LT tire outside and inside edges wearing

[dpam]

Currently have Bridgestone Duravis LT tires on our 5th wheel. The tires are 3 years old and they are the best tires that I’ve had on the trailer. The tires have a lot of tread left, but the outside and inside edges are wearing, but the rest of the tires have very little wear. I assume that LT tires do not have as rigid side walls as ST trailer tires, therefore I assume the tire edges wear. I’m trying to determine if I have a axel alignment issue or are the LT edges wearing from regular and sharp turning while parking the trailer. Do other LT tire users have the same tire edge wear.

Appreciate your feedback.

Regards,

DPAM

[All_I_could_aff]

Not on a trailer, but I got 125,000 miles out of a set of R250’s On my old Ford Econoline 350 van.
Not the best tire for wet weather, but a great highway cruiser

[pismopete]

I run the same tires on my fiver and see very little wear on the edges. I run them at 80 PSI and am quite happy. Prior to this I ran the XPS ribs. Don't see any difference, both great tires.

[fj12ryder]

Depending on your actual weight, Sailun's could be overkill. I have them on my triple axle toyhauler and they are fantastic tires. I would buy them again in a heartbeat. But they are rated to 4000 lbs. and have a very stiff sidewall, which could make for a rough ride if your trailer is fairly light. Again, the Sailun's are terrific tires.

[dpam]

N-Trouble, Big Buford and Jaycocamprs:

Thank you for submitting your feedback to my post, because the 3 of you confirmed that
your Bridgestone Duravis tires look the same as mine, so now I feel better about the tire wear that I see on my tires. Next year I’m going to replace them with either the same tire or sailun ones, which I need to research a bit more. I would have posted pictures of my tires, but I don’t know how to do that.


Regards,

DPAM

[jaycocamprs]

Our DURAVIS R250's are 5 years old, show the same slight wear. They have always been run at 80 PSI. I believe it is wear from the edges biting during sharp turns, such as backing. Didn't the Goodyear G614 show the same type wear? We will most like;y replace with the DURAVIS R238's next spring.

[big_buford]

Just swapped out a set of r250's. I also had a funny wear on just the inside edge, approx 1/4" worn more than the rest of the tire. Had plenty of tread left and I know how thick r250's are so caused me no concern. 7 years without a peep.

[phillyg]

Since the edges are wearing evenly, alignment is okay. Center wear indicates over-inflation, edge wear indicates under-inflation. I know some folks believe in LT tires. Is it possible your LT tires have a softer rubber compound allowing the outer edges to wear quicker than typical ST tires during hard, scrubbing turns? I don't know. I'd max out your PSI to see if it makes a difference.

[N-Trouble]

Since OP hasnt posted a pic I’ll try to shed some light. 2yr old Duravis. Outer edge “looks” worn but its NOT. Measure the tread depths. Its an optical illusion since there are no grooves in inner/outer tread blocks.

[alexleblanc]

my last set of BFG Commercial T/A's wore slightly more on the outer edges than the center but approx 3/32" over 26000km's and I just assumed it was from tire scrubbing to be honest - Tires were ran at 80PSI the whole time so low pressure would not of been the issue.

[JIMNLIN]

Too wide of a wide wheel will cause the tire to wear the outside edges....but it would have to be well outside the tires wheel width nominal width ranges set by Bridgestone.

I would drop by a real Bridgestone truck tire dealer and let them check the tires for actual wear issues. If the tires outer edges has worn enough you can tell if the wear was feathered all one way as in suspension problems or alignment problem/wrong wheel width.
The R-250 is a very stiff tire and usually sits flat across the tread unlike the rounded tread of a ST E poly class tire. The op may not be used to seeing wear marks on the outer edges as a ST wear marks are usually in the center of the tread.

[jay5er]

sounds like low tire pressure
!!

[N-Trouble]

Okay just took a look at mine and think I know why you believe the inner/outer treads are wearing. Those treads do not have any grooves in them from the factory like the inner treads do. You think you wore them down(no grooves) but measure the tread depth and I bet it close to the same as the inner treads.

And yes they are **** good tire...

[N-Trouble]

Pic is worth a thousand words here...

Trust me the sidewalls on the R250s are MUCH stronger/thicker than an ST. Held one in each hand when having the Duravis put on. No comparison.

[dpam]

fj12ryder wrote:
It certainly sounds like low air pressure, but you said you have them set at max sidewall pressure. Are they all wearing the same?

Yes all four tires have the same outside and inside edges worn almost the same amount. The edges are worn at slight angle, which lead me to thinking the sidewalks are not as ridge as ST tires and it may have happened while making normal and tight turns. The rest of the treads on the tires have extremely even wear.

[B_O__Plenty]

JIMNLIN wrote:
Tires wearing both edges on a trailer can be a overloading issue or underinflation. Take the trailer to a big rig trailer repair shop and have them check the suspension for worn parts and alignment check.

The ST doesn't have a stiffer sidewall than a LT especially the all steel ply carcass like the Bridgestone R-250.

I use 16" LT E on my 11200 lb 5er. Ran the first set for 55k miles....2nd set just over 50k miles and on the 3rd set.
I've worn out several sets of LT tires on my work trailers and like my rv trailer the treads wore flat across the tread.

I agree 100%. Great advice.


B.O.