Excessive tire wear

[dbarnard]

I have a 3055 with about 15k to 17k miles on it and I am seeing excessive tire wear on the rear axel. The wear is on the inside of one tire and the outside of the other. I measured the differance between the axels from one side to the other and get 1/4 inch in the direction of the wear. Has anyone else had this happen? The front axel tires are wearing evenly. The tire wearing on the inside is so bad it will need replacing before the next trip. I am very dilagent about keeping 80 lbs preasure. The tires are Mission and I have never had any other problems before now. Would 1/4 inch cause this? Thanks, DaleB

 

[westxsrt10]

Does the front of your unit sit high when towing?

 

[dbarnard]

No, the whole rig sets very level.

 

[westxsrt10]

Do you have a 2' level to check the plumb on the side of tire/wheel, then compair that reading to the front axel. A weak or broke leaf spring could tilt the axel to one side or the factory caster angle was off from day one. I never had a wear problem with my Missions but they may be the problem (doubt it though).

 

[DMitch]

I had this problem with my last unit. I spend many dollars trucking the thing to the dealer and buying tires. I finally smartened up and took it to a good axle and spring shop that repair tractor trailers. They alinged the axles in one day and cured my problem. The alignment wasnt that expensive and surely stopped the headaches. I just don't think that RV dealers are equipped to solve this type of problem.

By the way my rear axle was out of alighnment by 1/4 inch and destroyed tires. Watch out for those curbs!

All the best,

 

[jmgratz]

I think the suggestion to take your rig to a trailer shop for axle alignment is a good suggestion. It doesn't take being out much to cause your type of problem. Before getting the Mor-Ryde IS ours was out 1/2 inch.

 

[caissiel]

On my old trailer, I was wearing rear tires and tried everything to the rear axle to solve the problem. I then did a simple check of measuring the distance from the pin to the axles and found that the front axle was out of line by 5/8". The rear axle was perfectly alinged. So I alinged the springs on the front axle and the problem was solved. It looks like the rear tire tries to follow the front and wears.

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

Another potential problem could be worn shackles. The hole in the shackle will wear and elongate and could cause alignment issues. Like most have said, get your rig to a frame/spring shop and have it thoroughly checked out. This would be a good time to have a "wet bolt kit" http://dexteraxle.com/inc/sdetail/3902 installed to replace the existing sets.

 

[slmayor]

Dale,
All-Wheel here in Redding does the RV alignments. Good reputation as well. Call ahead, sometimes they're pretty booked.
We don't have any uneven wear yet, but we've thought about having it done "just because", before we get any. Then again, we're not out gallavanting all over the country like you guys (yet)

 

[vangoes]

I had a similar problem except the rear tire wear was only on one side. I have not had the unit aligned yet. It seems that if it is the alignment it would wear on both sides (the tire wore evenly across the tread ruling out camber). I am thinking that as it is only one tire it could be that brake was adjusted tighter than the others. I have just replaced all my tires and adjusted the breaks so I guess we will be testing my theory very soon.

 

[dbarnard]

Thank you all for the input and good to hear from you ,Ray and Deb. Hope to see you two in October in Jackson. I'll call All Wheel tommorow.