Outside Wear on Tire

I'm wondering if anyone can offer some thoughts about identifying the root cause of a problem. We have 2008 (bought in 2007) 34 ft Big Country, Bunkhouse 5th wheel, and we love it. We're weekend warriors, and we take 2 - 3 longer distant trips per year. I'm guessing that we probably have about 8,000 - 10,000 towing miles on the unit.

The Problem: Major outside wear has developed on the front, passenger side tire of the 5th wheel. The other tires seem to be wearing evenly (maybe slight outside wear on the rear passenger side).

One thought I tried to test, is the possibility of a bad or bent axel. I've tried to measure the distance on both sides of the axel to the frame, and as best I can tell, it is the same.

The other thought I have is that I back into my driveway the same direction every time, and I leave black marks on the pavement. Could it be that I am just putting extra pressure on this tire as I make a sharp turn when I jocky?

We're going on our biggest trip ever this summer, and I want to be ready for it. We live in Houston, and we're going to the Grand Canyon, then through Utah and then into CO before heading home. I only have 2 weeks off from work to do this, so I don't want to have a breakdown experience.

Any advice?

Your maneuver when backing could be the culprit. Try having your wife or someone watch the tire while you're backing in and see if it's the one doing the scrubbing. I would consider having your spare put on that right front if it's a major concern. Or try backing in from the other side for a while. Rotating the tires might help even out the wear till you can find the problem.

I would get the RV to a Shop that can make adjustments and align the axles... It is my guess that your camber is off on that tire... meaning the wheel is wearing because of a bent or damaged axle.

I had this problem on Some Other Brand of fifth wheel... and was burning the tire to the steel belts... in a very short distance. In my case... they were able to make the needed adjustments to the axle... using alignment equipment to measure from the King Pin... to properly align the axles.

Good Luck.... Hope my guess is Wrong !!

Marv

I had a similar problem with my 2007 BH, the inside edge of the RH rear tire was wearing on the edge. I took it to a frame shop and they measured everything out and told me the alignment was perfect, and that the problem was with the china bombs I had on the unit.

I purchased a set of G614's and there doesn't appear to be any more unusual wear on the tires.

Dennis

Thanks guys.

Dennis Z, are you referring to your tires when you say "China Bombs?" If so, what are G614's? I'm probably in the market for tires.

By the way, I've recently switched out the tire with the spare, and I've driven it about 300 miles. There isn't any noticable wear.

Sthramann said:

Thanks guys.

Dennis Z, are you referring to your tires when you say "China Bombs?" If so, what are G614's? I'm probably in the market for tires.

By the way, I've recently switched out the tire with the spare, and I've driven it about 300 miles. There isn't any noticable wear.

Click to expand...

China Bombs are tires manufactured in China, several of us have had them explode during travel...............thus nicknamed them China Bombs. G614's are Goodyear 14 ply tires made in America many of us are using to replace the China Bombs.

Attached are photos of my Trail America China Bombs and the damage.

Forrest

Gee-wiz Forrest.... those pictures look just like the last two Trail America blowouts I had. One returning from Florida and the other returning from California.

Jerry

For the "what it is worth" department: My wife and I went out yesterday to visit a dealer and see some Heartland products. All they had were two Big Country's and a North Trail (TT). (Whoooa, big time dealer huh!)

(They were super heavy on the Forest River. Somebody from Heartland needs to get over there and crack the whip!)

Anyway I noticed the two NEW Big Country's had severe outer wear on at least the leading tires of each one.......(Walking in and out right at the doors) I made a comment to my wife but then we went about our business)

What's up with that??????

How about a Trailer Tire Wear Guide...

Link: >> http://www.taskmasterproducts.com/acatalog/TireWearGuide.pdf

Hope this is some help to understand different types of tire wear.

Thanks Guys. Really great information. I'll re-post once I resolve the issue.

I'm having the same problem on the same tire....but we are on our long trip. How hard is it to align the axle? I measured across both axles and found the front of the possible bent axle is toed in about 1/8" .

It takes a shop with special equipment and service tech with special skills... in my opinion to do the alignment. Start calling around and see who might be able to align RV axles. I spoke with an employee from Henderson Alignment shop... they are in Grant Pass Oregon... he didn't think many shops could do the work.

Good Luck !

Marv

newman said:

I'm having the same problem on the same tire....but we are on our long trip. How hard is it to align the axle? I measured across both axles and found the front of the possible bent axle is toed in about 1/8" .

Click to expand...

An 1/8" is nothing to worry about......toe-in is when the wheel aims toward the hitch pin, is that what's happening? Sounds like your Camber (wheels closer together at the bottom) is off.

My front passenger side tire is worn down to the threads on the outside 1", the rest of the tire looks new. I think I have a toe in problem, thats were the 1/8" difference is, between the front of the wheel/brake backing plate at the 9 o'clock position, and the 3 o'clock position. Hopefully I can get it adjusted rather than replace the axle considering we are 1000 miles from home!

Newman,

It's possible the adjustment is on the Camber.... meaning the wheel is out more on the top side than the bottom side. Forcing the tire to run on the edge and not square on the tread.

Link: http://www.rvsurvey.com/Documents/rvtireinformation.PDF

It could be camber, It only shows on the front passenger side, and I know we are not overloaded, checked at the scales on the way across Nevada. Would a Les Schwab tire center be able to adjust the camber or is it a specialty type thing that I would be lucky to find here in Montana? We have the spare on for now, but we still have 1500 miles left on our trip, and I don't want to wear it out.

Tire wear

I just bought a 09 cyclone and my buddy noticed the wear on the out side with just a few miles and mesured the axles to check and see if they were squar and they don't seem to be, He has the same problem with his fifth too.

I'm taking it to Les Schwabs in the morning, hopefully it will solve the problem,or at least make it a bit better...probably end up with a couple new tires now too.

newman said:

I'm taking it to Les Schwabs in the morning, hopefully it will solve the problem,or at least make it a bit better...probably end up with a couple new tires now too.

Click to expand...

I checked on my Sundance and a plate with 4 holes is welded to the end of the axel. I seems possible shims could be used between the plate and the brake assembly to remove the excess toe-in or allow proper alignment.
I'm betting they can fix it without major work.

You will never know unless you get it checked out.