tire wear

[Chris Z]

On our recent trip, I noticed one tire had worn down to where the tread was completely gone on the outer inch or so of the tire. The middle of the tire has still plenty of tread and so does the inner edge too. The other tire looks still fine. Since this is a 2003 trailer and I just got it last year, I'm not sure what went on earlier.
We just put 5500 miles on trailer and I changed this one out for the spare about halfway. Also, before we left, I did seem to notice maybe a little wear in this area but figured it was okay and we left home.
Seems like if low tire pressure was the culprit from previous owner, the tire would wear on both the inside and outside edges, ot just the outside edge. Anyone have ideas? Also, seems like if axle was out of line that both tires would have problem.
Hate to have this happen again so I thought I'd ask.
Thanks

[Taylor Kissinger]

Hi Chris
I talked to my tire man about this yesterday. my 2002 5th wheel tires were very unevenly worn when I bought it. He said tire pressure and balance are the big things to check. Trailer tires should be checked in the am and when carring a heavy load take them up the the max recommended air pressure. Have them balanced and rotate them. He also said trailer tires are constructed differently than car tires with extra strength in the area where the tire meets the rim. That they are designed to slide. Also that trailer tires take a beating], curbs ,etc. I limit myself to 60moh and have never had a blow out or tire failure.
Taylor

[Chris Z]

Taylor
Bt swapping the tires do you mean just swap the whole wheel ? That would mean that the tire would rotate the opposite way. Just wanted to make sure I understood.

Still doesn't make sense to me that outer edge would wear but I'm only used to car and motorcycle tires.

[shirley munson]

My '81 13' Scamp has a little red sticker above the wheel well that says "Tire pressure 20 lbs." Isn't that awfully low? I've been keeping them at 35-40 lbs. for thousands of miles.Wear seems OK but maybe too rough inside the trailer?

[Loren G. Hedahl]

Since you are gettng wear on only one side of the tire I would expect that if you were to take the trailer to an alignment shop they would find the tow-in excessive. The axle would need to be bent slightly for making the correction.

Since it is only one tire, I would also expect that if you were to weigh your trailer with a scale under each tire, the tire with the most wear would have the least weight.

If you were to ask me "How do you know that?", my first response would be, "Because I know everything."

If you were to persist, I would tell you that the tire with the most weight will dominate, the tire that is loaded less will skid a little, and wear.

I also know it is excessive toe-in and not excessive toe-out because the tire is worn on the outside edge. If it were excessive toe-out the wear would be on the inside edge.

P.S. I don't really know everything, and sometimes I get caught and stopped in my tracks. So catch me if you can.

[Loren G. Hedahl]

My 16 ft also has those stickers.

Remember, back in the 50's and 60's when they had the old nylon non-belted tires, they used to run them around 20 - 25 psi. I've long ago discarded the original tires on the Scamp, but maybe it's a throw-back from those days.

If you had 1000 lb on each wheel and the tread width was 5 inches, the length of the footprint would be 10 inches.

(1000 lb divided by 5 in divided by 20 lb per sq inch)

I think I would prefer about 30 lb per sq inch giving a footprint length of about 7 1/2 inches.

I think I'll also scrape those stickers off. Someone who thinks they are important might decide to read them and challenge me on what I think is important. I'd rather that wouildn't happen. It would be a huge waste of time.

[BobB]

Chris Z,

I second the idea that the wheel has an alignment problem. It may have been "bumped" by the previous owner in some way. Have it checked by someone who knows trailer alignment and who is capable of repairing it. Could be spindle, axle or even frame. Might be wise to check bearing and brake at the same time. Sounds pretty significant if you used up a tire in 5000 miles!