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ST (special trailer) tires have more rigid sidewalls than regular radials. The fear decades ago was that the lateral pressure on tires for trailers when backing at a severe angle could be too much and break the bead. There was also a fear that the softer sidewall of radials compared to bias ply tires would cause sway problems. Tires are better now and those fears seem to have been overstated. I cannot recall anyone reporting on this Forum they had a problem with regular radials when backing or they had excessive sway. The problem with Goodyear Marathons, a very commonly used tire on travel trailers, is they were bad tires with a propensity for tread separation. Perhaps because there is a perception that people don't take trailers very far, they wore quickly.
We bought Michelin LTX Load Range E (formerly 10 ply and now they use another numerical system) tires for the Airstream and got very good wear from then. We had to buy 16" wheels too. We never had a problem when backing. Sometimes when backing at a severe angle the tires will skip sideways, not a good thing, but the tires stayed on the wheels. I have used the same tires on each truck or SUV we have had for decades and they are great tires.
I would be suspicious of any ST tire put out by Goodyear given their poor record with the Marathons. The tire mentioned in Post #17 seems to be a LR E tire if it takes 80 psi. The Marathons were LR C if I recall correctly. Just because the sidewall states a maximum cold pressure, that doesn't mean you have to inflate it that way. Michelin told me years ago on the LTX tire with an 80 psi maximum rating that I could run them in the 52-55 psi on our Tundra and add three lbs. when towing. I added a little more after a few years because of the way the tire wore, indicated it needed about 5% more pressure. Use a tread depth tool to check how tires are wearing—more wear in center indicates too much pressure, opposite for too little.
When we got a new trailer, I put Michelin Defenders on—they were ones that carried extra weight (both versions were available). They had the same tread pattern the LTX tries had, but were a less tough tire and cheaper too. When I had to replace the old LTX tires on the truck, I got a much cheaper Michelins since the price s right and we don't drive the truck much anymore. We didn't need tires that are suited for jungle driving or very long distance trips anymore. I would have preferred the LTX, but it seemed unwise and we got one or two discounts and a gift card. I may replace the tires on the new Subaru with something Michelin, but the cheap Cooper ones the dealer put on it have very good traction and ride well, so maybe I'll wait a year or more.
The Rib tire is made for intracity trucks that do deliveries and rack up many, many miles at low speeds. They have a very strong casing and are meant to be recapped a couple of times. This is not a tire for long distance travel and high speed, though they may be speed rated. Trailer owners are attracted to the strong sidewalls and those that have had them have reported here that they are fine for any use. I can't remember how I did the pressure on the trailer LTX tires, but when I sold it after about 50,000 miles on the trailer they looked close to new. Drive tires (those that get power from a motor) wear much faster than steering tires on a motor vehicle (that's why we rotate them), but trailer tires neither drive nor street and last and last.
Set the tire pressure according to the usual ambient temperatures of that season. I do it in the morning. Keep them covered from the sun and I usually check pressure in the morning when they are cooler. I check pressure on the side without sun yet. Usually tires are 2-3 lbs. higher on the sunny side, even if covered. Set them all the same. If you do pressure during the hot time, they may be under pressured in the morning and on cool or wet days, especially in the fall. Set the pressure according to the trailer axle weights, not the maximum. Underpressure is a lot worse for tires than overpressure, and tires are designed for hot days and normal pressure increases. But some say maximum is necessary to prevent sway or because it says so on the tire. I disagree. That BandLAir found conflicting recommendations on the Goodyear website does not surprise me. Lots of companies are sloppy on their websites. Also, a ProPride hitch is a very good hitch and should reduce the chance of sway, but you never can be certain something will not induce sway. We never had a sway problem with the Michelins. The design of Airstreams reduces the chance of sway, but it does not eliminate it.
The switch to Michelin LTX tires happened about a dozen years ago because of warnings about Marathons. At that time the only LTX tires that fit Airstreams required a bigger wheel. After a while, even Airstream offered LTX tires as an option and I believe it became standard on the Eddie Bauer model. Michelin seems to have changed a lot subsequently. Tire wear is not as good and strange new tire lines don't seem to fit our needs anymore. For decades the Michelin X was the premiere tire, but they seemed to have gone in a different direction. I don't know how to deal with that and have seen Consumer Report not being all that much a Michelin fan. Maybe they have lowered their standards or are trying to compete with other brand more. I don't know and am glad I don't have to deal with this soon.
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Gene
The Airstream is sold; a 2016 Nash 24M replaced it.
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