Troubleshooting Excessive Tire Wear on a 2007 Ford Focus when Being Towed by a Motorhome

Question:

I have a Roadmaster BlackHawk 8,000 lb. tow bar that I have used with two different motor homes. The current motor home is the 05 Fleetwood Revolution LE. The last time I towed the Focus it wore the front tires badly. Rubber Dust was all over the vehicle and about 2/3 of the tread was worn off the front tires. My question is related to hooking up the tow bar, if I had the gray pivoting couplers that are attached to the end of the tow bar inverted the slpit on the inside instead of the outside of the sliding arm would this have caused the excessive tire wear? If not, can you offer any suggestions as to what might be causing the excessive tire wear?

asked by: John S

Expert Reply:

There are several possible causes for the severe tire wear you are seeing on your Ford Focus. First, if the tow bar is not level with the RVs it can put extra stress (downward force in this case) on the front of the Focus. That extra force can lead to not only tire wear but also potentially damage the tow bar and base plates.

Make sure that you have the steering on the Focus unlocked so that it is free to turn when being towed. If the steering is locked, it will cause severe tire wear and damage.

If you are using any kind of extension, it can also put too much strain on the tow vehicle and cause tire wear and suspension wear.

The tow bar should be assembled and mounted to the base plates as outlined in the instructions that came with the tow bar. Making modifications or changes could result in the problem you are having with tire wear, or any other number of problems. Also, make sure you are using the correct base plates on your Focus. You will need # 524407-1 installed if you do not already have them or a set of base plates that are compatible with your Blackhawk tow bar.

expert reply by: Michael H