Need new tires ALREADY!

[panamacamper1]

I puchased a new Shadow Cruiser 280qbs, it has 205/75/14 load C tires.
I have maybe 1000 miles on them and I always check the tire preasure before trips.
My unit (unloaded) is around 5,200lbs and (loaded) around 6,600lbs. I know you have to run tires at max psi(50) to get full use of 6 ply on tires. It has double axles and each axle is measured at 4,555lbs.
I need to take her in and see if the axles are out of allignment or bent. Is this under warrentee if I am still with-in a year of purchase?
What tires would you recommend?

UPDATE: This is after I did the rotation of the two rear axle tires. Remember I have maybe 700 to 800 miles on these tires. TT was brand new.

Bald on the inside (original left rear axle tire)

Bald on the inside (same tire) picture the other tire bald on the outside.

tread burned off the outside edge, this is from the tire before i rotated them, so it is bald on the outside

These are the tires that I have

[c3saving]

I have a Shadow Cruiser 280 as well. With the on going discussion, I took a look at the tires. Several weeks ago, I saw a weird rub on the outside of the tire. We moved the camper to another location that had a concrete pad, so it's easy for me to see underneath. We do have axles with the 3500 printed on the label. I looked on the inside of the tires and didn't see anything that would be a cause for concern. I have however been following my husband and saw the tires on the back axle leaning inward. It was only the back tires.

We have taken 6 trip in the camper since June. The majority of them have been under 80 miles one way. We did have one trip that was 150 miles. I calculated the total miles on the tires to be 750 miles. I then took a closer look at the tires yesterday.

Below are close up pictures of the problem areas and the tire as a whole. The picture of the rub #2 did not turn out well, so I have left it out. I thought we must have done something to make that rub on the tire, but then I looked at the other tire under the slide. It had the same rub on the top and bottom of the tire. I can imagine perhaps the tires being bound together to get those marks on both tires.

But the part that is most disturbing is the slit in the tire wall. What's up with that??

Shall I call the tire folks? I do need to take the trailer to the dealer. The antenna is not working.

Has anyone else had something that looks like this?

[Canuckss]

My trailer is finally done and ready for pick up, hopefully going to pick it up friday or saturday morning. Lippert covered the axles and Cruiser forked out $65 for each tire for replacement which is alright i guess, probably more than what the cheap chinese tires that were on it were worth. According to the dealer all i have to pay was for the mounting and balancing of the tires. If so then I will be impressed with getting all of this done. Will let everyone know what it looks and tows like with the new axles and tires and hopefully this is the last with this issue as it has been a big headache.

[mrkoje]

youth4him wrote:
I'm assuming that the batches have all been sold any way at this point, and it's been addressed.

There are three 280QBS trailers here in Great Falls and every one of them still has the 3500lb axles so all the "batches" haven't been sold and the dealer isn't going to do anything to address it. That was the biggest thing that turned me off from those trailers.

[srkmcnutt]

I had the exact same problem on my 2011 Shadow Cruiser. Your pictures could have come from my camera. Gentry at Cruiser Rv told me to contact Lippert Components and talk to them. Initially they only agreed to send me new axles. After our last camping trip my wife was following our camper in her car and she noticed the tires tilted in, just like you would expect for tires with extreme wear to the inside edge. When I told this to the person I was working with at Lippert, he also agreed to pay up to $200 for installation and $65 per tire for new tires.

[youth4him]

mrkoje wrote:

dodge guy wrote:
14" "C" rated tires on a trailer with an approx GVWR of 7000lbs? Are they serious?!!!

My wife and I were considering this exact model. Shadow Cruiser 280QBS... UNTIL I found this wonderful website rv.net. I read that a lot of people were having issues with their Shadow Cruiser's being fitted at the factory with under rated axles and tires. I went back to the RV dealer that night after closing and looked at the axles. Not so much to my surprise they were both 3500lb axles! The GVWR for the trailer was approx 7500 and they have were using these little twig axles.

I contacted the salesman the next day to address my concerns with his model. I really kind of liked the look to the Shadow Cruiser and the outdoor kitchen was kind of "neat" but I was extremely concerned about the axles and tires. Well the salesman said that had no idea this was an issue and that "I should be fine with this setup." Well he offered to call the Shadow Cruiser rep for our region and he said the rep said the same thing. That the 280QBS was supposed to come with 3500lb axles and C rated tires. I laughed at walked away. You know.. don't feed me that line of BS. Easy to say I was extremely disgusted with CruiserRV at that point.

We finally decided on a trailer made by Outdoors RV. It actually came with 15" Goodyear D rated tires and 5200lb axles and a ton of other features that are extremely nice like heated underbelly and brakes on all 4 wheels.

FWIW, even after all of the issues I had on the axles and tires, I would not hesitate for a second to recommend Cruiser trailers. The bang for your buck, especially in size and features is still good, and for me, the measure of a good company isn't what issues they do or don't have, but their willingness to actually take care of the customer.

I had an issue with billing for warranty work here locally, and Cruiser was 10x more responsive than our local deal (Big Sky RV) in getting it addressed. It was Big Sky RV's problem with their billing and they showed a complete lack of customer service, where as Cruiser actually supplied a lot of help and documentation to assist me. Not often do you get a manufacturer that will provide better service than you get locally (heck, most of the time, there's no way to even get to the manufacturer.)

So, anyone reading these issues, don't let them scare you off of these trailers. I'm assuming that the batches have all been sold any way at this point, and it's been addressed.

[SilnJohn]

Lippert covered the cost on mine, cruiser will tell you they are not under rated. Technically true, they are not under rated. Look under any Cruiser RV product (or other lightweight brand FWIW) 6500-7800# GVWR, you'll probably see dual 3500# axles. Those other models/brands don't have the widespread issues as the Shadow Cruiser. There was some defect with these, I've been told its bad tires, bad steel, improper initial camber or some combination thereof.

I feared the new axles might be to HD for the application and start wearing on the outside. I have just over 800 miles on mine since the swap out. So far (knock on wood) no measurable wear.

[mrkoje]

dodge guy wrote:
14" "C" rated tires on a trailer with an approx GVWR of 7000lbs? Are they serious?!!!

My wife and I were considering this exact model. Shadow Cruiser 280QBS... UNTIL I found this wonderful website rv.net. I read that a lot of people were having issues with their Shadow Cruiser's being fitted at the factory with under rated axles and tires. I went back to the RV dealer that night after closing and looked at the axles. Not so much to my surprise they were both 3500lb axles! The GVWR for the trailer was approx 7500 and they have were using these little twig axles.

I contacted the salesman the next day to address my concerns with his model. I really kind of liked the look to the Shadow Cruiser and the outdoor kitchen was kind of "neat" but I was extremely concerned about the axles and tires. Well the salesman said that had no idea this was an issue and that "I should be fine with this setup." Well he offered to call the Shadow Cruiser rep for our region and he said the rep said the same thing. That the 280QBS was supposed to come with 3500lb axles and C rated tires. I laughed at walked away. You know.. don't feed me that line of BS. Easy to say I was extremely disgusted with CruiserRV at that point.

We finally decided on a trailer made by Outdoors RV. It actually came with 15" Goodyear D rated tires and 5200lb axles and a ton of other features that are extremely nice like heated underbelly and brakes on all 4 wheels.

[youth4him]

Cruiser took care of the tires, and I'm not sure if they sent the bill to Lippert or not. Lippert took care of the axles (I dealt with them directly and Cruiser.)

Cruiser has been really good to me about service, and even with the axle issue, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them.

[CarolinaHokie]

KD, I have read many of those posts. Almost made me wish I could have boughts your "better than new!" 280. You weren't kidding! Whose warranty provided the tires (cruiser?) and whose warranty provided the axles (Lippert)?

[youth4him]

I had the exact thing happen on my 280, lippert and cruiser took care of it, including new tires. One thing I noticed on that trailer is I think they're over rating the cargo on it.

The axles were defective, or the hub/axle connection. If you look at some of my posts, you can see some of what I went through. We did a 4800 mile trip and that was the first set of tires. Once the new axles were one, I was more or less good to go.

[CarolinaHokie]

hi Carrie, Will post as soon as I get some resolution. Trying to stay calm. Just keep checking your tires for bald patches. Don't drive too far from home, lol.

Panama, can you tell me exactly which tires you got. Model/make. How much did Cruiser authorize for tire replacement>? Did you pay extra to upgrade? Exactly how did you convince them it was an axle issue? Were the axles visibly bent?

[panamacamper1]

Yes I did get my unit back. I'm getting ready for work but I will post pics this evening. The dealership did everything. It all fell under warentee and you can clearly see the axles I have now are twice as thick and round. I also now have Carlisle tires all the way around. Are you still fighting with your issue?

[c3saving]

CarolinaHokie,
How did your slide problem get resolved? And how far did you drive on those tires? I'm getting a little worried. And was anything said about your axles?

Thanks,
Carrie

[CarolinaHokie]

PanamaCamper, Did you get your Shadow Cruiser back yet? Can you tell me how the warranty work went?

[panamacamper1]

Just want to update everyone, I have been in class but I will go pick up my trailer this Saturday. I will take the before and after shots of what was done to my trailer so u can use them as a reference with your respective dealerships. If u are in the Md area I highly recommend Leos vacation center. They have been nothing but great to my family from sales to service.