Abnormal tire wear.

[cmartin748]

The street side tire is wearing on the first tread on the inside. (cupping)
The curb side tire is wearing on the first outside tread. (cupping)
I have had the axle checked by two alignment shops and am told that the axle is not bent.
I replaced the wheel bearings.
Still wearing.
THE QUESTION:
has anyone heard of the sway control bar causing this kind of wear?

Thanks in advance,
Charlie

[Dan Meyer]

The tires on my '00 Scamp 16 wear in a similar fashion. Since my tires last (at least) 4 years, I don't worry about it too much. I figure this is happening because the trailer is likely heavier on the curb side.

--Dan Meyer

[cmartin748]

Good info. I have a 99 side dinette and the frig, water heater, water talnk and most storage is on the curb side. Not much at all on the street side. These are new tires and right now I have about 1,500 miles on them and I have a pretty decent amount of wear. Like an 1/8" or so cups. I'll rotate them for the trip home but would sure love to solve the problem.

Thanks Dan

[Glenn Baglo]

Advice I've seen recently is NOT to rotate side to side. On tandem axle trailers advice is to only rotate front to back, never side to side.
Can't give you the reasons, but I would investigate further before rotating tires.

[madjack]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

Advice I've seen recently is NOT to rotate side to side. On tandem axle trailers advice is to only rotate front to back, never side to side.
Can't give you the reasons, but I would investigate further before rotating tires.

...you can rotate bias ply tires from side to side...radial tires should ONLY be rotated front to back on the same side..........
madjack

p.s. it sounds like you have a tire camber problem which could be caused by a bent or sagging axle among other problems.......mj

[cmartin748]

Well there are different schools of thought for sure. I had a new 89 Camaro that had directional tires and these tires had directional arrows on them. The tire rep tells me that the new radial tires are non directional and it doesn't matter???

[cmartin748]

BTW thanks for the input

[MyronL]

I discovered severe tire cupping on my '86 16-ft Scamp. Axle was not bent, tires were not unbalanced. The (original) Dexter rubber torsion bars running inside the axle were shot. Had no choice but to replace the whole shabang.

[Darral T.]

The FIRST thing I would do is take the trailer to some commercial scales (I took mine to a local CO-OP) and have them weigh each side....AS it stands. If the axle has been checked, that would be my first move.

I have a 13' Scamp with 10K Miles bought new in 2010 running the original tires with NO sign of unusual wear. But I have a nice safety margin built in to the 1376lbs rated tires. My trailer weighs about 1800 ready for the road with apx 195 of that being tongue weight.

That calculates that my 1376 tire is only carrying apx 802lbs. This is something Scamp failed MISERABLY at in previous years on their 19's AND 16's...running basically the same tires on much heavier trailers! BLOW-OUT city.

BUT...Myron above has a point about wear. Now that I see it's a '99!

Originally Posted by cmartin748

BTW thanks for the input

[Bob in Mb]

Originally Posted by cmartin748

Well there are different schools of thought for sure. I had a new 89 Camaro that had directional tires and these tires had directional arrows on them. The tire rep tells me that the new radial tires are non directional and it doesn't matter???

True when new but after used they need to continue turning in the same direction .

[vintageracer]

Wearing of tires is result of improper alignment.

As noted above there can be several reasons for the improper alignment issue from a bent wheel to bad rubber in a torsion axle, a bent axle, a bent trailer frame and in most situations from my personal experience the single biggest issue with trailer tire wear is caused by incorrectly installed axle mounting points on the trailer chassis when the trailer chassis was constructed new that is not square to the tongue/coupler of the trailer. The result causes the trailer to "crab" slightly to one side or the other going down the road and therefore wearing out the tires. This is no different that an alignment on any other vehicle you own. Just because your alignment shop checked your axle and said the axle was not bent does not mean they checked to see if the axle was installed square to the tongue/coupler. Do you know if your alignment shop even has the capability to check and see if the axle was installed properly and square to the tongue/coupler or just checked to see if the axle was bent? Unlike a car/truck a trailer is not designed with variable alignment capabilities to change the axle alignment. Wherever and whatever position the axle mounts got welded to the frame dictates the alignment of the axle. The only way you can change axle alignment is to start bending parts or properly re-position the axle to square as it should have been in the first place when the frame was originally constructed. Axle alignment issues and tire wear can also be the result is something as simple as worn bushings in the springs if your trailer has buggy springs as the axle can move due to the worn spring bushings causing movement and misalignment of the axle relative to the tongue/coupler.

Remember that while most trailer chassis's are constructed in a "Jig" they were and are still "jigged" up by humans and a quarter inch here or an 1/8 inch there can make a HUGE difference in the alignment of the axle relative to the trailer tongue/coupler. Robotic automation has not yet made it to the trailer industry and therefore "close" is still good enough.

We are fortunate here in Nashville to have a business such as TAFA (Truck And Frame Alignment) who can and does resolve these alignment issues with small trucks, Semi trucks and trailers of all kinds. The ONLY way you can confirm the obvious problem of trailer tire wear is to have your trailer axle alignment checked by someone that does this type of work all the time. They will also tell you if the axle is bent, a wheel is bent, rubber is bad in a torsion axle or anything else that is a problem including the possibility of a BENT trailer frame.

Generally you are going to find this type of work done by a heavy truck repair facility that has the knowledge and equipment to perform this type of axle alignment issues for big rigs and trailers.

[milt]

I agree. My trailer scrubbed the inside , right side wheel ,on it's first trip south.Measuring from the center of a trailer ball placed in the receiver to the spring plate centers , the axle was out 1/2 inch.This was after I flipped the axle though.Also the electric brakes were on backwards from the trailer manufacturer. Works great now.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by cmartin748

The street side tire is wearing on the first tread on the inside. (cupping)
The curb side tire is wearing on the first outside tread. (cupping)
I have had the axle checked by two alignment shops and am told that the axle is not bent.
I replaced the wheel bearings.
Still wearing.
THE QUESTION:
has anyone heard of the sway control bar causing this kind of wear?

Thanks in advance,
Charlie

Charlie, assuming you have your trailer well balanced and set up correctly the anti sway bar should not be doing anything while traveling and have nothing to do with tire wear. An anti sway bar is one of those things that should not be needed for towing but its nice to have in the event of a 1 off situation.

If you think the anti sway bar is being put to use often and keeping the whole trailer nice and solidly towing behind you then perhaps you do not have your trailer balanced and hooked up as well as it could/should be.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by madjack

...you can rotate bias ply tires from side to side...radial tires should ONLY be rotated front to back on the same side..........
madjack
....mj

It has been long while since that was conventional wisdom. radials now use normal rotation methods.

[madjack]

Originally Posted by floyd

It has been long while since that was conventional wisdom. radials now use normal rotation methods.

...could well be BUT I'm an old fart and find tried and true is, well, tried and true...back when I was younger and poorer, I often bought used tires and many times had a steel belt break and blow out the tire...in talking with tire guys at the time, I was told the left/right, front/back thing and never had a belt break on a properly(to the tire guys) installed tire...I'll keep on keepin' on...YMMV and happy camping to us all...............
madjack

[BillE]

That is correct sir

[Casita Greg]

If you are getting scuffed tread on the inside of one wheel and the outside of the other, I'd bet dollars to donuts that your axle itself is fine. They just did a crummy job of attaching it to the trailer frame. I'll bet that the side that is scuffing the outside tread is closer to the trailer ball than the one scuffing on the inside tread. Your axle wasn't properly aligned and mounted perfectly perpendicular to the trailer center line at the factory.