rear tire wear with weight distribution hitch

[Boooker]

hey all, just got back from a 9 day 3,000 mile trip - central PA to eastern Colorado and back.

195RB towed by a 2014 Ford Flex. Flex is good to 4500 GVWR and we keep the 195RB light as possible so it is well under 4500.

trip went well, but i took flex in for oil change and found the rear tires down to cords on the inside. left with 7/32's.

i did not use the sway bar as i can't seem to get the setting right. noticed a little sway but nothing heavy.

weight dist hitch was set up to measurements and when coupled is very close to uncoupled height.

brakes checked and they are perfect, alignment checked and it was slightly out in the rear ( maybe that curb at that tiny gas station).

Front tires came back good at 6/32's.

any thoughts my friends?

the 2 prior trips were 300 and 600 miles RT and the car was serviced after them and before this trip. everything checked out then but i was using sway bar.

Thanks for the help!

[Learner]

What is the (WD) tongue weight allowable for your car hitch? You may be within the GCVR, but are you under the listed WD tongue weight?

Most hitches for tow vehicles have two different GCVRs, and two different tongue weights, depending on whether you are using a weight distributing hitch or not. On top of that, a weight distributing hitch head usually weighs much more than one that does distribute. So you need to add that on top of the actual tongue weight, when arriving at the actual loaded tongue weight of your trailer.

I'm not familiar with the Flex, but I'm going to guess that the non-WD maximum tongue weight is 400 lb. In which case it might be 600 pounds with the WD bars engaged?

So even though you say that you are within the GCVR, could you be exceeding the tongue weight and overloading the rear of your vehicle?

Then, on top of that, what is the cargo weight of the tow vehicle? Are you under the maximum tow vehicle cargo weight when taking into account the tongue weight added to the cargo weight in the tow vehicle?

Welcome to the forums!

[Learner]

I'm also assuming that your Flex came with the class 3 tow package. I just looked it up and a standard 2014 flex can only tow 2,000 pounds, while the one with the tow package is good to 4500 lb.

[JFlightRisk]

Your Flex has independent rear suspension, and can be aligned just like the front suspension. It sounds like it may need a thorough inspection, and four wheel alignment. The Flex is known to have tire wear issues in the past.

[skids]

Originally Posted by Boooker

hey all, just got back from a 9 day 3,000 mile trip - central PA to eastern Colorado and back.

195RB towed by a 2014 Ford Flex. Flex is good to 4500 GVWR and we keep the 195RB light as possible so it is well under 4500.

I just looked up the base curb weight of 2019 Ford Flex SEL AWD and it was reported to be 4637 lbs. I think the GVWR is hitch weight (what is that, something like 80 lbs for the hitch and 420 lbs for load from trailer.). Add the curb weight to that and include passengers and cargo. I think there are axle loading considerations, front vs. rear, and the distribution hitch is supposed to help with that. I am a rookie here, so check my reasoning. You may be overloading your Flex.

[Tiguan Tow r]

Read this post last night. While out today we happen to follow a Flex down the road. It appeared the Flex was loaded up as the rear wheels/tires were significantly arched / \ . Tires won't last in this position, particularly when under weight.

[Boooker]

I added the class III wd hitch after talking to ford engineers. the "package" comes with anti sway software. I confirmed the hitch, tongue weight and trailer weight with the engineers and they said I was good to go. trans cooler already on the vehicle and oil cooler not required. all temps stayed good during the 9 day run in which 6 days were 500 miles plus each day under load. engine performed great. tire pressures checked daily and required no air. heading to cape may nj in October with new tires and will use the anti sway bar, and measure tread depth - a lot. we will see. maybe santa needs to send me an f-150.


as a side note we are a couple who simply go and camp - we do not haul anything but ourselves and about 50 lbs of dogs, a few day of clothes, a bottle of scotch and a bottle of bourbon. water tank empty, black tank a few gallons to slosh around and grey tank nearly empty.

[Boooker]

So here is an update to my original post. so after a new set of tires all around we took a few multi day trips - both abut 350 miles RT. I checked the WD hitch measurements before both trips. the Flex sitting level with no load had a measurement of 30.5" from ground to the point we used to measure hitch. Full load on the flex without distribution raised the reference point to 31". when full weight distribution was attached we came back to 30.5" at the reference point. measured tread on both trips and saw virtually no wear. I kept my speed at 60-63 MPH and used sway bar adjusted to the point it gave very little groaning yet kept us steady. Hoping that it was a one time issue. We will see on the next Colorado trip next year I guess.

[DonaandDon]

Great advice on the WDH. Did anyone ask about tires? Are you pressing them to max when hauling? Sidewall flex can cause abnormal wear. Please don't ask me how I know.

[teachermangoes]

Are the tires sufficient for the application? Ratings don't tell the whole story, and as close to capacity as it sounds as though you are running, every component becomes a potential weak link. If the tires are passenger tires, that could be a cause for concern.

[RogerR]

I think you need to go to the scales and check the back axel when loaded and hitched. By loaded I mean with people and stuff you have on a trip. Don't forget the weight of a full or nearly full tank of gas.

Compare this to the weight without the trailer or the hitch body. Seems you might be way over the max for the rear axel, bowing tires or just overweight.