uneven tire wear

[dakotakid91]

Hello,
I have a 2012 25' RKS trailer that is showing signs of uneven tire wear on the rear axle inside of the tire. The other three look like a normal wear pattern. The trailer was bought new and has approximately 12K miles on the tires. Any ideas if I have an axle alignment problem or what have others experienced in this regard? Thanks for any ideas or suggestions on how to proceed with this.

Steve

[TWP723]

Could be a redundant way of storing it, steel belt(s) could be broke, etc. Take it off and take the wheel and tire both to a tire store and have them do a balance. That will give them an idea of what's wrong. Could be excessive road force which essentially means the belts have broken away and needs to be replaced. Improper inflation and out of spec alignment can cause uneven wear as well. I doubt if anything is wrong with the axle, to be honest.

[mohok1]

Check for proper inflation on that tire. I have had my axles lined up twice, my nickle. Check the 4 digit number you will find in a small circle on the wall of the tire. The 1st 2 digits indicate the week of the year the tire was made and the 2nd 2 digits indicate the year. If those tires are OME on the trailer they were probably put on the trailer Sep-Oct 2011. So the IMHO, I think it is time to replace the tires after your tire wear problem is corrected. I took my unit to a Truck Rebuild Shop in Florence, SC, a couple of years back and it cost me $125.00. Shop around but my recommendation is get it fixed and new tires.

[JDP]

Most trailer tire premature wear issues are caused by under inflation.

[dakotakid91]

Thanks for your ideas and suggestions. I know that I have been guilty until our last trip of running the tire pressure too low for what it should be. Maximum tire pressure on the sidewall indicates 65 psi and I had been running all tires at 50 psi. I will definitely be looking at replacing these tires but would like to find someone to look at the axle alignment prior to doing so.

[TWP723]

Originally Posted by dakotakid91

Thanks for your ideas and suggestions. I know that I have been guilty until our last trip of running the tire pressure too low for what it should be. Maximum tire pressure on the sidewall indicates 65 psi and I had been running all tires at 50 psi. I will definitely be looking at replacing these tires but would like to find someone to look at the axle alignment prior to doing so.

Good call!

[dakotakid91]

The tire numbers you mentioned on the sidewall are 2411 which indicates the 24th week of 2011. I will be looking at replacements before venturing out again but would like to find the cause first. The inside tire wear only appears on that one single tire which to me must have something to do with axle alignment.

[RogerR]

I had uneven wear on one of my tires, took the trailer to a tire shop for replacement and they diagnosed loose bearings on that tire. Replaced the bearings (not expensive) and new tires have not had the same problems.

[dakotakid91]

Roger, thanks for that suggestion also. I had the bearings repacked this past spring prior to a trip back to the Midwest without incident. I am going to go out Monday morning and talk to the guy who did the bearing pack and see if he has ideas or suggestions on how I should proceed with this. I will certainly keep everyone's suggestions on this forum in mind as I try to come up with a solution.

[mohok1]

One thing to check is your load. If the frig or something heavy sits above that wheel and you are a bit over loaded on that side that could be a cause. With six plus year old tire, you would be asking for trouble ever if it wasn't worn un evenly. 5 years max for me and I keep the side the sun hits covered. I have changed a few beside the road and it ain't no fun. Enjoy.

[dakotakid91]

I thought about the weight issue while returning from our latest trip and stopped at a Cat certified scale and weighed the truck/trailer combination. Unfortunately, I was not able to weigh one side and then the other. What I got pulling my trailer with a 1/2 ton Ford was front truck axle 3200 lbs, rear truck axle 4200 lbs, and a trailer weight of 6720 lbs for a grand total of 14120 lbs. That is about what I expected it to be. I need to find a scale where I can weigh things left side/right side. Thanks for your thoughts though.

[dakotakid91]

I went out today and did some measuring using a simple tape measure. I discovered there was a 1/2" difference between the tires between each axle from one side to the other. This to me was significant. I opted to take it out to the guy who repacked the wheel bearings for me last spring and have him see if he can figure out what is wrong with it. Hopefully something just moved slightly from a pot hole or something, and can be moved back into position. I still am going to replace all four tires next spring once I get it out of storage again. I am leaning towards the Marathon Maxxi's if anyone has pros and cons.....or other suggestions for good travel trailer tires.

[norty1]

Marathon and Maxxis are 2 different ST makes of tire.
I would get the Maxxis.


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[dakotakid91]

Thanks for that information. Obviously, I had not my research very well prior to posting but yes, I would be leaning towards the Maxxi's.

[Jagiven]

Did you check the ballpark alignment with the TT on the ground or up on four jack stands? The reason I ask is, TT rims flex a lot while turning, I mean inches. So when you parked you might have put a little twist on the rims. If it is up on jack stands, you have removed any side loading.

As for your uneven wear; Have you changed where or how you park the unit at home/storage facility? I moved and within one season I had a lot of wear on one rear tire. It was determined my wear is due to backing in to my driveway, I get a lot of tire scrub on that side. So much scrub you can see it in the street's pavement. Remedy new tires, and now annual tire rotation.

As for tires, it was already mentioned you have very old tires. They need to be replaced very soon. I replaced mine this spring as I did not want to go any further than absolutely necessary. I really wanted new ones before I put it away last fall, but decided to risk it and wait for spring.

[ALJO]

Jagiven; The reason I ask is, TT rims flex a lot while turning, I mean inches.

The "Rims" don't flex. The tires together with the play in the suspension will flex

[mohok1]

Simple (red neck) way to measure to see if the alignment is correct is to make sure the TT is straight and there is no flex in the tires. Get something (a stick) maybe that is straight and a bit longer than the center point of the axles. Put a nail in one end of the stick and have someone hold it on the center point of one axle and place the other end on the center point of the other axle and mark and measure from the nail to the mark. Check both side and if the difference is (IMHO) over 3/8" you might need an alignment. Works for me.

[ninjahbob]

Was the tire wear present before you had the bearings repacked? Just curios

[RAurand]

My uneven wear on my previous 2012 26BH was due to a out of alignment axel and bent spindle.

[dakotakid91]

I had not noticed any abnormal tire wear after the wheel bearings were packed this past spring and prior to a 3500 mile round trip to the Midwest for my 50 year class reunion.

I do have a difficult driveway to park the trailer in while we have it here during our use of it. In the off season I put it in a storage building off site. I have a fire hydrant and a telephone located in such a position that it is difficult to negotiate trying to back the trailer up our driveway and at an angle.....and of course, it is to the right which makes it even more difficult. Scrubbing the tires during this process is certainly a possibility that I hadn't thought of.

I did not re-measure the gap between the tires as I probably should have once I moved it forward prior to taking it out to have someone look at it that is more experienced than me. I will wait to see what he comes up with before doing anything else. Tires will be replaced for sure next spring.

Thanks for all suggestions, ideas and input.