RE: [A/S] choosing tires for single axle trailor

["David & Bret" <dtbw_1999@xxxxxxxxx>]

Regardless of manufacturer, go with TRUE 6 ply tires.  There are tires
on the market aimed at RVs that are 6 ply rated and most tire stores
gloss over the fact that they are really 4 ply tires.  While the
Goodyear Marathon gets its share of bad raps and rightly so, Goodyear
redesigned the tire (the redesigned tires have the "circle S" after the
Marathon label and are 6 ply tires). Avoid tires NOT specifically
designed for trailer use on your Tradewind as the sidewall and tread
designs are very different between normal and trailer use tires.  As for
load rating, I would suspect that you should go with load range D.  Our
2002 Bambi, which probably is close or slightly heavier (4500# loaded)
than your Tradewind, calls for D range tires.  Also, be sure that you
run tires at a pressure which the tire manufacturer shows can support
the weight of the Airstream (ie gross loaded weight divided by 2).  On
our Bambi, Goodyear shows that 50PSI is INADEQUATE for the task.  55PSI
makes the grade, but with little margin.  The D range Marathons are
rated at 60PSI, which gives a safety margin on the load capability and
has no ill effect on the tire, so I run mine at 60PSI.

While you are thinking of new tires, DO NOT let the tire shop install
rubber valve stems.  Metal, 150PSI rated stems only cost a couple of
bucks and are a lot more robust.  Rubber stems are the norm as they are
cheap and slightly easier to install.  Insist on metal, 150PSI rated
stems. 

I too have experienced a blowout on the Airstream, but it was caused by
valve stem failure due to flexing (rubber stem max rated at 60PSI, the
same as inflation pressure...no safety margin).  Although the blowout
was a non-event from a handling and safety perspective, it made me
realize that I really wanted tire pressure monitoring.  Most blowouts
are precipitated by low tire pressure and even a slight decrease in
pressure can lead to reduced tread and tire life as the tire runs
hotter.  To this end, I have added a remote tire pressure monitoring
system (www.advantagepressurepro.com) that keeps tabs on the tow vehicle
and A/S tires.  It alerts me when the pressure is 10% below the pressure
desired on any tire.  While not inexpensive, $475 for a 6 tire
monitoring system is pretty cheap insurance. BTW, I am NOT associated
with or selling the PressurePro system and it is just one of several
systems on the market.  The advantage of the PressurePro is that
installation is simply screwing the sensor onto the valve stem and the
range of transmission is 100' without the need for an external rear
antenna which virtually all the competitors require.  The downside of
the PressurePro system is that I would NOT feel comfortable with the
sensors screwed to the top of long rubber valve stems as the 2/3oz mass
of the sensor would only contribute to flexing of the stem and like I
mentioned, it was flexing of the stem ALONE, that caused the blowout I
experienced. 

Hope this helps
David