15" ST Failure to 16" Replacement..a journey

[Gene]

Originally Posted by Al - K4GLU

Airstream recommends 110 ft/lbs for the 16" wheels. Not trying to argue but just passing along info.

That's what I understand and they use Tredit also. I have the ones with the holes, not spokes, and maybe there is a difference there.

Gene

[Al - K4GLU]

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

That's what I understand and they use Tredit also. I have the ones with the holes, not spokes, and maybe there is a difference there.

Gene

Mine have the spokes and they told me 110.

[Gene]

I seem to remember someone posting somewhere (I read too many threads) that Airstream was telling people 110-120.

Gene

[jcanavera]

To close the loop we installed the new tires and wheels this morning. No issues or problems. We torqued the new wheel bolts to 110 ft lbs. Here are some pictures after installation. Clearances seem fine.

Jack

[jcanavera]

Now here are the tires that we pulled off. The first two pictures are the street side tires. Notice the tall one. That's the front axle tire. The last picture is the curb side tires. Again the tall tire is the front axle. I'm assuming the belts are letting go on the taller tires.

Jack

[vswingfield]

Originally Posted by jcanavera

Now here are the tires that we pulled off. The first two pictures are the street side tires. Notice the tall one. That's the front axle tire. The last picture is the curb side tires. Again the tall tire is the front axle. I'm assuming the belts are letting go on the taller tires.

Jack

Wow! What a difference.

I'm sure you're glad to be done with the old tires. Looks great.

[Gene]

I haven't seen this style wheel before. I like them better than the OEM wheels ours came with. Looks good.

This should provide many miles of happy trails and peace of mind.

Glad you got this solved.

Gene

[jcanavera]

Yes it is a real sigh of relief. I'm so fortunate that we caught these before they blew. I'm going to pull the old tires off the wheels prior to putting the wheels up on Craig's list. I'm going to have the folks who will pull them give me some idea of what was going on with those bad tires.

Jack

[jcanavera]

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

I haven't seen this style wheel before. I like them better than the OEM wheels ours came with. Looks good.

This should provide many miles of happy trails and peace of mind.

Glad you got this solved.

Gene

Gene these are the T03 Tredit wheels. They are the same wheel as supplied with the Eddie Bauer Edition Airstream. They come in an all silver version or in the black interior version, which is what I got.

Jack

[jcanavera]

We sold the 15" wheels today. So other than the future experiences, we've totally come full circle. Thanks to everyone for the help and advice. I towed the trailer home on Sunday from storage to the driveway. Didn't notice anything different in the 25 miles it took. Time will tell if the decision was worthwhile.

Jack

[Gene]

We haven't noticed anything different either, but what we notice is the Michelins don't wear as fast as the Marathons, hold air much better and develop no problems. We have around 25,000 miles on them in more than 3 years and there's plenty of tread left.

The way the Marathons were wearing, I expected no more than 25,000 miles out of them. The Michelins should last twice as many miles and though they cost more initially, they should be cheaper in the long run. One reason is they last a long time and the other is one less time for balancing and mounting costs.

Gene

[gklott]

We have had a problem where we cannot drive 300 miles without a tire separating. We have tried GY, TowMaster, and Carlisle, load D and E. The street rear separates first, followed by curb front and street front. We keep the tires at 65, even for the 80 psi tires.

We've replaced 30+ tires in 8 years. On our last trip to San Diego, we had one tire separate in route, replaced 3 tires upon arrival, and replaced two tires when we got home. This began happening within a year of purchase. We have had one double blowout, curb rear and street front. I've posted images of the separating tires in:
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f438...ain-45428.html
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f42/...day-15566.html

We have the wheel bearings packed every 15k. Brakes are good.

We had given up on using the our Classic because we cannot solve the problem. So we took the trailer to N Dallas RV. We had a brand new Carlisle on the street rear when we departed. 225 miles later, the brand new tire was separating.

Randy checked the alignment - all was OK. The shocks are ok, and we have never had the banding indicating excessive bouncing. Randy checked the Hensley alignment - all OK. As a last repair option, we are replacing our 4200 lb axles with new 5000 lb axles. After this, the only options are to use another hitch and get a different tow vehicle.

I wish someone had an answer as to why our trailer is blowing tires so quickly.

What can be the cause - just like you are experiencing ?????

73/gus

[ddstech]

Originally Posted by gklott

We have had a problem where we cannot drive 300 miles without a tire separating. We have tried GY, TowMaster, and Carlisle, load D and E. The street rear separates first, followed by curb front and street front. We keep the tires at 65, even for the 80 psi tires.

We've replaced 30+ tires in 8 years. On our last trip to San Diego, we had one tire separate in route, replaced 3 tires upon arrival, and replaced two tires when we got home. This began happening within a year of purchase. We have had one double blowout, curb rear and street front. I've posted images of the separating tires in:
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f438...ain-45428.html
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f42/...day-15566.html

We have the wheel bearings packed every 15k. Brakes are good.

We had given up on using the our Classic because we cannot solve the problem. So we took the trailer to N Dallas RV. We had a brand new Carlisle on the street rear when we departed. 225 miles later, the brand new tire was separating.

Randy checked the alignment - all was OK. The shocks are ok, and we have never had the banding indicating excessive bouncing. Randy checked the Hensley alignment - all OK. As a last repair option, we are replacing our 4200 lb axles with new 5000 lb axles. After this, the only options are to use another hitch and get a different tow vehicle.

I wish someone had an answer as to why our trailer is blowing tires so quickly.

What can be the cause - just like you are experiencing ?????

73/gus

This is crazy. Sorry you have had so many problems. I have no advise for you but will be interested to see the outcome.

[HowieE]

The most common reason for tire separation is LOW tire pressure. While I am not saying over inflate the tires to 80 lbs as many will advise I would check your running pressure against the inflation chart.

http://www.goodyearrvtires.com/pdfs/rv_inflation.pdf

If you are within the range for your weight the next thing I would check are the rims. They may have poor contact surfaces with the tire bead and loosing air or they may be cracked. If you have tires on the trailer i would start out with known pressure in them and drive about 15 or 20 miles. Then check the pressure. It should be above the starting pressure. If lower you have a leak. If the pressure is OK drive another 20 miles and check the temperature of the tires. They should only be warm to the touch,105 to 110. If you can't hold on to them they are separating and the pressure is most likely higher than before.

Having had this problem with several tires I would look closely at the rims.

Changing the axles will have no effect on the tires.

Another possible point of heat would be bearings or brakes. After driving 20 miles or so on open road come to a stop without using the trailer brakes. Check the hub temperature but be careful because if the brakes or bearings are the problem the hub will be very hot. Approach the hub with your hand and if you feel heat before you can touch them there is a problem. That heat will make its way to the tires and overheat the tires.

[Phoenix]

Gklott,

I think you may be the unlucky winner in the tire replacement category.

It sounds like you are a candidate for 16-inch wheels and XPS Ribs; but there must be something else going on with your Airstream, as your failure rate is almost unbelievable. Before switching tire brands, types and/or sizes, I would wait until someone figures out the cause. Hopefully, you purchased the Discount Tire extended warranty and haven't had to pay for all of the replacements.

Are new electric brakes included in the axle replacement?

Good luck -- We anxiously await the outcome of your first post-repair roadtrip.

=============

Note: Would appreciate your input to the poll below, if and when you can spare a few minutes. --Thanks!

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f438...oll-76867.html

[gklott]

We carry a compressor with us, measure each morning, and the three TowMaster tires we replaced on the last San Diego trip were all loaded to 78 lbs. That's when we went back to 65 lbs, the AS recommended fill, and what Discount Tire recommended. That didn't change the outcome.

We buy the tire warranty each time, so the out-of-pocket cost has not been that great.

The rims are something that we have not examined that closely. However, when the street rear tire failed on our last 350 mile trip to Balmorhea State Park, we returned on the spare, which is rarely used. The spare, on the steel rim, also separated by the time we got back.

On the weight, we are well within the weight limits. last weight:
Classic tongue = 950
Classic 2 axels = 7480

Concerning the bearings, we had the original recall for the bad grease by AS. Since then, we've had the bearings repacked at regular intervals. Several separate dealers have told us all is OK. Don't know what to say there.

We also have had the brakes checked. Randy checked for this, and he said our brakes look good. Have a Prodigy controller. We will raise the bake point again, and replace if there is any question it could be the cause.

We've done everything "right", with multiple AS dealers for repair, and it still happens. It's much cheaper to replace everything underneath than replace the trailer.

Believe we may go to the 16" wheels and other tires this time too. That's why I read this thread with great interest.

73/gus

[gklott]

We are going to have new electric brakes installed too. We have about 120,000 miles on the trailer.

Like the XPS ribs, which is what we have on the truck. great tires.

73/gus

[HowieE]

Do the road test to check the brakes and bearing before spending a lot of money. There are brake systems out there that only have one return spring on the shoes and they have a tendency to not release after application and heat the drums.

You have a problem of over heating or low pressure and just replacing axle parts, unless it is the rims, will not solve the problem.

Look at your bills from the time you have had the bearings repacked. If you do not see a charge for new seals they did not do the job right. A common thing now days to shorten the time and improve profits.

[gklott]

We are starting new beneath the trailer. Replacements already underway.

Tires blown at 65 psi on "D" tires, 80 psi on "E" tires, and 65 psi on "E" tires. We check every day when traveling.

Receipt for last 2 bearing repack service are fixed price, $$$ for each bearing. Does not itemize parts.

We are scared to use trailer as is, and we will be satisfied when all is anew.

Figure 8 years and 120,000 miles is not a bad investment time given the crazy high prices for today's AS.

73/gus

[HowieE]

Originally Posted by gklott

We check every day when traveling.

When do you check? Before starting and then after some travel time? Do you ever have to add air on the second or third day on the road?