Forum Discussion

Tom_Barb's avatar
Tom_Barb
Explorer
Apr 12, 2016

Tires on the towed.

Every one says towing is hard on the towed's tires. well I bought a set of 4 for our jeep today, did the math and found we got 91K miles out of the last set. go figure?
  • Never had any problems with the tires, except when I messed up and didn't have the steering lock in the right position. OOPS !!!!
  • I suspect there are many people who tow without the correct tow bar recommended setups. High - low - loose connections - etc. Seen it for myself many times. Too many people don't care or listen to advice or read instructions. That includes dealers.
  • wa8yxm wrote:
    I have towed several thousand miles without tire issues. There are some things that you can do to improve tire life when towing.

    Step one: Visit an alignment shop
    Step two: Before they put it on the rack, TELL THEM YOU WILL BE TOWING THE RIDE.
    They set one of the settings just a bit different if towing (Caster I think but do not quote me on that as this is one area where I'm in over my head).

    Finally, Avoid very sharp turns (The kind that can damage your car/Motor home if the tow hitch is not long enough) These turns should never happen no the road, MIGHT in a campground, or parking lot, If you get in to a hyper tight turn DROP and drive. Also do not back up.


    We've never had the jeep on a alignment rack, tire wear has never indicated the need.

    when turning never exceed the turn radius of the towed. This can easily be done, the coach over hang is the cause, when you make 90 degree turns the towed will follow the rear of the coach as it swings opposite the turn, so when the coach is 90 degrees to the towed it drives away. pulling the toad sideways thru the turn. never start a turn from a dead stop. always pull ahead prior to turning.
    and most important. rotate the tires every 5k miles and include the spare in the rotation. and keep good shocks on the towed.
    We have our jeep set up with a 6" lift, and 35"X12.5 open Country Radials.

    When you really want to stop tire wear on the towed, go 4 up. :)
  • wa8yxm's avatar
    wa8yxm
    Explorer III
    I have towed several thousand miles without tire issues. There are some things that you can do to improve tire life when towing.

    Step one: Visit an alignment shop
    Step two: Before they put it on the rack, TELL THEM YOU WILL BE TOWING THE RIDE.
    They set one of the settings just a bit different if towing (Caster I think but do not quote me on that as this is one area where I'm in over my head).

    Finally, Avoid very sharp turns (The kind that can damage your car/Motor home if the tow hitch is not long enough) These turns should never happen no the road, MIGHT in a campground, or parking lot, If you get in to a hyper tight turn DROP and drive. Also do not back up.
  • Tom/Barb wrote:
    Every one says towing is hard on the towed's tires. well I bought a set of 4 for our jeep today, did the math and found we got 91K miles out of the last set. go figure?


    I wonder if the dynamic loads while driving, steering and stopping are much more than towing?
  • We've had no problems with the tires on our toads (2007 CR-V and a 2013 CR-V). I replaced the tires when adding the driving mileage and towing mileage which is about 40,000 miles. Just replaced the tires on the 2013 about 6 months ago.

    They have had all even wear on the tires.

    MM.