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trailer tire wear

Wades_76_cj7

Wades_76_cj7

RZR guy, NO I am not gay..
Joined
Jun 13, 2020
Member Number
1987
Messages
1,149
Loc
KC MO
single axle 12' trailer. Axle is a 3500# 5 lug. trailer is an 01 PJ 77x12'. Passenger side tire is wearing the outside edge pretty fast. Second set of tires I have put on it. Bought it off a buddy 5 years ago and he had put new tires on it right before I bought it. I put new tires on it 3 years ago or so and it's wearing that outside edge. it pulls straight and doesn't hop or bounce. I don't see any bent hangers or springs. I would think if the axle is straight and a hanger or something was bent it would dog walk following the truck. Would a bent spindle on the pass side cause it to follow true but the tire to wear?
 
To really know for sure you would have to pull the axle, set it on jack stands and measure it for toe and camber.

Most trailer axles are garbage. It is probably bent, probably was bent when it was brand new.

Being a single axle that is about all it can be. Or a faulty tire I suppose.
 
Tiha said:
To really know for sure you would have to pull the axle, set it on jack stands and measure it for toe and camber.

Most trailer axles are garbage. It is probably bent, probably was bent when it was brand new.

Being a single axle that is about all it can be. Or a faulty tire I suppose.
Click to expand...

last two tires on that side wore like that so I am pretty sure it's a bent spindle or something. Just checked local trailer supply place and a straight 3500# axle with no hubs is $265! :shaking:
 
You are probably pulling it out one way or another, if you have the space and time measure it up. They can be straightened or fixed.

especially if it is just a stub.
 
Tiha said:
Most trailer axles are garbage. It is probably bent, probably was bent when it was brand new.
Click to expand...
My toyhauler axles were bent from the factory I am guessing.
The spare (which was an original tire I’m guessing, going by the date code on the tire) was wore on the outer edge. And all 4 fairly new tires on the toyhauler wore on their outer edges, after I bought it.
I replaced the drop axles with regular non-drop axles (to get it to sit higher) and the new tires have worn perfectly.
So long story short…I’d guess bent axle on that side…camber &/or toe.
 
If you pull the axle and stick it on some flat surface and then spin the axle you can figure out where the fucked up spot is.

Since you're only wearing one tire it's probably bent somewhere far from the middle, so probably at the spring perch or spindle.
 
Wades_76_cj7 said:
last two tires on that side wore like that so I am pretty sure it's a bent spindle or something. Just checked local trailer supply place and a straight 3500# axle with no hubs is $265! :shaking:
Click to expand...
R&P Carriages (on eBay) is a hair cheaper for a 3500# Dexter with no hubs, or $300ish with hubs (plus tax if applicable).
They have always been great to deal with.

Aaron Z
 
Check your trailers up-travel and tire clearance.

If the alignment is good and the axle isn't visibly bent,
I'd bet that tire is contacting the trailer chassis/fender under load and SKIDDING on the asphalt momentarily.
You likely won't feel the skidding because the bump that caused the compression also causes the trailer weight to unload immediately after.



I have a tandem axle trailer that had that very issue.
I flat couldn't figure it out for a couple of years.
I cut off all of the spring mounts and started over with new springs, hardware, brakes and axles.
The Problem persisted.
This is the only trailer I have ever owned or dealt with, hell, I just figured 1 new trailer tire per race was going to be part of my prep.
It had never "failed", so I just replaced 5-6 new tires per year, 1 at a time.

I loaned the trailer to a friend for a move from San Jose to LA.
He loaded it "Far Heavier" than I ever did,,,,,
The axle, along with the Brake, wheel and tire BROKE OFF at the spring perch U- Bolt, somewhere between Grapevine and Magic Mountain
on HWY 5.
Never to be seen again.

Apparently, the constant rubbing was enough to fatigue the axle to the point of failure.

The problem became obvious once I saw the carnage and the actual failure of the axle tube.

Sure glad it wasn't me who had to 3 wheel an 11,000 lb trailer/load from Magic Mountain to Disney Land, on surface streets!

I reworked the fender mounts, replaced all of the suspension, AGAIN, and haven't had a bit of trouble since.

Yup,
Cool Story Bro!

Seriously,
check your up-travel clearance.
 
jack up each wheel and spin them to make sure the rims are running true and not bent, wanna be able to use them as something to measure off of because the tires are always way outta round and flapping all over the place

now get out your plumb bob
measure from that to the top and bottom of the wheel, when unloaded it's pretty normal to have it be a half inch wider or more at the top, just looking to make sure both sides are the same

now take a piece of channel steel or square tube or whatever and lay it on a couple blocks at spindle height, get it square to the wheel using the same steel ruler you been using for the other measurements
eyeball that along the lines of the trailer, then do the other side
you'll see what's toed in/out on which side there, bend it back however you can, bottle jack and chains will do a lotta stupid if you run them right
 
If its a single axle without brakes I would be tempted to just throw a gutted FF truck axle in or cut tubes off one and join them together with pipe in middle. The light trailer axles are pretty bad QC from what I have heard\seen so I would rather trust a truck OEM part. Then again I wish every vehicle I owned had same bolt pattern so I could have choices for spares lol.
 
350TacoZilla said:
If its a single axle without brakes I would be tempted to just throw a gutted FF truck axle in or cut tubes off one and join them together with pipe in middle. The light trailer axles are pretty bad QC from what I have heard\seen so I would rather trust a truck OEM part. Then again I wish every vehicle I owned had same bolt pattern so I could have choices for spares lol.
Click to expand...
I’d lean toward to just cut off the spindle and weld on a flange to run unit wheel bearings, like u-haul use on their trailers.
 
That's a smart option too, though a bit more work to make sure you get everything straight first time around lol. I might steal that one for my light duty trailer build plans.
 
Tiha said:
To really know for sure you would have to pull the axle, set it on jack stands and measure it for toe and camber.

Most trailer axles are garbage. It is probably bent, probably was bent when it was brand new.

Being a single axle that is about all it can be. Or a faulty tire I suppose.
Click to expand...
My first response on reading this is bent axle.
 
For the $189 + tax I will just order a new axle from Etrailer.com. I am not spending a full Saturday fucking with it and it not be 100% true. Twenty years ago I would have but I make more money now and my time is more valuable.

I live in MO and I'll have to pay sales tax but with free shipping it's cheaper than the local trailer supply by a good margin.
 
Wades_76_cj7 said:
For the $189 + tax I will just order a new axle from Etrailer.com. I am not spending a full Saturday fucking with it and it not be 100% true. Twenty years ago I would have but I make more money now and my time is more valuable.

I live in MO and I'll have to pay sales tax but with free shipping it's cheaper than the local trailer supply by a good margin.
Click to expand...
:lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao:

Spend an afternoon fucking with it and it'll be truer than the junk trailer OEMs ship.
 
I guess.
I'd rather spend an hour measuring and bending than a couple hours at work and an hour replacing parts.
The real kick in the nuts is the half hour at work where you're there and working but you're actually feeding the government machine. :c
 
well fuck, I just noticed the rear axle on my gooseneck is wearing the passenger side tire like this as well. fawk me.. :shaking:
 
When I bought new trailer axles for my toyhauler, I got them from Transwest, down in Belton. The only issue I had is it took forever for them to get the axles in. Kept blaming the shipper, I think it was (too many years ago to remember the details). But they did give me a decent discount for the hassle, plus the axles were cheap ($$ wise) in the first place.
 
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