Odd tire ware issue...please any advise would help!

[gemyrae]

I have a 2010 Keystone Hideout 26B. (love it). I have pulled it aproximatley 2500 miles across the state of texas and oklahoma. I have recently seen an odd ware pattern on only one of my tires on the camper. it would be the passenger side rear tire and the ware pattern is only on the outter most tred. it is almost bald, where the rest show regular ware only. i always make sure i have proper tire pressure and i always check the lug nuts and always grease the axle. i have even purchased and installed a lower drop hitch thinking that my other was too high. but i still am showing ware. any help would be appreciated.

jim

[Festus2]

You might want to have both your alignment and your tire balanced checked. Recently, I had a similar problem with our tires and found that the major cause was misalignment. While realigning the axles, it was found that the shackles, bushings and bolts on the suspension hangers were shot. Had thin, flimsy components replaced with sturdier, heavier parts as well as brass, greaseable bushings.

[Terrydactile]

If you have a wear problem on one tire and its not an inflation issue then you have an alignment problem.

[jje1960]

On our last unit, an R-Vision 27QBSS, we about wore out the first set of tires in less than a summer. The dealer changed the axles and this fixed the problems. I agree with the alignment comments.

[THedges]

I just replaced 2 bent axles that gave serious tire wear on the insides of the tires. I'm not sure about the outside, but I would look at the axles first.

[gemyrae]

thanks for the advise guys (or gals...?)
Im thinking along the same lines as well that its the axle. BUT, my local rv repair guy suggested that I try pulling down to galvaston before replacing the axle on a different tire to determine if the wear problem still exists, since i have changed the way that I pull the tt by dropping the hitch height by almost 2 inches (which would put access weight on the rear axle if the nose of the TT was two inches high, causing a camber issue) and i have increased my load leveling bars by 200# (from 1000# to 1200#) and my dad notice when changing the bars that one of the1000# bars was bent...could have not been working as it should have been??? either way, until i know for sure i that the problem still exists.... I will continue down the road.

thanks again!

[Thumbs Up]

I just took my 2008 cougar srx300 into a truck/trailer shop because of the same problem! My passenger side rear tire wears on the outside. I get bald tire on the outside edge only. All 3 other tires wear perfectly normal. The shop said that most likely the axle will have to be replaced.

One thing to consider (this is where I think I went wrong), is if you decide to just rotate the tire to see if the problem stays at the same location with the new tire, this process takes a lot of time. In my case I rotated, and by the time I wore out my 2nd tire in the exact same spot, my warranty was expired! Now I am kicking myself for not taking it in when I first noticed the abnormal wear.

I'm waiting to see the price estimate but there is a chance that it may be cheaper to just let it wear like that and rotate a lot. After all I did get 2 solid years of towing with my tires (which now need to be replaced). My estimate is I've got somewhere between 12K and 15K miles of towing on the rig. So a set of tires every 2 years may not be so bad....

Other than this bent axle issue, we love our rig. except for some loose screws and cabinets here and there, we have been trouble free.

[THedges]

If it is bent you might want to consider going bigger. I replaced two 3500# axles with 5000# axles. It wasn't cheap but I am supper happy with the new bigger assembly.

Good Luck!

[Thumbs Up]

If i was undersized on the axles, would it bend at just one wheel? I think its a defect because i've had this wear ever since the trailer was new.

You must love those bigger axles. You make a good point as some of these trailers are pretty marginal. Mine has tandem 5200# axles and the GVWR is 9930#. Less than 500lbs margin, it is pretty close....

[hankpage]

You must love those bigger axles. You make a good point as some of these trailers are pretty marginal. Mine has tandem 5200# axles and the GVWR is 9930#. Less than 500lbs margin, it is pretty close....

If you deduct your hitch weight you have about 10% margin. Not great but, not too bad.

[THedges]

You must love those bigger axles. You make a good point as some of these trailers are pretty marginal. Mine has tandem 5200# axles and the GVWR is 9930#. Less than 500lbs margin, it is pretty close....

That's not bad at all, I had two 3500# axles and my GVWR is 7880#. With the bigger axles I know feel the trailer is setup the way it should have been built in the first place.

[Thumbs Up]

Yesterday the shop got my trailer onto the rack and checked it out. They said the axle is "slightly" bent. The technician told me that the bigger problem is the suspension. He said the shackles, bolts, bushings were really worn out bad. With the suspension loose (bushings elongated, shackles oval) he said that could be a cause of the tire wear.

I made the decision to leave the axle in and replace all the worn suspension parts. Shackles, bolts, pins, bushings parts and labor $285 is the estimate. Doesnt seem too bad. I'll be changing the tires to a set of Maxxis 8008 and keeping a close eye on the wear. My plan is to rotate a lot.

Interesting the suspension was so worn on a 2008 trailer with about 15K miles. Is this a common problem on the Cougars?

[Thumbs Up]

I just ordered a set of 4 tires from discount tire direct.

Maxxis 8008 ST225/75R15 Load range D, $119 each, free shipping. This is the best price I could find

[Festus2]

It's a problem not only on Cougars but on all makes and models - Keystone and others. Had mine replaced this Spring - same problem - badly worn suspension parts. What kind of wear can you expect from a thin, nylon bushing?

[hankpage]

Yesterday the shop got my trailer onto the rack and checked it out. They said the axle is "slightly" bent. The technician told me that the bigger problem is the suspension. He said the shackles, bolts, bushings were really worn out bad. With the suspension loose (bushings elongated, shackles oval) he said that could be a cause of the tire wear.

I made the decision to leave the axle in and replace all the worn suspension parts. Shackles, bolts, pins, bushings parts and labor $285 is the estimate. Doesnt seem too bad. I'll be changing the tires to a set of Maxxis 8008 and keeping a close eye on the wear. My plan is to rotate a lot.

Interesting the suspension was so worn on a 2008 trailer with about 15K miles. Is this a common problem on the Cougars?

While they have it apart have them install grease-able bronze bushings. The kits are inexpensive and the labor should be about the same. JM2¢ Hank

[Thumbs Up]

My set of new Maxxis 8008's came in today. They look fine but the only issue is the DOT date code for manufacture is 1610.

That means they were manufactured in April of 2010. Already over 1 yr old. Is this an issue to worry about?