Worn Tire

I have about 12,000 miles on the original tires and am seeing a lot of ware on the inside edge of the driver side tire. Anybody have an idea what may be the cause?

 

That's not good. My first reaction is that the axle is bent. A more likely possibility is that you have a stuck or mis-adjusted brake or possibly bad or misadjusted bearing. I would jack it up on that side and see how the wheel rotates.

 

Usually uneven wear pattern on tires is due to under/over inflation, incorrectly balanced tires or off camber. Start with the easiest first and check the inflation in the tires.

Over inflated tires will wear faster in the middle. Under inflated will wear more on the edges.



It is unlikely a balance issue if the wear is consistent around the entire edge as incorrect balance tends to cause scalloping (wear spots around the tire but not even/consistent wear spots).

 

Thanks for the input. I think I've been pretty diligent about proper air pressure. At 12,000 miles I had the brakes & wheel bearings checked and they seem OK.
Anyway, I ended up replacing the tires and the Tire Plus dealer said they recommend over inflating trailer tires. He suggested 50 psi which is 20 over the recommended pressure. Not sure what to make of that.
He also talked about lighter trailers and bumpy roads leading to greater tire wear. The only really bumpy road I recall was in South Dakota where I slowed down to 35 mph for a 390 mile stretch.

I'll be more observant of abnormal tire wear with these new ones.

 

I think you need a new tire dealer. He is full of it.

 

dnelson - did you get a resolution to this? The community could benefit from your solution.

 

possibly overinflation. have you managed to find out what's the real cause of this problem?

 

I went through the original tires rather quickly, less than 7000 miles. It may have been to incorrect air pressure. However, the second set (the ones on the trailer now) are 6 ply radials. The radials after 7000 miles the tires look great. I run about 38-40 psi currently.

 

I think the manual suggests 28-32 psi for trailer tires.

 

7000 miles isn't very many for trailer tires, given the light weight of the trailer. Something must not have been right.

 

Etrailer recommends higher psi and so did my tire dealer.
Trailer Tire Frequently Asked Questions | etrailer.com
When I inflated to only 30-32 psi my tires wore heavily on the outer portion just as Etrailer says. I'm running at 40-45 psi now with my new tires and they seem to be wearing much better.

 

dnelson - I am experiencing the same thing with my left side tire. I am getting ready to go on a weeklong trip covering over 1000 miles and I need to replace that tire. The right side tire is fine. I jacked it up and checked the wheel bearings and that seems okay and then I checked the chamber with a carpenters square and the left side is almost an 1 inch off top to bottom whereas the right side is right on. I don't know if there is an adjustment for chamber or not...nothing is mentioned in the Owners Manual. I need to call Camp Inn!

Tork