Can Not having Boat Strapped to Trailer Lead to Excessive Tire Wear

Question:

i drove about 4 hours without safety straps attached to boat/Trailer forgot. Tire wear is remarkable. Could this have been the cause?

asked by: Ralph

Expert Reply:

If the straps used to hold the boat to the trailer were not secured then presumably the boat good move around some which would put more weight and stress in different places. Essentially, the load would not be even at times and that could cause tire wear issues but only over a long distance or repeated instances of this situation.

How are the tires wearing? Tire wear on the outside treads only could mean that there is not enough weight on the axle to straighten it out. Wear on the insides only could mean that the trailer is overloaded. Wear on the outsides and insides but not in the center means the tires are under inflated. And wear only in the center means the tires are over inflated.

Uneven tire wear or wear in general can be caused by worn suspension components. Also, you will need to make sure the tires are rated high enough for the gross trailer weight, loaded and ready to tow. Any given tire size will have various load ranges (B, C, D and so on) so a D will have a higher capacity than a B and C even if the tires are the same size.

expert reply by: Michael H