Re: [A/S] New Tires, OH NO! not again!

[Charlie/Betty Burke <cbburke@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Clyde,

Close, the recommended tire both currently and as a replacement for the 
old bias ply's is the ST 225/75R15. Load range D. It doesn't have to be 
a Goodyear, that's just Airstream's choice. When there are a hundred 
trailers running on one brand and 2 running something else you are bound 
to hear more complaints about the 100. Beside, who complains about good 
tires?
The ST designation is important. The other designations you will see P 
and LT series are designed for automobile and light truck applications. 
ST series tires are blended with more UV protection and a stiffer 
sidewall for better straight line tracking.
 The safe recommendation is to run max rated air pressure but with some 
good information about weights and tire capacities you can set the 
pressure to the optimum setting.
 Very few RV tires are replaced for tread wear other than misalignment. 
Most are changed for age and age related reasons. Tire checking is a 
visual indication of age. One of the real values of this newsgroup is 
the experiences of many that strongly recommend tires be replaced after 
5 years as the risk of tire failure seems to increase significantly.
Because we have differing sensitivites to the "seat of the pants" feel 
while towing some folks still prefer the more rigid sidewall design in 
bias ply tires. Nothing wrong with that. However when shopping for bias 
plys you have to take more responsibility to know what you are getting. 
The specifications for a radial tire completely define it's size by 
tread width, height as a ratio and interior dimension. Bias ply tires 
only specify tread width and interior dimension. Past list members have 
discovered, sometimes the hard way, that all brands of 7.00 x 15 tires 
will not fit in the wheel well. So, let the buyer beware.

Charlie