Rear tires on my dually are feathering

[PistonSlap]

Just looking for some information, I have a 99 F350 that I tow our 5th wheel with. Other than that it sits in the driveway. I have about 2200 miles on the tires now and noticed there is feathering on the rear of the tread blocks. I keep the tires inflated to the recommendations on the door...I believe its 50psi. I had the alignment checked and the rear axle is straight to the vehicle. When driving it tracks as straight as the road will let it. The majority of the miles are straight highway and interstate. A friend and I are thinking because the tread is a bit aggressive and 3 peaks (winter) rated. that it may be the reason. Figured I would see what some of you guys have had experience with. Again this is the rear tires.

[CampNow]

Can't see anything wrong in the pic. FWIW, the LT tires (in the 2nd pic) have a maximum inflation pressure of 80 PSI. You said you're inflating to 50 PSI. Not sure what kind of load (in lbs.) you're carrying, but you may want to try a higher inflation pressure. If it were me, I'd bump it up to 65 PSI and see if that helps.

[Foretm]

What I would do is to take the rig and have it weighed. I would make sure I got at least an axle weight for the rear axle with the 5er attached. Once you have that weight, divide by 4 and see where you fall in the following chart. That would be the abolute minimum pressure. I believe those are load range E tires, so you should be closer to that end of the spectrum.

[2lane]

To me it looks like heel-toe wear. As the tire rolls the front of the tread block is compressed and the back isn't, causing the back to wear faster. The worse it gets the noisier the tires get. My experience is, once it starts it is hard to get rid of. The only possible cure, other than buying new tires, is to rotate and reverse direction of rotation by swapping sides. If the tires are directional, you will have to dismount them, turn them around and mount/balance the tire. I've not had anyone tell me it is an inflation issue, but I'm pretty consistent at keeping the pressure at the door post sticker.


You can google heel toe wear, it is pretty common with aggressive tread tires.

[PistonSlap]

Originally Posted by CampNow

Can't see anything wrong in the pic. FWIW, the LT tires (in the 2nd pic) have a maximum inflation pressure of 80 PSI. You said you're inflating to 50 PSI. Not sure what kind of load (in lbs.) you're carrying, but you may want to try a higher inflation pressure. If it were me, I'd bump it up to 65 PSI and see if that helps.

Originally Posted by Foretm

What I would do is to take the rig and have it weighed. I would make sure I got at least an axle weight for the rear axle with the 5er attached. Once you have that weight, divide by 4 and see where you fall in the following chart. That would be the abolute minimum pressure. I believe those are load range E tires, so you should be closer to that end of the spectrum.

I thought about upping the pressure a little. The feather is hard to see in the picture the tread block to the right and the siping shows it but easier to feel it. Weight ratings for the axle are GAWR rear of 7460lbs. The tires show 2778 lbs in dual configuration and when I rolled across the scall with the trailer the rear axle had a weight of 6320 lbs. The math for the tires shows the ability of the tires to hold 11,112 lbs way more than the axle is rated and on the flip side, each tire is supporting 1580 lbs. Thanks for the ideas

[MontyRV]

Probably the tires. I had a set of those Falken Wild Peaks, and they were one of the worst sets of tires I ever had. Wore out in no time, too.

[brettt]

Just a guess never had that problem on our 06 dully.Are the wheels torqued correctly to bolt pattern?We always run 65 psi have 165K on the truck. Thanks

[PistonSlap]

Originally Posted by brettt

Just a guess never had that problem on our 06 dully.Are the wheels torqued correctly to bolt pattern?We always run 65 psi have 165K on the truck. Thanks

I have seen a lot of duallys come through the dealer I worked at and never seen tire wear like that on a rear tire. As for torque I use a torque wrench on my wheels. I also check them every other fuel stop, and before I leave on a trip. (Including the trailer) The tires have a tread wear rating of 55000 miles so I wonder how they will last. My gut says next time its time for tires I will get something not so aggressive

[wags999]

Originally Posted by CampNow

Can't see anything wrong in the pic. FWIW, the LT tires (in the 2nd pic) have a maximum inflation pressure of 80 PSI. You said you're inflating to 50 PSI. Not sure what kind of load (in lbs.) you're carrying, but you may want to try a higher inflation pressure. If it were me, I'd bump it up to 65 PSI and see if that helps.

X2 the door jamb is for the tires that came with the vehicle. I think a higher pressure would help, but, if you check weights on the vehicle then you will have a better understanding of what pressure you should inflate your tires to.

[PistonSlap]

Originally Posted by wags999

X2 the door jamb is for the tires that came with the vehicle. I think a higher pressure would help, but, if you check weights on the vehicle then you will have a better understanding of what pressure you should inflate your tires to.

Maybe I'm not understanding what pressure I am supposed to have. I looked at a chart that was posted earlier and see that the weight that I have 6320 spread out over 4 tires would be 1580. In the chart assuming the top numbers are PSI (Minimum)for the weight, the tire needs carry would be a little over 35 psi. I have mine set at 50 cold. I am going to see if there is a way to get a better picture. I will probably increase the pressure by 5 PSI and see what happens on the next trip. I like to make small adjustments and see what it nets out. I did do a little digging around and found this formula...Not sure how well or accurate it is axle weight/number of tires X max air pressure/weight rating of tires used = tire pressure needed. 7460/4x80/2778+53.7 If that is true then I should be close enough that the tires should not wear funky.

[PistonSlap]

Here are some better pictures. You can see the ends of the tread blocks are featherd Its all the way across on all four rear tires.