Abnormal Trailer Tire Wear???

DutchmenSport wrote:
I had a similar problem, exactly as you described. Only, mine was the passenger side front tire. I also asked the same identical question on these forums that you just did ... exactly.

I got lots of responses about bent frames, hubs loose, miss-alignment, all sorts of things. I got recommendations to take it to trailer shop and have them analyze the alignment of the axles.... well, just about everything you can imagine. The trailer was 2 1/2 years old. But the tires were also the originals that came with the trailer.

What was weird was the fact I checked my tires routinely as I put chocks under them and remove chocks all the time, every trip, every encounter. Then, all of a sudden, half the tire was worm flat. Very weird, very strange.

Well, I didn't take the advise of anyone on these forums after all. My absolute "gut" feeling was based on an inferior tire. Three of the tires were holding up pretty good, the forth might have been a factory fluke, or as some say, "cheap Chinese tire."

I did examine the frame and did my own set of measuring, and nothing appeared out of the ordinary. So I had to get a new tire anyway, so replaced all 4, even though only one was worn bad. I went with Carlisle Tires (the new version).

Now that was 3 trips from Indiana to South Carolina and several thousands of miles ago when I made the tire switch. And to this day, I'm not seeing any signs of uneven wear, and I'm a little more meticulous now, using a tire tread gauge and comparing tread depth with the other 3 tires now. All are wearing even, across the entire width of the tire and so far, no noticeable difference.

If the original was not a cheap tire, then the only other thing I can think of that caused the apparent change to occur so fast was tire pressure. I will admit, when I went on that one trip and discovered the worn tire, I had not check the tire pressure in a while. It's possible the tire pressure in that tire lowered which somehow might have caused it to wear different than the other 3. At that time, I was also keeping 55 pounds in each tire. The new ones, I'm maintaining 80 pounds now (the max pressure). It's possible, the lower pressure could have caused the uneven wear.

But one thing I am convinced of, it had noting to do with the trailer alignment.

X2

Does your trailer have the wide stance spread axles? Do you make a lot of sharp turns in the same direction?

I had a similar issue but mine is caused from the above. The spread axles cause the tires to drag more on tight turns. I have a cul-de-sac at the end of my road that I use to turn around. Driving on the right side of the road with left turns around the sac was causing uneven wear. I now alternate the direction of turn and the rears are wearing evenly. I rotate the tires front to back regularly now as well.

DutchmenSport wrote:
I had a similar problem, exactly as you described. Only, mine was the passenger side front tire. I also asked the same identical question on these forums that you just did ... exactly.

I got lots of responses about bent frames, hubs loose, miss-alignment, all sorts of things. I got recommendations to take it to trailer shop and have them analyze the alignment of the axles.... well, just about everything you can imagine. The trailer was 2 1/2 years old. But the tires were also the originals that came with the trailer.

What was weird was the fact I checked my tires routinely as I put chocks under them and remove chocks all the time, every trip, every encounter. Then, all of a sudden, half the tire was worm flat. Very weird, very strange.

Well, I didn't take the advise of anyone on these forums after all. My absolute "gut" feeling was based on an inferior tire. Three of the tires were holding up pretty good, the forth might have been a factory fluke, or as some say, "cheap Chinese tire."

I did examine the frame and did my own set of measuring, and nothing appeared out of the ordinary. So I had to get a new tire anyway, so replaced all 4, even though only one was worn bad. I went with Carlisle Tires (the new version).

Now that was 3 trips from Indiana to South Carolina and several thousands of miles ago when I made the tire switch. And to this day, I'm not seeing any signs of uneven wear, and I'm a little more meticulous now, using a tire tread gauge and comparing tread depth with the other 3 tires now. All are wearing even, across the entire width of the tire and so far, no noticeable difference.

If the original was not a cheap tire, then the only other thing I can think of that caused the apparent change to occur so fast was tire pressure. I will admit, when I went on that one trip and discovered the worn tire, I had not check the tire pressure in a while. It's possible the tire pressure in that tire lowered which somehow might have caused it to wear different than the other 3. At that time, I was also keeping 55 pounds in each tire. The new ones, I'm maintaining 80 pounds now (the max pressure). It's possible, the lower pressure could have caused the uneven wear.

But one thing I am convinced of, it had noting to do with the trailer alignment.

^^^THIS^^^

Folks on this forum are very quick to blame bent axles or frame when often it comes down a issue with a tire that was not perfect.

Over the years I have seen tires on vehicles wear funny, often only ONE tire would wear uneven and the others would be fine.

BEFORE throwing your money and time out the window, REPLACE THE BAD TIRE AND MOVE ON!

Replacing one tire will be far cheaper and not waste your time going back and forth with trailer shops..

IF the tire in the SAME position shows THE SAME WEAR ISSUE THEN CONSIDER HAVING AXLES AND FRAME CHECKED.

I suspect many folks have tossed perfectly good axles out over this same issue when it had nothing to do with the axle (axles DO have a "bend" or "arch" in the middle and that IS INTENTIONAL.. That bend reduces as the axle is loaded.. This is normal and expected and IS NEEDED for correct tire wear when fully loaded).

Ok guys, who wants to take this one?

Scratch that.... I figured it out! - Delete.

cyntdon2010 wrote:

harley4275 wrote:
Matt...I tried to balance the tires when I first got mine and one was so far out ,the tire guy said it was either the rim or tire that was bad, got a new tire and rim shipped to me and it balanced ok. The original tire that would not balance might have worn unevenly...maybe that is your problem. Have you balanced them yet??

Do everyone balance their tires? Because mine came unbalance and I have replace a full set was told you don't have to balance travel trailer tires...

If getting a brand new trailer, more than likely the tires will not be balanced. But just think how horrible a vehicle is to ride in with an unbalanced tire, or 4 unbalanced tires. The vehicle will shake to pieces. Same is true with a trailer. You might not be riding in it, but the trailer is still being pulverized by the unbalanced tires. Considering trailers are put together with wood and metal screws, and not bolts and nuts like a car, that vibration will work wood and metal screws loose! No wonder so many new RV owners complain about cabinet doors not being screwed in right. It's not because of shoddy workmanship, it's because of all the vibration the camper experiences when in transport!

If getting new tires for your camper, get them balanced. The extra $2.50 a tire is chicken feed compared to the cost of all the potential things that could come apart on your camper because of all the gyrations! (well, depending on where you get your tires, it might be more than $2.50, but still worth it!)

Always get your tires balanced.

FYI, the vibrations from unbalanced tires is one reason why potential buyer of a new RV won't see any screws missing or loose. It's after they get the camper home, it's been bounced around a little they discover everything falling apart! Shoddy workmanship? No, not really. Lousy tires? Yes!

cyntdon2010 wrote:

Do everyone balance their tires? Because mine came unbalance and I have replace a full set was told you don't have to balance travel trailer tires...

I have never seen any balanced from the factory. There is little point in balancing them as the brake drums may be way out of balance, but nobody ever checks that.

harley4275 wrote:
Matt...I tried to balance the tires when I first got mine and one was so far out ,the tire guy said it was either the rim or tire that was bad, got a new tire and rim shipped to me and it balanced ok. The original tire that would not balance might have worn unevenly...maybe that is your problem. Have you balanced them yet??

Do everyone balance their tires? Because mine came unbalance and I have replace a full set was told you don't have to balance travel trailer tires...

Matt...I tried to balance the tires when I first got mine and one was so far out ,the tire guy said it was either the rim or tire that was bad, got a new tire and rim shipped to me and it balanced ok. The original tire that would not balance might have worn unevenly...maybe that is your problem. Have you balanced them yet??

I would put the spare tire on to replace that bad tire, its aging anyway.
Buy a new spare and take from there.