# Trailer tire wear



## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Ok so all 4 tires on my travel trailer are showing severe cupping wear. The tires themselves are probably 5-6 years old but have maybe 1500 miles on them at most.

When I first noticed wear I thought it was loose wheel bearings to I tightened them up a bit early last year. We just got back from camping a couple hours ago and several of the tires is now worn down so bad it will have to be replaced before our next outing.

But, I am NOT going to put on another set of tires until I am confident we've isolated this issue, and fixed it. I cant afford to replace a full set of tires with so few of miles.

I've heard balance can be cause this, but it still looks like loose bearings to me, or posssibly both? This cupping wear isn't even around the diameter of the tire, one side is much worse than 180 degrees around the tire.




























I'm thinking of pulling one wheel and taking it in to a trailer shop and see what they say, I'm sure they've seen similar issues countless times.

If it is bearings, any reputable shops around north UT county to look at? Stewarts trailer in AF treated me very bad once and I will never go back to those people. I wonder if Les Swab would do it along with a set of tires as they do repairs.

Anywho, here's some picts. Thoughts?

-DallanC


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## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

We took a brand new utility trailer to South Dakota a few years ago to goose hunt. We put a little over 2,000 miles of travel time on those tires and they were shot. It was the tires, they were $hit from the factory. A new set of tires were put on and another 2,200 miles the next week to Canada and home with no wear. It's possible that it is just your tires where they only have 1,500 miles on them.

The only other things I can think of besides what you have already mentioned would be correct air pressure, or maybe the trailer brakes are not working properly. Let us know what you find.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

There could be a alignment problem with the axles. 

Going to a trailer service center is a good call. Someone that deals with hundreds of these kind of things should know what is going on. 

One problem with trailer tires is that you'll never put the miles on them like you would a car or truck and they will actually go bad just form age. Have you thought about rotating them? I have never heard of rotating trailer tires but it might get some more life out of them.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Critter said:


> There could be a alignment problem with the axles.


Its possible. Normally when its an alignment issue it wears off the inner or outer edge of the tire. Its again possible a severely out of balance tire coupled with an alignment issue could cause a tire to hop making for this kind of a wear issue. I didnt see or feel any vibration or shake in the trailer today though... but it did wear a HELL of alot of rubber off on the trip out and back (200ish miles we traveled).



> Going to a trailer service center is a good call. Someone that deals with hundreds of these kind of things should know what is going on.


Ya. I think my wife plans to hit Les Swab first as its on the way to her first errand tomorrow.



> One problem with trailer tires is that you'll never put the miles on them like you would a car or truck and they will actually go bad just form age.


QFMFT!

This current set is completely due to blowing *two* tires in 4 miles on our first camping trip of the year a while back. We limped into a Discount and bought 5 (full set of 4 plus 1 extra on a rim. I now carry two spares with me when camping).



> Have you thought about rotating them? I have never heard of rotating trailer tires but it might get some more life out of them.


Yea but the wear is too bad and they are unbalancable IMO. I might use the better two to upgrade my spares if nothing else.

-DallanC


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Ok so I yanked off the worst tire, when I had it jacked up I tried to wiggle it to see if the bearings felt loose but I couldnt detect any give. That doesnt mean the weight of the trailer cant make it give though.

From this angle you can see its toast.










-DallanC


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## swbuckmaster (Sep 14, 2007)

I wonder if it's because your putting to much weight in the front of the trailer. Or if the trailer isn't sitting level when you pull it. 

In for what you find out is the problem. 

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## Huge29 (Sep 17, 2007)

Just another possibility, bent axle or two? Any chance it was overloaded at one point? I had a boat trailer that had similarly wasted tires, so I just got a whole new axle and tires and been great since. Axle was about the same as the tires in cost. IN this case it is a 2,000lb 18' fiberglass boat with single axle trailer, so it wouldnt have lots of leeway with a 3,000 lb offset axle.


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## CAExpat (Oct 27, 2013)

> The tires themselves are probably 5-6 years old


Unfortunately that's about all you get with trailer tires. Some will claim a distant relative of some fashion got 15 yrs 100k etc., 5-6 years is about what you get and then they go down hill fast! Les Schwab will gladly sell you a new set, and honestly that's probably all you need, the wear shown is indicative of it breaking down.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

I've seen where trailer owners have gone to truck tires to get better wear and life out of them. 

But time is what kills most trailer tires even if they are truck tires.


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## muleydeermaniac (Jan 17, 2008)

I worked as a mechanic at Les Schwab for over 8 years!( Also ASE Certified in 5 areas). I have seen hundreds of these. Every time someone would come in we would recommend going up a ply and going to radials. The manufacturer of trailers puts only what is required on their trailers. After we upgraded the tires, very few ever came back with complaints. Trailer tire balancing is not needed and doesn't cause this. A loose bearing may cause tire wear like this but it is usually not the same pattern. I actually put Toyo AT's on my flatbed and radials on mine and my dad's trailer to stop the tire wear.


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## swbuckmaster (Sep 14, 2007)

I've had my tires on my single axle quad trailer for 15 years. I keep them out of the sun though.

The tires on my work trailer are on duel axles they wear similar to yours but I travel all over the usa with them. I think what killes them is tire scrub turning. I rotate and pancake flip them every trip I go on. I also keep the tire pressure perfect meaning air up if I'm wearing on outside edge air down if I'm wearing the middle. I use tires for trailers because they have less rolling friction on the road then truck tires "think tenspeed bike vs mountain bike." My front tires wear worse then my rear tires so this is why I'm interested in what you find out. 

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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

muleydeermaniac said:


> I worked as a mechanic at Les Schwab for over 8 years!( Also ASE Certified in 5 areas). I have seen hundreds of these. Every time someone would come in we would recommend going up a ply and going to radials. The manufacturer of trailers puts only what is required on their trailers. After we upgraded the tires, very few ever came back with complaints. Trailer tire balancing is not needed and doesn't cause this. A loose bearing may cause tire wear like this but it is usually not the same pattern. I actually put Toyo AT's on my flatbed and radials on mine and my dad's trailer to stop the tire wear.


Which Les Schwab (ha! I've been misspelling it all this time) do you work at?

-DallanC


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## lifesshort (Apr 3, 2017)

FWIW It looks like alignment issue to me. Alignment specialists on 2100 South West of the Jordan river is set up to align trailers. I have had issues with two trailers a boat and ATV after a trip to them no problems. While I was there I noticed brand new Tractors and trailers from Associated Foods and Deseret transportation. I asked what they were doing and he said both of those companies will not put a trailer or tractor on the road without having them aligned. Even the big rigs new are not aligned from the factory. My ATV trailer had one tire bent in and turned in so it was not rolling straight and wearing the rubber causing the cupping. The owner loves to hunt and is reasonable. Any new trailer I buy will go in to them first.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Well they looked it over and tried to explain without being rude we were using the cheapest trailer tire on the market (LOL!). He said its just the way those super cheap Carlisle tires wear when they get old and start to break down, they said they had seen a ton of them. He asked if the trailer swayed much and I said it had mild sway at freeway speeds. He said yup, the weaker sidewalls cause that, and when its moving back and forth its scrubbing the tires contributing to odd wear.

I asked about alignment and he said what I initially thought, if it were an alignment issue it would have even feathering along the inner or outer edge, depending on which way it was toed. All chewed up with cupping is a different issue.

Anyway he basically reaffirmed what muleydeermaniac said, step up to quality radials with more ply's. They also said these tires were made in 2011 and its pretty common to replace them all every 3-4 years depending on use. Sucks but it is what it is.

I'll schedule a time to get the trailer down and get some new tires. Afterwards I'll keep a super close eye on tire wear and if I spot anything that looks abnormal it'll go to the shop for sure... or ksl.com, depending on my mood 

Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

-DallanC


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## DUSTY NOGGIN (Feb 27, 2017)

coming in after the conversation is over but , i can tell you a way to align one yourself or to at least tell whether or not you need one ,

semi trailers have adjustable pivots while most pick-up trailer do not , welded solid -- usually if trailer is out of alignment something is worn , which means replacing worn parts or cutting and welding of the spring hangers will be needed



> That doesnt mean the weight of the trailer cant make it give though.


the weight rating of the axles should keep the same end play , if weight not exceeded

i would say definitely not end play causing that wear . some end is better than too tight

do what is called pre-load the bearings and races, tighten to where it is tough to turn wheel (wheel will not spin all the way around freely but not to where it stops , too tight) , back off the spindle nut one full turn , rotate wheel clockwise and keep spinning while tightening spindle nut slowly. it will feel very loose at the start , when you feel nut starts to have slight tension but still spin freely, stop & check if cotter pin will fit through the castle nut and spindle right there if yes pin it and throw the cap on , if no back off the spindle nut to the next pin hole in spindle available -- if you can grab onto the tread of the tire on the 12 oclock position being careful not to knock it off the jack, push it towards / and away from the spring in a rocking motion if you feel ticking /hard stops you may want to do it over -- ... sometime since the castle nut only has a pin spot every 1/6 to may have to deal with it having a little end pay

id say combination low pressure ,hot roads & cheap tires ... pay for good tires and rotate em regular and put covers on em when sitting in the driveway


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## muleydeermaniac (Jan 17, 2008)

I opened the 12th street store in Ogden and then was at Riverdale for 5 years after that. I still do work on trailers at my house on the side. Just finished a bigger job of resealing an entire roof and detailing the trailer.



DallanC said:


> Which Les Schwab (ha! I've been misspelling it all this time) do you work at?
> 
> -DallanC


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

How good are LS's trailer tires? The Towmax etc? Reviews are sortof spotty I've found. I'm leaning towards Maxxis, they seem to be the best tire for the value. 


-DallanC


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## muleydeermaniac (Jan 17, 2008)

My dad and I both have the TowMax right now on our trailers and they have been great. The Maxxis have been good for a lot of people as well that we switched them out to.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

lifesshort said:


> FWIW It looks like alignment issue to me. Alignment specialists on 2100 South West of the Jordan river is set up to align trailers.


I ran a string across the tires last night and one at least looked to be out upwards of 1/4". Hardly a precise measurement, but enough to make me want to get it checked out. All 4 show odd wear so the whole carriage might be hoopajooped. I called the guys you mentioned above and they sounded great on the phone, prices are fair so I have an appointment scheduled for Friday to get it checked out.

I feel alot better having that relatively cheap check done before putting a new set of tires on.



> While I was there I noticed brand new Tractors and trailers from Associated Foods and Deseret transportation. I asked what they were doing and he said both of those companies will not put a trailer or tractor on the road without having them aligned. Even the big rigs new are not aligned from the factory. My ATV trailer had one tire bent in and turned in so it was not rolling straight and wearing the rubber causing the cupping. The owner loves to hunt and is reasonable. Any new trailer I buy will go in to them first.


I remember back in the 1980's those ford trucks with the dual ibeam suspensions, my dad (contractor) would get a new truck every year and he always had to take them right off the dealer lot to a semi-truck alignment shop who had the tools to rebend the ibeams and get it to ride right. So yea, I've seen that first hand.

Thanks for the info.

-DallanC


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## OKEE2 (Dec 20, 2016)

Carlisle tires are crap. I think they are made in China. Just search them online and you will find all sort of problems with them. I'll never own another set. I purchased a trailer that had a set on it. Nothin but problems.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Holy chit that was baaaaad. There was 1 tire that remotely pointed in the right spot. Forward axle had slipped back on one side pointing to the left, AND it had both sides pointed further off to the side. 

Guy asked if it swayed much, I said yea a bit at higher speeds. He said that's because the tires are all pointing off different directions and as the trailer rocks, it transfers weight off one side to the other, which not being aligned, make the trailer want to go off in different directions.

So if you ever notice trailers starting to sway, check the alignment lol!

New tires scheduled for the morning. Going with Maxxis M8008 Radial tires, they seem to get the best reviews over the cheaper chinese made tires.

Thanks everyone. Should be GTG now for the next half dozen years anyway.


-DallanC


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## David_R (Aug 28, 2019)

We use truck tires on our off-road trailers. We use 285/70 R17. They seem to do really well. We do have a lighter trailer though (UVW around 2600 lbs dry).


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Truck tires are probably ok on a light single axle trailer, but they are NOT good for tandem axle trailers. Truck tires are not built to slide sideways which happens when backing up or turning at sharp angles..

Truck tires also have way less sidewall strength than ST tires. I guess you could throw E class tires on there... but holy hell it would shake a trailer apart riding so rough.

Really don't like the idea of trailer tires with alot of tread throwing rocks all over my nice new trailer either.

-DallanC


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