Troubleshooting Excessive Trailer Tire Wear

Question:

I have a tandem trailer with bent 7000 lb idler axle. Brake axle is wearing tire excessively on right side only. Any thoughts on tire wear. Need to replace idler axle for sure. It appears you do not have 7000 pound straight axles - can you recommend source - its 8 bolt on 6.5 inch and 95 inches from where wheel attaches and how practical is it to replace idler with second brake axle?

asked by: Edward M

Expert Reply:

The first place I would look is at the suspension components of your trailer. Worn out suspension can cause tires to wear strange. You could jack up your trailer (use jackstands) and get underneath your trailer and see if you can find any movement in your suspension components.

While the trailer is jacked up also try and spin the wheels of the trailer. They should spin freely by hand but you should feel a light drag from the brake assemblies. If this drag isn't present the assemblies might be adjusted too tight or too loose. To properly adjust them you will need to tighten them down all the way till you can't turn the wheel anymore by hand and then back it off 10 clicks. See the video I attached at the 4:30 mark for more info.

You can also verify that the tire is inflated to max psi listed on the side of the tire.

Right now we only carry a select few trailer axles. To find a 7k one that would fit your trailer you would need to find a trailer place local to you that can order you in custom axles.

expert reply by: Jameson C