Inside tire wear & bearing play in wheels Related or not?

I hope you did a rebalance on that tire ! If a weight came off, etc etc, it is bouncing to cause the cupping.

RJsfishin wrote:
tire cupping is most times (if not always) caused by a severely out of balance tire that is bouncing down the road, usually at any speed over 50 mph. It is always said that "trailer tires don't need balance",...WRONG !! The only reason for that myth is because you don't know or feel the havoc that is taking place on a severely out of balance tire until you see the results.

Tires were all balanced. I took the tire to the local tire shop and was told that this is similar wear to what they see on trailers for transport trucks and not a tire issue. He did state that it could be from a little more play in the axle as the trailer is nearly 12 years old. Based on the tire being loose from bearing issue it all comes together now.

He did state no reason not to continue to use the tire and it is a very reliable tire shop so will put it back on the trailer and off to Montreal we go.

tire cupping is most times (if not always) caused by a severely out of balance tire that is bouncing down the road, usually at any speed over 50 mph. It is always said that "trailer tires don't need balance",...WRONG !! The only reason for that myth is because you don't know or feel the havoc that is taking place on a severely out of balance tire until you see the results.

Thanks everyone for the feedback. Just finished cleaning and re-packing the bearings. The outer bearing on the tire in question was on it's way out. There were fine metalic particles in the bearing and some of the rollers nearly fell out when I started cleaning it to check condition. Put in a new race and outer bearing. All others were good but cleaned and re-packed all 4.

I thought that the bearing was probably the culprit as none of my wheels are loose after I re-pack them. Follow the instructions from Al-ko and have never had an issue.

All good to go now. May take the trailer to a tire shop before I leave just to make sure that there is not a broken belt in the one with the cupping but likely just the bearing on the way out that caused it. Others look fine after I took them off. Just some wear on the outside from the scrubbing when turning.

CaLBaR wrote:

Gdetrailer wrote:

MudChucker wrote:

corvettekent wrote:
Yes a loose or bad bearing could cause inside tire wear. If you have to replace the bearings make sure that they are high quality bearing from the USA.

100% agree.

Consider that now you have the tire wear you may create a condition such that the wear will be amplified somewhat with the new bearings, consider rotating the tires, changing direction and balancing never hurt.

However, OVERLOADING or BENT AXLE, BAD tires can present the SAME type of wear.

One should also note that trailer axle bearings often will not and do not operate with zero slack. Trailer axles unlike automobile axles are purposely designed with COARSE THREADS and the castle nuts have much less castleations..

Combine the coarse threads and less castleations equal to much less fine adjustments.

If you don't believe it, search for Dexter's documentation, they DO state the having a slightly loose wheel bearing is fine and acceptable..

Thanks for this info. At least one of the wheels is more than slightly loose though. It has quite a wobble to it. My axles are the tor-flex and had a look as well and then are not bent as that was my first thought from years on the forum.

Visible "wobble" is not good, indication of too much slack, worn bearings or potentially spun bearing on the axle stub.

Very slight in/out (can't see but HEAR it) movement when axle is jacked up off the ground would be fine.

To check, you jack the tire off the ground, then with your hands grab the tire top and bottom and push with one hand while pulling out with other hand. Tire should not noticeably move but you might hear a little noise from a slightly slack bearing.

Repeat process one the sides of the tire, similar result to top/bottom should happen.

At no time should you be able to see a large in out movement..

Dexter's manual on page 53, gives instructions for setting the axle bearings..

HERE

Text from page 53 in link above..

"Bearing Adjustment and Hub Replacement
If the hub has been removed or bearing adjustment is required, the following adjustment procedure must be followed.

For standard grease or oil axles using cotter pin:
1. After placing the hub, bearings, washers, and spindle nut back on the axle spindle in reverse order as detailed in the previous section on hub removal, rotate the hub assembly slowly while tightening the spindle nut to approximately
50 Ft. Lbs.(12" wrench or pliers with full hand force.)

2. Then loosen the spindle nut to remove the torque. Do not rotate the hub.

3. Finger tighten the spindle nut until just snug.

4. Back the spindle nut out slightly until the first castellation lines up with the cotter key hole and insert the cotter pin.

5. Bend over the cotter pin legs to secure the nut.

6. Nut should be free to move with only restraint being the cotter pin."

If only ONE tire is showing this wear AND it is on the same stub that is wobbling you may have a bearing that was adjusted too loose OR a bearing that has spun on the axle due to it being set too loose.

If ALL of the tires are showing the same wear pattern and the fact that you do have a "torflex" axle I suspect the torflex axles ARE worn out.

Torflex axles use basically what amounts to very large oversized rubber bands inside the axle tubes.. The biggest downside to this axle is the rubber over time DEGRADES. When it degrades, it no longer has the strength to handle the load and eventually WILL sag..

DEXTER TORFLEX AXLE

Per link above..

"The Torflex suspension system is a torsion arm type suspension which is completely self-contained within the axle tube. It attaches directly to the trailer frame using brackets which are an integral part of the axle assembly. The Torflex axle provides improved suspension characteristics relative to leaf spring axles through the unique arrangement of a steel torsion bar surrounded by four rubber cords encased in the main structural member of the axle beam.

The wheel/hub spindle is attached to a lever, called the torsion arm, which is fastened to the rubber encased bar. As load is applied, the bar rotates causing a rolling/compressive resistance in the rubber cords. This rotating action provides the same functionality as conventional sprung axles with several operating advantages including independent suspension and reduced wear."

It should be noted, OVERLOADING a torsion type axle WILL cause permanent damage to said axle.. Only fix to a damaged torsion axle is to replace the axle..

While in there, you might also want to inspect the spring bushings, shackle holes, etc. for wear. Our OEM plastic bushings were all shot in just a couple of thousand miles from new.

I replaced the bearings in our TT with US made Timkens that I got from a local industrial supply shop and you might find the same thing. They ordered them in and arrived a day or two later. Getting the bearing cups out of the drums was a HUGE PITA due to an almost non-existent lip to get a drift onto. I think older ones may not have this issue tho.

How old are the tires? Regardless, it sounds like they need replacing pdq.

I think that some don't know how to properly adjust wheel bearing CLEARANCE. Here is the Dexter information: manual

If you operated a trailer with bearings so loose that the tires wore noticeably, you need to replace those bearings and the tires. If there was only the slight required looseness in the bearings, the tire is probably at fault.

Gdetrailer wrote:

MudChucker wrote:

corvettekent wrote:
Yes a loose or bad bearing could cause inside tire wear. If you have to replace the bearings make sure that they are high quality bearing from the USA.

100% agree.

Consider that now you have the tire wear you may create a condition such that the wear will be amplified somewhat with the new bearings, consider rotating the tires, changing direction and balancing never hurt.

However, OVERLOADING or BENT AXLE, BAD tires can present the SAME type of wear.

One should also note that trailer axle bearings often will not and do not operate with zero slack. Trailer axles unlike automobile axles are purposely designed with COARSE THREADS and the castle nuts have much less castleations..

Combine the coarse threads and less castleations equal to much less fine adjustments.

If you don't believe it, search for Dexter's documentation, they DO state the having a slightly loose wheel bearing is fine and acceptable..

Thanks for this info. At least one of the wheels is more than slightly loose though. It has quite a wobble to it. My axles are the tor-flex and had a look as well and then are not bent as that was my first thought from years on the forum.

MudChucker wrote:

corvettekent wrote:
Yes a loose or bad bearing could cause inside tire wear. If you have to replace the bearings make sure that they are high quality bearing from the USA.

100% agree.

Consider that now you have the tire wear you may create a condition such that the wear will be amplified somewhat with the new bearings, consider rotating the tires, changing direction and balancing never hurt.

However, OVERLOADING or BENT AXLE, BAD tires can present the SAME type of wear.

One should also note that trailer axle bearings often will not and do not operate with zero slack. Trailer axles unlike automobile axles are purposely designed with COARSE THREADS and the castle nuts have much less castleations..

Combine the coarse threads and less castleations equal to much less fine adjustments.

If you don't believe it, search for Dexter's documentation, they DO state the having a slightly loose wheel bearing is fine and acceptable..

Thanks Dan. I will look at the tires as well. I also tighten the castle nut, spin tighten, spin, tighten then back off one notch and put in the cotter pin.