Dexter Axle moved?

Yeah, when my trailer tires began their belt separations after 8 years of service, one of the signs was I couldn't get my between-the-tires chocks between them anymore.

TakingThe5th wrote:

mkirsch wrote:
Are you saying the X-chock still won't fit on the curb (i.e. right) side?

You only mention the street side, which you said fit fine before.

The X-chocks were interchangeable. When we discovered the problem on the curb-side, we took both X-chocks over to the street-side to verify that we had a curb-side problem and not a problem with either X-chock. Both chocks worked well on the curb-side.

I am asking about *AFTER* they "fixed" it.

You do not mention whether the X-chock will fit on the CURB side after the trailer shop was finished working on it. Only the street side. The street side fit before, so I don't know why you'd even check that.

Though, if the tires are 1/2" larger, they're likely on their way out. I'd replace them ASAP.

TakingThe5th wrote:
So they measured the tires. One pair of tires is actually larger then the other pair of tires. The two tires where the X-chock will not fit add about ½". I never rotated the tires and those are the two that take the most abuse in most turns. The two turns in the driveway are left turns, and I try to avoid blind turns (right turns) when backing up, so the majority of turns backing are to the left.

Maybe not, especially if we are in the early stages of belt separation.

Could very well be belt separation. I had that happen on some ST tires a few yrs ago but I too did not recognize the problem right away. Fortunately, one tire started loosing air pressure and the TPMS when off.

Stopped w/o damage to the tire, I even thought the tire could be patched and took it to a tire shop. Leak check discovered multiple leaks at the bottom of the tread grooves at the edges where the tread wrapped onto the sidewall.

I debated replacing all four tires, made the decision to do it but had to drive 40 miles to the nearest Discount Tire. While driving, several of the tires were rubbing against the fender skirt and inspection at the tire shop also showed they were rubbing against the underside of the trailer floor. Even then, my initial thought was a suspension failure. But, while the other 3 tires did not have air leaks, all showed the same tread failure, at the bottom of the grooves you could actually see the tread cord showing and this was over 1/3 of the tire circumference. My tires had grown in size more than what you are seeing, but 3 never leaked.

With the sharp turns you have to do, tread separation is very likely and you should probably replace all 4 tires. BTW, if the tires are original ST tires they are due to be replaced anyway, 3-5 yrs is the recommended maximum life for ST tires from several brands.

mkirsch wrote:
Are you saying the X-chock still won't fit on the curb (i.e. right) side?

You only mention the street side, which you said fit fine before.

The X-chocks were interchangeable. When we discovered the problem on the curb-side, we took both X-chocks over to the street-side to verify that we had a curb-side problem and not a problem with either X-chock. Both chocks worked well on the curb-side.

RCMAN46 wrote:
Check for a sheared spring center bolt.

Measure all four from the axle tube to the spring hanger. They should not differ by much more that 1/16 of an inch.

Bolts are good and everything is within 1/16

Got a call from the frame shop. The tech checked his work and thought everything was OK. Manager wasn't convinced so he checked too. Between the two of them they covered pretty much everything. But I pointed out that they hadn't explained the reason I brought it in - the X-chock didn't fit. I repeated that the X-chock was not actually the problem, it just told me there was a problem, and so what is/was the problem? At this point-no good explanation.

In all fairness we had already discussed many things, but we never really talked tires. The 5er has the original China bombs with 12K miles on them. Typical tire life is generally 15K miles give or take, depending on .... So they measured the tires. One pair of tires is actually larger then the other pair of tires. The two tires where the X-chock will not fit add about ½". I never rotated the tires and those are the two that take the most abuse in most turns. The two turns in the driveway are left turns, and I try to avoid blind turns (right turns) when backing up, so the majority of turns backing are to the left.

All the measurements are correct from rim to rim.

But wait-there's more. If we believe that the street-side tires are scuffing off more rubber then the curb-side tires, wouldn't that make for a smaller tire? Maybe not, especially if we are in the early stages of belt separation.

I think the frame shop has done their work, although I'm going to follow up to see if they still believe the equilizer bushings and the two front hanger bushings are still good. I also want to double-check to make sure nothing is flipped or bent, although we've already gone over that. But it's time to get my Goodyear tire guy involved. I'm thinking LTs this time around.

Are you saying the X-chock still won't fit on the curb (i.e. right) side?

You only mention the street side, which you said fit fine before.

Old-Biscuit wrote:
Have any of the spring shackles 'Flipped'

Right one in picture has flipped

Nothing had flipped when I initially checked it-good thought tho. Right now I'm wondering about the equalizer but let's see what the shop sez.

Check for a sheared spring center bolt.

Measure all four from the axle tube to the spring hanger. They should not differ by much more that 1/16 of an inch.

The failure of the plastic bushings will generally wear into the hangers.After a 5000 mile trip i noticed unusual wear on the tires,thought they were out of alignment or axel problems.Thanks to a thread on here re wet bolt upgrade,it fixed the tire wear issue,it does not take much to affect the alignment.