[A/S] Best tire choice for a 68 Overlander that's been sitting for a while and is now hitting the road?

["Harvey Barlow" <harveybarlow@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Oliver,

'60s era owner's manuals stated that original equipment tires for all except
Bambis, I think, were size 700X15 Goodyears (at least my manual does).
Single axle trailers specified 8 ply rated tires and tandem axle trailers
had factory installed 6 ply rated tires.  It is not widely known but SAM's
Clubs have a tire catalog in their tire area.  It is possible to special
order quality brand name tires such as Goodyear, B.F. Goodrich, Michelin,
and others and they will be delivered in about one week.  I special ordered
a pair of old fashioned (non-radial) Goodyear 700x15 8PR Workhorse LT tires
for my '66 Safari a few weeks ago.  That is the original brand, size, and
construction type that A/S installed when the trailer was built.  Some
prefer to replace the old style tires with modern radials but I liked the
idea of original appearance and tough sidewalls.  They cost $61/per tire
plus mount, balance, and road hazard warranty which was $7.50 each.  I
checked the DOT code when the tires arrived and they had been molded only
six weeks earlier, no stale deteriorated merchandise.

About three years ago I bought a set of six Goodyear Marathon radial ST 225
75R 15 trailer radials from SAM's.  I think I paid about $65/tire for them.
The local Goodyear dealer wanted over $100/tire.

If you buy radials most folks will advise you to avoid passenger type
radials because the sidewalls are generally too soft and will flex too much
and to buy only the ST which means Special Trailer.  The STs allegedly track
truer in non-powered and non-steered vehicle use and have rubber compounds
that resist UV ray deterioration.

That's my $0.02 worth.
Harvey