Rear cupped tires

[KennethKlein]

After towing a 5500# car hauler for 1000 miles the NEW Michelin`s (rear) are cupped. Would ladder or torsion bars help this problem? They give the rear end more stability, strength correct?

 

[goodguys75]

maybe they are defective???? I would go to the tire place and ask them

 

[Bob4x4]

Did the trailer have enough tw and were the tires inflated and balanced correctly?

 

[KennethKlein]

The tires on the trailer were at proper pressures. if they were balanced that I dont know. it is a new (2yrs old) trailer. And the dragster that was in the trailer was parked with the engine over the axles of the trailer.
Thanks for bringing that point up, I didnt think about that. Am I way off thinking that torsion bars would make the rear end of the truck stronger?

 

[Mark31]

How much air do you have in the truck tires and are they load range E? Do they ride smooth when you are/aren't hooked to the trailer?

 

[jgillott]

The tires on the trailer were at proper pressures. if they were balanced that I dont know. it is a new (2yrs old) trailer. And the dragster that was in the trailer was parked with the engine over the axles of the trailer.
Thanks for bringing that point up, I didnt think about that. Am I way off thinking that torsion bars would make the rear end of the truck stronger?

Was it a front engine dragster or a rail? As Bob asked, I wonder if you had enough tongue weight on the hitch to keep the back of the truck stable. I would think that you would have felt an issue long before you would have experienced the tire wear/cupping that you are seeing.

Which Michelin tire are you running? I just read another thread on here talking about possible separation issues with the ms/2's and I have personally had wear issues with sets of AT/2's. I did have very good luck with the original LTX A/S tires and have never heard of any reliability issues with those models.

I would take a serious look at your hitch set-up, trailer weight balance, tongue weight, etc. before adding something like ladder bars to the back of your truck.

 

[JFought]

The only tire cupping i have ever had was always on the front. (when towing)
I always overload the tongue and rebalance the load with air bags
(my preference as i have had a load wag at 50mph and never will let that happen again. Luckily i barley held it on the road but scared the HELL out of me)

 

[cerberusiam]

Rear tire cupping is a pain becuase it is hard to tell exactly what the problem is. It could be cheaply made tires, alignment issues, or supsension issues. Unless you have the trailer loaded so heavy in the rear you are bouncing the tires off the ground it is hard to see how that light ow weight would make any difference.

Torsion bars on the hitch wil just worsen the problem if it light on the hitch. Traction bars just stop axle wrap. Neither is really a solution for what you are describing.

Have you had an alignmne tand visually check for the truck dog trailing?

 

[KennethKlein]

The tires are ms/2s E load range running 65#s of air. It is a front engine dragster, and the engine sits in front of the axles on the trailer. I always thought that cupping was caused from suspension issues or mis alignment. Next season I will check the trailer tires for balancing. The original tires that came off the truck were the same as the new ones and they were fine. The previous owners did not do much towing. Thanks for all the help and good advise from everyone.

 

[LNaugle]

In my experience cupping like that could be most of those things and the shocks arent controlling the bounce of the rear springs... . i would upgrade to bilsteins, they seem to help this problem.

 

[Missouri Mule]

When I had tires cupping on a ford van the shocks were worn. Was the trailer swaying?

 

[KennethKlein]

Thanks shocks were recommended, and might be any easy fix. I believe the tongue weight is also a good point,it wasnt swaying but I did feel it at times with wind for very brief and short intervals. Plus the OE stuff (shocks) probably arent that great to begin with and now there 6 plus years old.

 

[Wingate]

not to mention those illinois roads. . hahaha. .

 

[Prairie Dog]

The Bilstiens are great for towing!

 

[KennethKlein]

Wisconsin roads are even worse. Has anyone had experience with R4tech by Sanluis Rassini?