Diagnosing am Odd Trailer Tire Wear Pattern
Question:
I have a Magic tilt trailer with aluminum frame. I bought it used 4 years ago, it is an 02. The previous owner had replaced some of the shackles such that things were uneven, so I bought a full set of leaf springs and hardware from etrailer and installed them, and got new tires. I am noticing a very strange wear pattern: The inside of the right front, the outside of the left front, the outside of the right rear, and the inside of the left rear are wearing prematurely. The wear is sawtoothedinch Each tread lug on the wearing shoulder is wearing such that it has the profile of a circular saw blade, if that analogy works for you. There is no ability to adjust the shackle positions, nor can I adjust where the spring gets U-bolted to the axle. THe trailer frame is square, measuring across diagonal corners.
asked by: William B
Expert Reply:
This is definitely an odd wear pattern. The saw-toothed pattern would indicate a toe-in issue. Toe-In refers to the tire sitting at a slight angle when unloaded and would then flatten or level out when loaded. This is pretty standard and most axles have a camber to them to allow it to happen. That being said, this would typically occur on all 4 tires in the same way. After drawing a little diagram and staring at it for a while, I think there are 2 reasons you may be getting this kind of wear.
First, the leaf spring hangers may not be spaced evenly. If the left front hanger is closer to the front of the trailer than the right front hanger, and vice versa on the rear, it may cause this wear pattern. Essentially it would, for the lack of better terms, cause the left front tire to be "pushed" on the outside of the tire and to be "pulled" on the right front. This can be verified by measuring from the front of the hanger to either the coupler or to the end of the frame before it angles towards the coupler. This should also be done from the rear hanger to the back end of the frame, and the center hanger going either to the rear or front of the frame.
Second, if the frame is torqued from being overloaded or previously being involved in an accident, it could also cause this to happen. This will be much more difficult to test, however. If all the hangers measured at the same distance, you will most likely need to take the trailer to either an auto shop or a trailer place that does work on trailers. You would need to call ahead to the auto place to make sure they do trailer work.
If the hangers all measure the same and it is confirmed that the frame is not torqued, let me know and we can try something else.
Product Page this Question was Asked From
Loadstar ST205/75D15 Bias Trailer Tire - Load Range C
- Trailer Tires and Wheels
- Tire Only
- Bias Ply Tire
- Load Range C
- 205/75-15
- 15 Inch
- Kenda
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