthless tire we’ve ever used.” Based on that endorsement, I made the change to the 16s on my 30’ Serenity.

I’m sure this anecdotal reason for changing wheels will meet with some derision, and YMMV, but I’m happy with the change. Now I have 4x15” aluminum and 1x15” steel spare rim taking up space in my garage.
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Old 05-29-2019, 05:06 AM   #19
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Cranston , RI
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Triple axle

Can this be done on a triple axle?
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Old 05-30-2019, 04:35 AM   #20
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2000 30' Excella
Toledo , Ohio
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wheels

Goodyear now has a ST Tire made in USA called Endurance in both 15" and 16" it is a high speed rated tire
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