Troubleshooting Wear on Outsides of Trailer Tires

Question:

Just purchased used 2006 travel trailer 28ft with 2axles, we left with good tread on tires and got back with uneven wear on both sides of all four tires, we looked at the axles, which are rusty looking and bowed a little. The whole trailer weighs under 4000lbs, looking for ideas on where to start troubleshooting? Whole suspension is rusty.

asked by: Matt

Expert Reply:

Typically, when the outside edges of a tire are showing wear its because the tires are under-inflated. The solution is to inflate the tires to the maximum pressure listed on the sidewall in this situation.

Check the suspension for worn out components or holes that are egg-shaped instead of round where the suspension components come together. Rusty components won't necessarily hurt the way the tires wear, but you should still check them.

Trailer axles have a bow built into them so that when there is a load on the trailer the don't bow out and cause the camber of the wheels to be totally off.

expert reply by: Jameson C