trailer tire failures... read on

[rob10858]

aside from the obvious, overload and underinflation, there are some critical things that can cause tire and wheel bearing failure. the first and foremost is in the the cutting and jacking that we sometimes have to do to get our trailer in a particular spot. we quit using "trailer tires" about five years ago and went with conventional, straight tread , 10 ply or 8 ply auto tires. we dont consider the savings of buying a retread or trailer only tire a bargain at all. the thing that has'nt been discussed that is critical to trailers is the way the the trl tires and the wheel bearings can stand the twisting that we all have to do to get our rigs in a certain spot. your tow rig , hopefully, will never see these grinding affects, it aint natural for that tire or axle to flex, chunking, flat spots, blown oil seals and bearing failure, usually result. the casual tower might not consider that, but i've seen enough over the years to know. we go through about 15 tires a month, mostly from tread sep at hiway speeds, when we retreive the "gator" the tread has always been good, but you could see the seperation point, dont pivot your rig too sharp, and all this time i thought it was only us... .

 

[Matt42]

Do you have the same separation problem with the 8 or 10 ply non-radial tires?

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

I'd thought/heard that one reason for using trailer-specific tires, was that they used a rubber compound more resistant to UV and ozone damage that other vecicle tires - same as rubber tractor tires that see LOTS of time out in the sun, but few miles...



BUT, *I* bought DURO trailer tires for our 5er - and shucks, THEY are displaying weathering cracks SOONER than regular car tires... .

 

[bombero]

Several years ago Trailer Life Mag had a article on trailer tires. Of coarse they are not going to bad mouth anyone that advertises in their mag. In the art they said that only P,LT, and other larger truck tires are certified by our friendly gov. Trailer tires are not! So I assume that these manf can build about any TT they want and rate them. No this cant be the case? Can it??

 

[Scooby]

15 tires per month!?!? How many miles do you travel a year?



Dang, it sounds like you need another trailer just full of spare tires!

 

[Kimrey]

Help

Packman, I have a question for you. I have a 28' fiver. I have never overloaded it as far as I know. It has about 8 -10k miles on it. The 4 tires are wearing out on the inside tread. Not one but all 4. They are wearing like it would be normal. I want to learn everything I can about what could cause this problem. I go back to the dealer on the 19 of Sept. Who knows what they will say. Anybody, if you have an idea of whats wrong let me know. Thanks,



Kimrey

 

[Jetson]

They will probably say it is normal. You need to be very clear with them that you have never overloaded the trailer. Wearing on the inside only can be an indication that the axles are bent, allowing the tires to tilt in at the top. This can be caused by overloading. I suspect that not all axles are true to begin with. Loose wheel bearings can also cause strange tire wear.

 

[rob10858]

the simple solution has proven to be a third axle. and yes, with 6 outfits traveling up and down the road we spend a fortune on tires. i,ve always said that if you have a trailer with two 6000 lb axles, the weight of the trailer , i'm talking deck over flats not tt, has to be considered. we have been suffering from overload symptoms for quite a while . i guess with tt's they figure in the weight of all the appliances, furniture, etc . but look at your tire, axle, gcvwr's, do the numbers...

 

[rob10858]

oh, by the way jetson is right, the inside wear usually indicates that the axles are overloaded, or the springs have weakened. we went thru this with a cheap, poorly built trailer before. as i followed it down the road in my rig i could see the tires flexing to the inside almost like a tow-in problem, and that's exactly what it was, the axles had bent, making the trailer tires look like they were riding only on the inside part of the tire. and that was what was happening. as far as detecting a bent axle, maybe someone from dexter could join in this forum and enlighten us all. .

 

[Deezul1]

Kimrey

Try running the flat of your hand at right angles across the tread. If there is a toe in or toe out problem there will be a feathering of the tread that you can feel. If no feathering then it will be a camber problem

 

[Cummins Cowboy]

At my old work we had a few 6x12 WW enclosed cargo trailers with tandum 3500# axles My guess ont he weight was no more than 6k#'s. On 2 of the trailers they started wearing the insides of the tires, It turned out the axles where bent. We switched out to 5500# axles which Gave us bearings and brakes that where twice the size of the smaller axles. Never had a problem after that. but it cost about 1200$ to change the axles which was half the cost of the trailer. It would be way cheaper to just order the trailer with bigger axles

 

[Kimrey]

Thanks guys, I figure it would be from overloading. I would think that the factory would be at fault. The only thing I put in the camper is: Water tank full, sewers are usualy empty, clothes for 3 people, fridgerator is full, 2 tv's, vcr, charcoal, small grill, 5 fold up chairs, and the usual water, sewer, hoses and electrical cords. The trailer can be weighted at ( mgvw) 11, or 12k. I weighed it one time loaded, 10,200, plus or minus a few pounds. So your right I might have a time with them fixing the problem. Guys just for future, don't by a Cedear Creek, I have had nonthing but problems out of this thing. Can anybody recomend a great manufacture?! Guys thanks for the info!

 

[Todd T]

OK I'm lost. I just put two new "Trailer" tires on my car hauler. are you telling me i should have went with a 6 or 8 ply E or F rated truck tire?



I was planning to build a new flatbed trailer next year. i was going with 2/6000lb axles over the 2/3's i have on this one. I figured more is better. my tires are rated at 2150 now. so i have more tire than axle as i sit. but i dont haul that much weight often. but when i do, its OTR for 5 hours at a time.