Trailer tires

[bobvdinghyracer]

ok my take as a former tech AND also a former store manager of a firestone store in a earlier life ... can be caused by any of several above problems the most likely 2 are out of the above are...align / ie toe/ loose wheel bearings etc ... and tire balance next choice would be tire pressures biggest problem here is once a pattern is there its there the fix is new rubber along with the necessary repairs ,used to see this a lot in small front wheel drive imports AT mostly the rear tires caused by above problems in order mentioned above

couple of links ....
http://www.procarcare.com/includes/c...dtirewear.html
and ..
http://www.justtires.com/services/commonWear.html

[Master Oil Racing Team]

I only just glanced through this just now, but what Sam said about underinflation etc. was my first thought. I think it is still true because of the wear pattern. But other factors must be involved because of the weights you say you are carrying. I don't know anything about the suspension, but what Fast Fred and p28 renegade are saying was along the same thoughts as I had when I read their posts. It's been a long time, and I have forgotten much (not to mention I'm glad I'm away from it), but the cupping as Fast Fred mentions is a common phenomenon. It was at it's worst on our 4 axle lo-boy trailers. The tires were 10:00 15's rather than 10:00 20's on the standard trailers. They were called low profile. They rolled as fast as the truck went that pulled them, BUT...they turned many more rpm's to keep up. Therefore, they got hotter than the 10:00 20"s. Not only that...but the 10:00 15's were low...and the deck of the trailer was low..because they had to haul stuff that would be able to fit under a 17' overpass. Many times these loads were heavy. The heaviest ones required a 3 or 4 axle lo-boy. The 4 axle lo-boys were the worst in tire milage. We had to change tires around all the time. The axles had to be placed in a position to distribute the weight so that the load would pass the weight to axle ratio required by the Texas Railroad Commission at that time (now TXDOT). That meat that the last tandem axle was generally only a few feet in front of the rolling tailboard. It also meant that the last axle usually didn't roll much in a tight turn. In a 90 degree it skidded mostly, and the last four tires would be the first ones to develope the cupping or scalloping. We had to shift the tires constantantly, but generally the 10:00 15's were only good for around 15,000 miles.

So, I don't know anything about the torsion suspension Skoontz, but beyond that I would consider inflation, bias ply, weight, tire size, location of the axle, and where the load is positioned.

[Roy Hodges]

I read ,a couple years ago, an article about boat trailer tires, in Walleye & bass boats MAG. ,and it said that you should NOT use Radial tires on a boat trailer. Just "boat trailer tires !"
I think they were saying that Radials ride too stiff & are really rough handling on your boat .
I got NO idea if they knew what they're talking about . I am somewhat skeptical.

[Skoontz]

This is good stuff guys. I will follow the list and see what the issue is. But, next time, I'm not getting a torsion bar axle. I believe they don't work as well nor last as long for the smoother ride they give.

I'm not even to half capacity here for weight. So, more trailer work for the weekend instead of getting a yickifigon made engine ready to sell.

[Roy Hodges]

another thought . i think that one is supposed to inflate tires , according to the load they are carrying. it seems we ought to get a tire pressure list from the tire manufacturer , that would list the pressure preferred for a certain tire carrying a specified load . I know that there are VERY few tire dealers I would trust to have the real knowledge for this kind of advice .

[Shep]

those tires look overloaded, I have owned alot of trailers and none of the ever had tires that had inflation requirements of less than 50 psi cold. Be sure the load rating on the tire is correct - tires from wal-mart or simaler stores are usally light duty tires, go to a good tire guy. when your figuring the load on the axle don't forget to add the trailer wieght plus the gear. I've had many torsion axles and never had a tire issue. If you need more help email me racershep46@att.net

Shep

[Skoontz]

Those tires are the exact brand/load that Wells Cargo installs new on that trailer...Now, that is not to say they are under specing tires....But, since we have to replace those old dogs anyway, it can't cost over $75 to get the goodest of the goodest.


I just added the weights again...We carry 700 lbs rounded up of engines, props, boat, gear, and food.

The load rating of that trailer is 2000 lbs, excluding the weight of the trailer. The axle rating is 3,000 lbs, and it is a pretty common Dexter torsion flex axle.

Anyhow, I'm gunna do the alignment, get new rubber, check the bearings and try and flex the axles. I'm betting we got a little of all of the above going on here, just a guess, but reading all the great replies, that is what I'm guessing.

Next trailer is going to be a 24' toy hauler with a pot to pee in and a shower....It will have springs, not that rubber band garbage...

Anyhow, thanks again for all the replies....This is gunna be a busy weekend...Puddingstone in 2 weeks and we gots to get testing in somewhere....

[Jakob77]

You also mention above that when you're hooked up, the trailer is tilted toward the rear a bit. Spring axles have all of those shackles and things to help make up for that mis-alignment at the hitch. The torsion axles don't have any of that, so if you have the trailer tilted to the rear, there's more weight on the rear axle than there is on the front.

We've pulled that 44' triple axle trailer all over the place and haven't had any issues with the torsion axles. You might have a hard time finding a Toy Hauler with spring axles, as the room needed for the springs and shackles and such would take away from the inside height of the trailer.

[p28 renegade]

was just next store looking at neighbors trailer. we just took the sport c off of it last nite. with no boat on trailer and in the day lite today i noticed something. right side of axle was back say maybe 3" from a known square angle on trailer. measured and sure enough the right side of axle slipped back. i looked at right tire and it has the exact wear as skoontz trailer.

this was not noticable when boat was on trailer.
get under trailer and start measuring

[Master Oil Racing Team]

So it's like a car going around a corner without a CV joint. They want to go at different speeds but can't. That's similar to what I mentioned about the 4 axle trailer and skidding the tires. It also adds up to the cupping, because a light load will hop under pressure for relief. The thing about that with the light loads is that you can go a long way without ever knowing that's happening. Then when you kind of start to notice...it gets worse and worse with the cupping. The cupping adds to the problem making it get exponentially worse and that's when the wear happens more quickly over short runs and finally you notice it. Not being familiar with that kind of suspension, I haven't thought it through. But if the axle is not square to the frame, you will always be scrubbing rubber every where you go. The hotter the tires get, the quicker the rubber is erased by the asphalt.