Uneven wear on trailer tires

[svk]

Guys this one is a head scratcher.

I’m getting uneven wear on my recently rebuilt trailer. The first tire has about 1500 miles. The other one is an older tire that was in good shape about 500 miles ago. The tires are wearing prematurely in the middle. One thing I’ve noticed but not able to figure out why: the trailer seems to track slightly to the drivers side of the vehicle when running down the road.

Things I’ve checked:
-Axle seems to be true/not bent
-Axle alignment is good when I measure to the front of the trailer. It’s within 1/8 inch on both sides.
-Tongue does not appear to be bent.
-Trailer hasn’t been overloaded

 

[ATpro]

Have you checked the inflation in the tires, most of the time wearing of the tire in the middle is over inflation.

 

[svk]

They should be good but I will check again.

 

[H-Ranch]

I'm with @ATpro - it's the tires. Even if the are the same size on the sidewall, there can be a difference is size. Could also have different load ratings so tire pressure could be OK in one and too high in the other. Get another matching tire and make the worn one the spare.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

Another thing to check is brakes is you have them. One could be getting higher voltage and is more engaged than the other, or simply out of adjustment, or dirty and cruded up.
Most trailer tires are cheap foreign brands. Goodyear had one nicknamed China Bombs. When they pealed on rv trailers they could take out inner fenders, cabninets, plumbing and electrical. Sometimes chunks of trailer sidewall and fender flairs for sure. Goodyear now makes Endurance, a USA built trailer tire. We put them on our rv trailer, replacing three/four year old tires. UV is more a factor than mileage.
Lots of people have switched to LT or light truck tires for trailers, but the build characteristics are different. Not sure on this but I believe trailer tires are not radials. They are designed with a stiffer sidewall to prevent sway. But if they fail what's the point. Trailer tire for the smaller trailers are for most part, the cheapest thing going. Simply junk to get you out the door and down the road after a trailer sale. Simply poor quality rubber and bonding.
When I bought my dump trailer last fall I was hoping to match trailer and truck tire size. Didn't happen. I did not go with a trailer tire upgrade because the upgrade was a foreign brand as well. At some point I will go to LT tires. Hauling loads I'm expecting two years, three max, even though the mileage will be low. That may be true with most trailer tires, that the time factor outweighs the mileage factor. (It's true with any tire. We replaced our truck tires last fall, some with really good tread but ten years old and badly weather checked.) With tandem axle there is also a considerable scuff factor.
The under cdl long hauler bloggers carry multiple tires, wheels, and suspension parts. In part because the roads have become just that bad.
When we rv with our 15 year old trailer we use interstates as little as possible. On and off bridges is the worst. Our one ton is also a factor, being lightly loaded with a 4,500 pd rv.
And additional factor is trailer axle camber. Not sure that's the right word. The axles, like aluminum semi flatbeds, are arched in the center, and flatten under load. This would wear the outer edge of your tires empty, and properly load them when loaded. A friend sold all his aluminum flatbeds and went back to steel for his dewatering company finding it difficult to haul well pipe on cambered deck trailers.

 

[svk]

Thanks. This is a tiny, one place snowmobile/atv trailer so no brakes to contend with!

 

[fossil]

Are the spring bushings in good shape?

 

[svk]

Are the spring bushings in good shape?

Good thinking. I’ll check those as soon as I unload it.

 

[les-or-more]

Axle alignment is good when I measure to the front of the trailer. It’s within 1/8 inch on both sides.

Measure as near as possible to center of the coupler from center of the hub on each side.
The frame may not be square.

 

[southpaw]

Guys this one is a head scratcher.

I’m getting uneven wear on my recently rebuilt trailer. The first tire has about 1500 miles. The other one is an older tire that was in good shape about 500 miles ago. The tires are wearing prematurely in the middle. One thing I’ve noticed but not able to figure out why: the trailer seems to track slightly to the drivers side of the vehicle when running down the road.

Things I’ve checked:
-Axle seems to be true/not bent
-Axle alignment is good when I measure to the front of the trailer. It’s within 1/8 inch on both sides.
-Tongue does not appear to be bent.
-Trailer hasn’t been overloaded

View attachment 895350

View attachment 895351

That 1st picture looks like a typical trailer tire , that is a passenger tire & has a lot more miles than 1500 but over inflation and heavy loading are going to cause that.
It's trailer so it's a good piece of equipment to throw worn car tires on and go , if you cannot breakdown tires yourself just go the local garage they will have old used tires and charge you minimal price to swap out
You can put used passenger tires on a trailer but the light truck tires are going to hold up a little better, they are dime a dozen used at co-ops and tire shops

 

[svk]

That 1st picture looks like a typical trailer tire , that is a passenger tire & has a lot more miles than 1500 but over inflation and heavy loading are going to cause that.
It's trailer so it's a good piece of equipment to throw worn car tires on and go , if you cannot breakdown tires yourself just go the local garage they will have old used tires and charge you minimal price to swap out
You can put used passenger tires on a trailer but the light truck tires are going to hold up a little better, they are dime a dozen used at co-ops and tire shops

These are trailer tires and I put it on brand new in late January.

Also they are 4.8-8 tires so no vehicle tires fit.

 

[southpaw]

These are trailer tires and I put it on brand new in late January.

Also they are 4.8-8 tires so no vehicle tires fit.

Guess I need to look closer don't I , sorry about that

 

[Sandhill Crane]

Certainly good reason for disappointment then.
Then again, if you read the fine print these tires are not to exceed 20 miles per trip, are good for a maximum of 50 trips empty, and 25 trips at 50% load capacity depending on the quality of air at the time.

Do these tired have a date stamp on the sidewall?
Two numbers, week and year. Ex: 43/20, or 43/15.

 

[cookies]

trailer tires smaller than 15" rims are not designed for speeds greater than 50mph, some even lower than that...at a high rate of spin the center bulges outward

 

[660catman]

I don’t think it’s a bent axle due to tires don’t looked scrubbed. Dog tracking in itself will not wear out tires. I towed my 17’ boat for a while until last year my buddy towed it behind his 5th wheel when we went camping. It dog tracked real bad when I followed him. Measured axle as it’s movable on frame. One side was further back by 1/2”. No wear on tires so I moved axle and all is good.

If you can and it doesn’t look like it, move up to a 10” tire.


Retired guy from SE Manitoba

 

[motorhead99999]

How much clearance is there between the tire and trailer deck? It’s not rubbing once you put a load on it right? It would Be hard to notice on a deck over trailer like that besides it smoking when you stopped
But visually you wouldn’t be able to see it u less you looked under the trailer.

 

[svk]

How much clearance is there between the tire and trailer deck? It’s not rubbing once you put a load on it right? It would Be hard to notice on a deck over trailer like that besides it smoking when you stopped
But visually you wouldn’t be able to see it u less you looked under the trailer.

Definitely not rubbing, that was my first suspicion too but the trailer bed is still rusty above the tires.

 

[svk]

trailer tires smaller than 15" rims are not designed for speeds greater than 50mph, some even lower than that...at a high rate of spin the center bulges outward

I don't know about that...I have pulled several different trailers thousands of miles with the small diameter rims with no issues. Often I have owned trailers for 15+ years and sold them with the original tires...there is definitely an issue with this trailer.

 

[660catman]

I don't know about that...I have pulled several different trailers thousands of miles with the small diameter rims with no issues. Often I have owned trailers for 15+ years and sold them with the original tires...there is definitely an issue with this trailer.

I agree. I have the fat 18.5 x 8” tires on my single aluminum snowmobile trailer. Bought new in 2007 and replaced tires in 2019 only because of severe cracking and not tire wear. It has been on many 800 mile round trips up north traveling 60 mph. Tires were C rated


Retired guy from SE Manitoba

 

[Lee192233]

Here's what I would do.
-Jack trailer up
-Put axle on stands
-While turning each tire use a flat blade screwdriver to scratch a line approximately in the center of each tire tread. You may have to set screwdriver shaft on a block to hold it steady.
-Measure the distance between the lines on the front side of the tire and the rear side. If there is a drastic difference (more than 1/8") you have a toe problem. If you can measure top vs. bottom you will be able to see if there is a camber problem.
Hope this helps,
Lee