Tire Size Upgrade Etc.
Today I have my unit in a wheel and axle shop in Deep South Texas. I'm changing from 14 to 15 inch tires, so once this is done I'll make a posting of the success or failure of this exercise.
I don't expect a problem with tire clearance, as others have done this successfully. I was concerned about the bigger tire hitting the skirt, but it seems I'll be okay here as well. I'm going for the load bearing capability and overall better performance with the 15 inch tires. I've noticed numerous postings about tire failures and want to avoid that malady at all cost. I'll be traveling in Mexico and as we all know the roads there are often very poor.
I'm waiting for a call from the shop owner to let me know what brand tires are available, as I told him I wanted Prometer or anything other than Marathon. He told me that Brands have little meaning to him, as different manufactures will slap this name or that on a tire. He personally uses Marathons (not on a TM) and has put thousands of miles on them without problem.
I told him I'll go with the 15 inch Marathons if there is a long wait for anything else. He further mentioned that most all of the small trailer tires had blow out problems a few years ago, but this has now been sorted out.
Furthermore, I'm going with load range D, as load range E (10 ply) would be overkill and the recommened tire pressure with these would likely beat the unit up with a hard ride.
This is uncharted territory for me, so I'll have to see how things work out before making further comments. I see that many other owners have the same unit as mine and have had little trouble with the tire size upgrade, so I'm optimistic about the outcome. I'll post later with my overall experience, as it likely will be helpful to others considering the same modification.
Bill has been a great source of information for this and other TM related issues and I want to publicly thank him for his knowledge and support. Also, I'm very grateful for the postings of others and the TM Forum generally, as its provided me with a wealth of information that may have helped me avoid future problems on the road.
Dan
2007 2720SL
Duel Batteries
Electric Stabilizers
Surge Protector & Autoformer
2002 Toyota 4Runner 4x4
Prodigy Brake Controller
Supercharged Engine
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