Carlisle ST205/90D15

[thomdial]

Has anybody tried this bias tire? It has a height of 29.6", which is pretty close to the 7.00-15 that's on my 79 Safari.

[Zeppelinium]

Maybe a bad idea. The nearest radial size is 225/75R15. IMHO, fatter tires are a bad idea, but slightly taller tires are OK. You definitely do not want shorter tires.

I've got 15" Carlisles from Discount Tire on my Sovereign and have 6000 miles on them (one round trip to Seattle). But my latest tire deal (for the '77 Safari) is new wheels and Maxis 225/75R15s tires from Discount. One of the premier Airstream restorers, UWE, recommended Maxis.

If you need wheels, you might think about 16" wheels, which allows you to go to LT tires and only add about 1/2" to the standing height of the Airstream. However, I don't think bigger wheels/tires add any margin for a Safari. I calculated the max load bearing on any individual wheel, even with a 30% uneven distribution, and I came up with 1550 lbs. A 15" load D tire at 65 psi can support 2200+ lbs. That's a lot of margin.

Now all you have to do is decide whether ST (special trailer) or LT (light truck) tires are fundamentally more reliable. You have the luxury of two axles, so a tire failure biggest issue is usually skin or wheel well damage, not loss of Airstream.

Zep

[thomdial]

I believe the width on this tire to be 8 inches when inflated- which is almost exactly what is on there now-And I believe these to be the original bias tires.

[azflycaster]

I have them on my 75 Trade Wind. I had tire issues this fall and stopped at Discount Tire in Grand Junction, CO. They are a direct replacement for the 7.00x15 which I had on. I have around 2K on them now and no problems.

[thomdial]

By the way, I found these tires at treaddepot.com for 73 bucks a piece

[Zeppelinium]

Richard, you have the 205/90s on your Airstream? Regardless, I take back my "bad idea" comment. They really are quite close to the original bias tires.

Two of the longest tire threads here recommend the 225/75 size, which is what a dealer (in an emergency) recommended to me. They fit fine, but they are 3/4" wider and 3/8" shorter than the 205/90s. I think 225 is as wide as you'd want.

Zep

[AlbertF]

I believe the original 7.00 x 15 size has an aspect ratio of 88%, very close to the 90% of the Carlisles. The 225/75/15 size is lower in profile and a fair bit wider than the originals, but close to the same height.

[n2916s]

Didn't have the size but had the brand. They worked flawlessly until they failed catastrophically. One was bad luck, when the second went within 1000 miles at was straining coincidence, after the third, I detected a pattern (I am a little slow on the uptake).

Replaced 6500 miles ago and no probs since.

Mike

[thomdial]

Were those radial or bias ply?

[thomdial]

I went with the bias ply tires from Carlisle. Same size as originals. When I had them put on at the tire shop, the owner said that the original tires on the Airstream were at least 19 years old, based on the serial and brand. These are the same tires that I used to tow the trailer from Memphis, TN to Southern Ohio. The originals were actually dry rotted in the tread, but the sides looked fine.
I think my trailer will be less likely to be ripped to smithereens upon blowout which is a significant factor to me.