I have a dual axle trailer with leaf springs and equalizers between the springs. The wear on my tires has been uneven with the rear driver side tire wearing considerably more than the others. The wear is on the center of the tread and even around the tire. Also, The front two tires wear less then the back tires. I keep them all inflated the same, around 45 psi. This is the second time this tire location has worn like this.
Is there some adjustment that can be made to correct this or is it inherent to dual axle trailers?
Reeldawg, I’ll try a lower ball for the uneven wear front to rear. The boat squats my tow vehicle pretty good, but it may not squat it enough to level it completely.
Mechanic, Wheel hubs were new last year (so were the tires). When I replaced the worn tire, the hub spun freely and felt solid. I had the tires balanced before I put them on last year.
Ok, but you’ll also need to check for side to side play.
but something definitely seems wrong. that tire shouldnt have wore out within a year.
did you buy the trailer new? if not, look to see if someone has replaced that spindle. I bought a trailer a few years back that someone had done a terrible job of welding on a new spindle. I had to cut the spindle off and weld a new one on straight.
If I’m posting, its because I’m sitting here at work, dreaming about fishing.
No side to side play either. Springs, equalizers and hubs were all replaced by Charleston Trailer last year. I did the tires at that time as well. Trailer is a 2012 magic-tilt. I’ll check the spindles to see, but I don’t think they have been modified.
If you have trailer brakes on that axle it could be sticking on that one wheel, but loosens up before you get home. I’m assuming your boat floats level, so the boat’s weight is evenly distributed.
Before changing your ride height measure your trailer. You want your trailer frame to ride level going down the road, or else it will put more weight on one axle.
Find a cheap laser temperature gun and check the temp of the tread on all four tires after a short drive. Uneven heat = uneven wear.
Muddy, no brakes on the trailer and the boat does float level. I plan on measuring the height before altering the drop. I’ve done the poor mans temperature check on the wheels last time I had the boat out (used my hand on each tire). They all felt about the same.
I had a majic tilt once, it did the exact same thing. Totally rebuilt it and still the same. I rotated the tires often till I sold it. Told the new owner about it.
I have a dual axle trailer with leaf springs and equalizers between the springs. The wear on my tires has been uneven with the rear driver side tire wearing considerably more than the others. The wear is on the center of the tread and even around the tire. Also, The front two tires wear less then the back tires. I keep them all inflated the same, around 45 psi. This is the second time this tire location has worn like this.
Is there some adjustment that can be made to correct this or is it inherent to dual axle trailers?
Got a pic of tire wear? Tandem axle trailers can have a variety of issues causing uneven tire wear. If it was your hub bearings that caused it, I’d guess you would have had a bearing failure by now and not an even wear pattern. When watching trailer behind you is it pulling straight or does it “cat” walk to the left or right… even slightly?
Frequent Rotation of tires may be your best option as some tandems seem to wear back tires just a little quicker. ?
You mentioned center of tread… Maybe drop air pressure down to 35psi and not let tire “crown” as much. With the wear in center alignment sounds good.
Even more in the mix, you running bias or radials? Cheap tires usually = quicker tire wear.
Picture of the wear is below. To me it looks like over inflation. I was told at one point to run them near max pressure, hence the 45 psi. Odd thing is only one tire wore this bad.
I just rotated the tires for the first time, this tire was rotated out and the spare is now in. The trailer has always tracked straight. They are bias tires, cheap ones at that. Could be a bad tire in the batch.
I also did some measuring to see if the trailer rides level or not. The trailer squats my tow about 2-1/2", and tends to ride tongue end low by about the same 2-1/2". I’m using a 5" drop, will try a 3" to see if that levels it. Still weird that the rear would wear more then the front when its been riding nose down.
Sorry for the picture size, I didn’t realize it was that big.
Even when its worn down the tread isn’t flat.
Bias ply or not, the tread shouldn’t be so rounded. I think your problem is cheap tires.
Try a better set of tires next time. Check the tread temp to determine your correct pressures, or else you will wear a new set funny to figure it out.
Inflation and load give a even wear down the middle or sides. This looks like hard cornering with the tongue too low. If it is only on one side it is the hub. If it’s on the same axle just opposite sides of the tire respective to the side it is on the axle is out of alignment. Tape measure and some evenly placed markings or a visit to a “cat” scale can tell you everything you need to know.
-Albemarle 248xf “Chella”
-Dolphin 18BC Pro
-Miscellaneous boats
“Everybody dances when shotgun sings” Stewart and Winfield
Inflation and load give a even wear down the middle or sides. This looks like hard cornering with the tongue too low. If it is only on one side it is the hub. If it’s on the same axle just opposite sides of the tire respective to the side it is on the axle is out of alignment. Tape measure and some evenly placed markings or a visit to a “cat” scale can tell you everything you need to know.
-Albemarle 248xf “Chella”
-Dolphin 18BC Pro
-Miscellaneous boats
“Everybody dances when shotgun sings” Stewart and Winfield
That’s an excellent point. Worth further investigation. I bet if you level your trailer you will notice both tires on that side wear that way. It doesn’t look like axle alignment wear to me.
I had simelar issues and changed out my springs to the heaviest I could find and moveing it forward solved my problem! I think all the additions to my boat made it a lot heaver, adding 100 hp on a bracket and 5 batterys and a lot more gear. It is surprising what you can pack into a boat over the years!
Thanks for the comments, we just towed it to the outer banks for vacation. Boat is in the water, I’ll look the trailer over in detail to see how the alignment is set up. We towed it with a different truck, this one tows it about 1" nose down. Probably a combination of things, cheap tires, levelness and alignment.
