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Old 08-30-2020, 07:07 AM   #1
Rocketsled
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Unusual Tire Wear, Emergency tire change

TL;DR - unusual tire wear could be improper WDH, improper loading, axle alignment, or ??? How do we determine?

Specifics:
We've got a 2017 Impact 312 toy hauler with a Blue Ox WDH and a 2017 Duramax 2500HD

We weighed the pair, loaded for travel (bikes, cast iron cooking gear, clothing, etc but Fresh/Grey/Black tanks empty) and got the following numbers:

Truck Front Wheels: 4800
Full Truck (trailer attached): 10080
(Truck weight inferred): 8200
Tongue Weight: 1800
Trailer Axles: 9020

So, 8200 truck, 11800 trailer...and a commercial Receiver rated at 2000 lbs, the Blue Ox has two 1000 lb torsion bars.

We noticed earlier in the summer that the tires on the rear axle were wearing inboard. you could still see the tread, and we opted to continue, keeping an eye on them.



Approx 2000 miles later, we're driving from Palisade to Gunnison on our way to denver and noticed the tire temps were elevated and that inside tread was completely gone. Observing the other tires showed tread seperation...These Trailer Kings were DONE.



Found 4 new Trail Max II tires in Gunnison for not the best price, but a whole lot cheaper than a tow out of the high-country and a blown up wheel well.

I've been using a Better Weigh to get an estimate and one of it's features is calculating the Weight Distribution. Using different chain lengths, I cannot get it to display the front tires as in the green zone.





So...could be load distribution, could be improper WDH setup, could be alignment(?) or other suspension issue.

Any ideas how to reduce the variables?
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Old 08-30-2020, 08:42 AM   #2
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I can't help you with the tire wear issue. My guess is that it's an axle problem, possibly related to "cheap tires" and/or alignment/damage issues with the spindle/tube. Only a good inspection by a qualified trailer axle specialist can answer those issues...

As for your problem getting the truck front axle "in the green"....

Take a look at your Blue Ox weight distribution bars. There is a "dimple marking" near the head of each bar. That signifies the capacity of that "bar set". 3 dimples is the designation for a "1000 TW bar set" Note the "TW".... That signifies the distribution capacity for the "set" (total weight), not for each bar... If you have "5 dimples" then you have the 2000 pound maximum tongue weight set (two 1000 pound bars)....

My guess is that you can't "redistribute enough weight to the front axle" because your WD bars are only rated at 500 pounds each and 1000 pounds for the "set of two" (not 1000 pounds each)... Check the dimples to be sure.

https://www.etrailer.com/question-271208.html

IMHO, for what it might be worth, your two problems are not "directly related"....
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Old 08-30-2020, 08:51 AM   #3
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I see that there is a "Correct Track" system installed. It wouldn't hurt of step through the measurements to make sure the axles are aligned.
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Old 08-30-2020, 09:00 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JRTJH View Post
I can't help you with the tire wear issue. My guess is that it's an axle problem, possibly related to "cheap tires" and/or alignment/damage issues with the spindle/tube. Only a good inspection by a qualified trailer axle specialist can answer those issues...

As for your problem getting the truck front axle "in the green"....

Take a look at your Blue Ox weight distribution bars. There is a "dimple marking" near the head of each bar. That signifies the capacity of that "bar set". 3 dimples is the designation for a "1000 TW bar set" Note the "TW".... That signifies the distribution capacity for the "set" (total weight), not for each bar... If you have "5 dimples" then you have the 2000 pound maximum tongue weight set (two 1000 pound bars)....

My guess is that you can't "redistribute enough weight to the front axle" because your WD bars are only rated at 500 pounds each and 1000 pounds for the "set of two" (not 1000 pounds each)... Check the dimples to be sure.

https://www.etrailer.com/question-271208.html
To clarify, both bars have 5 dimples.
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Old 08-30-2020, 09:02 AM   #5
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Originally Posted by jsb5717 View Post
I see that there is a "Correct Track" system installed. It wouldn't hurt of step through the measurements to make sure the axles are aligned.
Will do...There's a shop here in Denver that specializes in Trailer/RV alignment, they're on my list to evaluate and use if they check out.

Quote:
Originally Posted by JRTJH View Post
IMHO, for what it might be worth, your two problems are not "directly related"....
Good to know. The guy at the tire shop thought the tire wear might be from the system bouncing, possibly due to the weight not being correctly distributed.
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Old 08-30-2020, 12:05 PM   #6
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Your tires have a very reasonable load capacity reserve. However, IMO, having both rear tires worn on the inside is a clear indication the axle is overloaded.
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Old 08-30-2020, 12:09 PM   #7
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I hope not, we’ve never had more than 400-500 lbs in the garage and a full (100 gal) fresh tank. How do you boondock with a motorcycle then?
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Old 08-30-2020, 12:22 PM   #8
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99% of the time when the tires are wearing only on the inside rib... as yours are then either the camber for that axle is out of spec and or the wheel bearing axle nut wasnt correctly installed to 50 ft lbs then backed up till finger loose before installing the EZ lube axle nut retainer clip
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Old 08-30-2020, 03:25 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rocketsled View Post
TL;DR - unusual tire wear could be improper WDH, improper loading, axle alignment, or ??? How do we determine?

Specifics:
We've got a 2017 Impact 312 toy hauler with a Blue Ox WDH and a 2017 Duramax 2500HD

We weighed the pair, loaded for travel (bikes, cast iron cooking gear, clothing, etc but Fresh/Grey/Black tanks empty) and got the following numbers:

Truck Front Wheels: 4800
Full Truck (trailer attached): 10080
(Truck weight inferred): 8200
Tongue Weight: 1800
Trailer Axles: 9020

So, 8200 truck, 11800 trailer...and a commercial Receiver rated at 2000 lbs, the Blue Ox has two 1000 lb torsion bars.

We noticed earlier in the summer that the tires on the rear axle were wearing inboard. you could still see the tread, and we opted to continue, keeping an eye on them.



Approx 2000 miles later, we're driving from Palisade to Gunnison on our way to denver and noticed the tire temps were elevated and that inside tread was completely gone. Observing the other tires showed tread seperation...These Trailer Kings were DONE.



Found 4 new Trail Max II tires in Gunnison for not the best price, but a whole lot cheaper than a tow out of the high-country and a blown up wheel well.

I've been using a Better Weigh to get an estimate and one of it's features is calculating the Weight Distribution. Using different chain lengths, I cannot get it to display the front tires as in the green zone.





So...could be load distribution, could be improper WDH setup, could be alignment(?) or other suspension issue.

Any ideas how to reduce the variables?
In this picture is this where the bars are normally set?
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Old 08-30-2020, 03:59 PM   #10
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I think that may have been set a little light. 7 links. The Dealership said to use 8 links, or 9 if I had a bike in back. I couldn’t get the better weigh to show much difference in loading regardless of what I used.

https://imgur.com/a/7WlZ4mM

This is what it looked like when we picked it up, and what we’ve used 95% of the time.
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Old 08-30-2020, 04:02 PM   #11
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I can tell you for certain there is not enough tension on those bars, they should curve slightly
P. S. Scrap the better weigh and use a CAT scale
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Old 08-30-2020, 04:15 PM   #12
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Weigh it on 7 links, 8 links, and 9 links. On each weigh measure from the ground to the top of front and rear wheel wells each weigh and record. To get your base line, weigh truck ready to camp, measure wheel wells and record. This gives you a better idea on how the wdh affects the whole set up. I also check for level on both units as well.
My travel trailer had a gvwr of 7450, never reached that, but found it travelled best at 9 links, with 3.5 links showing under cam.
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Old 08-30-2020, 04:52 PM   #13
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Originally Posted by Northofu1 View Post
I can tell you for certain there is not enough tension on those bars, they should curve slightly
P. S. Scrap the better weigh and use a CAT scale
Haven't hit CAT yet, used the local Pioneer Sand and Gravel scale and the two match pretty closely...That said, I've got no illusions that it's anything more than a rough estimate.

Turns out this isn't particularly RARE, and can be a host of different things, from worn tires to bouncing from an improperly tensioned WDH, botched spindle installs to an overloaded trailer....which may have happened as we pulled a full Fresh tank of water from Denver to Washington state, which was when we first noticed the wear.

So, any recommendations on a Trailer Service center in Denver? Sounds like I need to get a set of eyes on it before my next trip (three weeks out).

Northofu1 Will do a little experimentin...thanks!
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Old 08-31-2020, 12:11 PM   #14
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Looks like Merril is highly recommended in Denver...but their availability is in November. Got two shorter trips before that. Fingers crossed.

I'm also hearing that the WDH (as stated JRTJH) probably isn't affecting the Axle issues, which could be axle, spindles, or alignment.

Here's hoping 300 miles doesn't take out two new tires.
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Old 08-31-2020, 03:00 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rocketsled View Post
TL;DR - unusual tire wear could be improper WDH, improper loading, axle alignment, or ??? How do we determine?

Specifics:
We've got a 2017 Impact 312 toy hauler with a Blue Ox WDH and a 2017 Duramax 2500HD

We weighed the pair, loaded for travel (bikes, cast iron cooking gear, clothing, etc but Fresh/Grey/Black tanks empty) and got the following numbers:

Truck Front Wheels: 4800
Full Truck (trailer attached): 10080
(Truck weight inferred): 8200
Tongue Weight: 1800
Trailer Axles: 9020

So, 8200 truck, 11800 trailer...and a commercial Receiver rated at 2000 lbs, the Blue Ox has two 1000 lb torsion bars.

We noticed earlier in the summer that the tires on the rear axle were wearing inboard. you could still see the tread, and we opted to continue, keeping an eye on them.



Approx 2000 miles later, we're driving from Palisade to Gunnison on our way to denver and noticed the tire temps were elevated and that inside tread was completely gone. Observing the other tires showed tread seperation...These Trailer Kings were DONE.



Found 4 new Trail Max II tires in Gunnison for not the best price, but a whole lot cheaper than a tow out of the high-country and a blown up wheel well.

I've been using a Better Weigh to get an estimate and one of it's features is calculating the Weight Distribution. Using different chain lengths, I cannot get it to display the front tires as in the green zone.





So...could be load distribution, could be improper WDH setup, could be alignment(?) or other suspension issue.

Any ideas how to reduce the variables?
Is it just me or the picture, that tire tread appears to be too rounded, the inside rib seems worn, but the last tire I had that was that rounded was bad.
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Old 08-31-2020, 05:58 PM   #16
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I’m convinced that tire was trying really hard to not be a tire anymore. It was HOT. It’s the same tire in both pictures.
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Old 09-06-2020, 08:22 AM   #17
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You need a wheel alignment. Saving the $250 for an alignment could end up costing you $1000 in tires. They will be either slightly out of alignment and you have some other problem, or a lot out of alignment. I have never brought a 2 axle trailer in that didn't need one. Sometimes you can feel little unexplained tugs when you need an alignment, and a little more sway from the wind.
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Old 09-06-2020, 03:30 PM   #18
Rocketsled
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I think it's a little of column A, a little of column B.

We have two more 300 mile weekends planned before the end of the season. I'll see how the first one goes before deciding on the second. After that, it's into the local shop all the dealerships use. (They couldn't see me til November)

I've also heard these cheaper tires are good for about 5000 miles and in the 18 months we've had the trailer, I can nearly account for that...and it was two years old when we bought it.

It'll get a thorough going through shortly.
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Old 09-06-2020, 04:39 PM   #19
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Tires wearing

I am new to the forum. You have been given a lot of great advice on setting up your weight distribution bars. That is most important and not something you can count on a dealer to do! My experience with just about every dealer I have delt with has been less than impressive! Your better off watching you tube videos and following the pros advice on here! And much cheaper! Now as for your tire issue I've seen this and have delt with it as well. It's 95% of the time really crappy cheap Chines tires!!! I had a tire dealer tell me that the tires that come here from China and over seas come compressed and banded to take up less room! They literally flatten the tire like pancake! then band a stack of tires together and put them in a shipping container! imagine what that does to the integrity of the tread! There are 3 tires available from the states Sailun, Goodyear Endurance, and west lake. I had a 42' fifthwheel it was 2 yrs old and had maybe 2500 miles on the tires they were wearing uneven and it developed a softball size bulge in the side wall. I replaced those with Michelin Rib Medium duty truck tires! the weight difference and side wall construction wasn't even close! When you change tires ask to see the tires before they mount them to compare.
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Old 09-06-2020, 05:02 PM   #20
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Trailer King Tires is the problem

I went through the same issue years ago with Trailer King tires. I was thinking alignment and bent axle issue causing the problem. Took it to an RV repair shop to see if they could check alignment or bent axle issue. The service manager looked at the tire I was having a problem with and said it was neither alignment or axle issue. He said it was a tire problem and all I needed was new tires as the Trailer Kings are POS. 5 years and thousands of miles on new Carlisle tires and no tire issues. I went to a higher load range when I changed out tires. Dump the Trailer Kings and get a reputable brand.
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