Sharon,

Thanks for your reply to my message. I must have missed it when you first
posted it, and I've been out of town twice since then, and just found it
today. (I have over 200 unread messages from the list, and just as many on
"that other" list).

I ordered a manual from Airstream Secretarial Services. On the
specifications page in the front it says the 1965 Caravel 17-ft had "2, 6:70
x 15, 6-ply white sidewalls." However, way in the back on page 17-2 it says
"Your Airstream is equipped at the factory with Goodyear 7:00 x 15 travel
trailer tires (Caravel has 7:50 x14 tubeless)." Doesn't mention Bambi II's
at all. I wonder if there was some mid-year change, and they discontinued
the Bambii II and at the same time increased the size of the Caravel tires?
Or maybe they collated the wrong page 17-2 in my manual? The page with the
floorplan definitely does say 1965 Caravel, 6:70 x 15. Anyway, I didn't
seem to have much problem with clearance in the wheel wells for the 15"
tires, either the LT's or the new radials, but putting on the smaller
radials did lower the trailer clearance. My Caravel was made in California
(s/n starts with "SO"). Maybe they put bigger wheels on them out there...?
:^).

Now I'm really disappointed to find that radials cause sway problems. :^(
Unless I missed something in all the other responses, you're the first one
to mention this. I specifically sought out radials because I thought they
were an improvement over bias plies, especially with all the talk of the
Goodyear Marathon radials (although I didn't end up getting those).

Can you still get bias ply "ST" tires? If so, what is the meaning of the
sizes? (G-78 / 15 and 6:70 x 15 for example).

Thanks,

Don
 

Hope I don't sound too punchy. Just finished driving 625 miles in one day
by myself. Luckily I didn't have the trailer. Saw 4 overturned semi
trailers and one overturned travel trailer & tow vehicle just south of
Cheyenne, WY on I-25. This is a notoriously bad area--be careful if driving
there. Several semis were parked at off ramps, apparently waiting out the
wind.

----------
>From: "James Weston" <jim.sharon@airmarktools.net>
>To: <airstream@airstream.net>
>Subject: RE: [a/s] Quick Question
>Date: Mon, Mar 22, 1999, 12:05 PM
>
> Hi Don,
>
> You wrote:
> <I just bought a set of 205-75-R15's for my '65 Caravel, and they definitely
> reduced my clearance. I might just put the G78-15 LT tires back on, and
> keep an eye on them. They don't look all that bad, but, as is often
> mentioned, the side walls can deteriorate from UV exposure much more quickly
> than ST's. If you need the clearance, I'd suggest you look for 700-15s in
> an ST, if they can be found, rather than the radials.>
>
> The manual for our 1965 Caravel - says, (and I'm quoting directly from the
> manual!) "Your Airstream is equipped at the factory with Goodyear 7:15
> travel trailer tires. (Bambi II and Caravels are equipped with 7:50x14
> tubeless."
>
> FYI - Radials on trailers are KNOWN to cause problems with swaying -
> apparently regardless of your Hitch or Sway Control equipment!
>
> Someone had put 15's on OUR '65 Caravel when we first got her. Jim like to
> have never gotten those 15's off - because of how high the trailer had to be
> jacked up to get them off! Trying to put 15's on a Caravel OR Bambi II -
> can cause you to wind up with Body damage!
>
> Hope this helps,
> Sharon