uneven tire wear - Hi-Lo camper travel trailer forum

hilltool · 04-04-2013, 05:15 PM

I mentioned this under "Spring Cleaning" but am re-posting it here to see if it garners more interest.

Checking the trailer the other day and noticed FRONT DRIVERS SIDE TIRE wearing on inside---maybe outer two tread patterns significantly worn. NOT the other tires. Recall no instances of hitting anything serious that would have bent something. Most places(forums) I look suggest a bent axle from too much weight or some other mishap to mis-align the axle/wheel. Question- could I have over-set the wdh in a way to add too much force to just the left wheel on the front axle? Truck sits a tidge low in back on the passenger side from bad leaf, I think. Would that complicate things? I load very little in trailer and run with water tanks empty. Does weight in bed get tossed back on trailer axle when WDH is set???

Rick

RichR · 04-04-2013, 07:20 PM

I would suspect an alignment problem over a WDH/tow vehicle problem.

JackandJanet · 04-04-2013, 08:34 PM

Agreed - but I still don't see how to align a trailer wheel.

To answer some of the original questions, there IS weight transfer from the rear axle of the tow vehicle to the trailer and the front axle of the tow vehicle. But, I don't see how this would effect only the front driver's side wheel. And, increased weight on a tire should cause wear in the center of the tread. You get wear on the inside tread if the tire is "tilted". The top of the tire should be closer to the centerline of the trailer than the bottom of the tire. You could possibly see this tilt if you looked down the driver's side from the front.

It is also possible that the hitch COULD put more pressure on one side of the trailer than the other, but again, this should cause additional wear on both tires on that side.

I would think that if the tow vehicle sits low on the passenger side, the increased force would go to the passenger side of the trailer.

Possibly, the trailing arm of the front axle has become "twisted" somehow. If so I'd look into getting a new axle.

- Jack

jcurtis95 · 04-04-2013, 11:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RichR

I would suspect an alignment problem over a WDH/tow vehicle problem.

I agree with Rich.. I would suspect an alignment problem and would suggest taking it to a trailer manufacturer and check for realigning the axle. If just one tire is wearing, it must be out of alignment with the others. Check the opposing tire as well; it may show a bit of wear that is not as obvious.

Jerry Curtis 2406 T

JIM L · 04-05-2013, 09:10 AM

As to the question about not seeing an adjustment for aligning the axles/tires there is none on most RV's. They bend the out of alignment item to correct the alignment. Over the years I have had two trailers realigned. Most alignment shops that align semi trailers will do the job.

RichR · 04-05-2013, 12:55 PM

We had a Coleman popup that had an alignment problem. The dealer referred us to a spring shop. They had to bend the axle to put the camber back in plus add an a-frame type brace to hold the camber there. That took care of the problem.

hilltool · 04-07-2013, 04:20 PM

I appreciate all the replies. I am waiting for the dealer to pull the bearings and check that first just in case something is amiss there though I would suspect a "wobble" if that was an issue. If it isn't obvious, they recommended a trailer place down the road that does alignment so that would be my next stop- but it will be a good week or so before they get to my trailer. IN the meantime- I was crawling around trying to determine what it would take to add a tubullar spacer to increase clearance as has been discussed on a couple of different posts. It seems that there is a metal plate that serves as a bracket to mount the axle to and that plate (plates- two per axle) is welded to the tubular frame member already in place. So, I'm wondering in cases where people have added another piece of retangular tubing- how it was they worked around that plate as it hangs down to expose the mounting holes for the axle-maybe they cut it off?

Rick

JackandJanet · 04-08-2013, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hilltool

...<snip>...
It seems that there is a metal plate that serves as a bracket to mount the axle to and that plate (plates- two per axle) is welded to the tubular frame member already in place. So, I'm wondering in cases where people have added another piece of retangular tubing- how it was they worked around that plate as it hangs down to expose the mounting holes for the axle-maybe they cut it off?

Rick

Rick, I crawled under my trailer for a couple pictures. Perhaps they will help. In the first, on the passenger side, you can see the square tube that was inserted to lift the trailer.

The second, looking across to the driver's side, shows how the axle was both moved forward and lowered. The empty holes were where the axle was originally mounted. I THINK the new mounting plate was welded to the old mount on the frame.

Anyway, for about 4,000 miles of towing, it's been trouble-free. I know you have a tandem axle trailer, but there should be a similar way to do yours.

- Jack

hilltool · 04-08-2013, 04:26 PM

Jack

Thanks for all that effort and the pictures. That is huge help ! My configuration actually has the tubular steel to start with attached to the frame--so I would be adding more of it. Interesting. I will get some of my own pictures in the next two days and post them....I still need to study yours some more but I'm getting a sense of it. Thanks

Rick

RichR · 04-08-2013, 05:01 PM

http://www.hilotrailerforum.com/f26/jacked-up-hilo-241/

Go to this thread and scroll down to DaveL's post explaining how he jacked up his 2499T. He is my wife's cousin so I know that it worked out well for him.

sam · 04-08-2013, 10:10 PM

Are you planning on doing this your self? We have a specialty spring shop in our town that does these kinds of upgrades and so much more. Right now our truck is at this shop. DH noticed the front passenger tire has an eneven wear pattern. Probably slammed into a few pot holes. What ever it is it will be fixed in one day. We have used this shop many times.

hilltool · 04-09-2013, 12:03 PM

Thanks, Rich

I had seen his post and that of somebody else- and i know Jack had asked if he had any pictures though I don't recall seeing any posted. If you know him maybe you cold get him to post photos?

It is pouring today so I wont be crawling around going after my own photos but when I do hopefully you will be able to see my dilemma. Currently, there is a plate welded to my tubular frame which the axle bolts to. The plate hangs down a couple of inches and if I put another piece of tubing under the the first one, the original plate, it seems to me, would still take up the space on the NEW tube where I would want to weld a new plate. The plate acts as a bracket and hangs below the tubing and the axle is bolted in below the tube. I guess jacks second picture sort of illustrates it best- though I cant see where that bracket was attached before the spacer was added. Imagine jacks configuration and me wanting to add another tube under the one he had installed. I guess if it was big enough to extend below his mounting bracket another piece could be welded on for a new bracket.

@ sam---I would probably try to have a local shop do this...but i like to know what makes sense before i get a bid on things. However, I have a friend who is welding instructor and could certainly weld things up for me If I wanted to go to a more DIY route.

Rick

RichR · 04-09-2013, 01:35 PM

DaveL traded the trailer for a 2409T so photos will not be possible.

sam · 04-09-2013, 08:09 PM

The nice thing is you could bring your rv in for just an estimate. Then your welder friend could do it for much cheaper. If HiLos were to be manufactured again I would like to see more ground clearance. We ripped our sewer tank on a low back in.

hilltool · 04-16-2013, 04:06 PM

Got the trailer back from dealer today- they repacked bearings and checked brakes. Bearings were ok but they found a bad magnet on left REAR brake-so they replaced that. They felt that the wear was "normal wear for bias tires" whatever that means. So- next stop is semi trailer place to see if they would check alignment and, maybe, put in spacers. In the meantime they rotated tires so I will keep an eye on things for now. It was the the left FRONT tire with bad wear but I don't see how a bad brake on the tire behind it would cause unequal wear on a tire. That said, the left side has reefer, sink, hot water heater and water pump so I would think there is a bit more weight over there---but the fact it is not evenly distributed over two axles that close together is weird- if indeed it maters at all.

Rick

RichR · 04-16-2013, 04:19 PM

Thinking about that, if the weight distribution was a problem there would be a lot of other Hilo models the same as yours with the same problem.

PopRichie77 · 04-16-2013, 04:25 PM

Trailer axle alignment can't be corrected with spacers, they have to bent back into alignment. I had it done on the 95, tire wore perfect afterwards.

JackandJanet · 04-16-2013, 05:10 PM

Normal wear for bias tires? Why? Doesn't make sense to me either.

Do you have bias tires on all four wheels? I've noticed them for sale as trailer tires, but I've stuck with radials.

- Jack

Norton Rider · 04-16-2013, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hilltool

... I don't see how a bad brake on the tire behind it would cause unequal wear on a tire.
Rick

It may since all the braking on that side was being done by one tire. Now that they rotated the tires, I'd keep an eye on it to see what happens.

Raul

PopRichie77 · 04-16-2013, 05:51 PM

The brake was bad so no braking on that wheel. Axles that are in alignment wear bias or radial tires evenly. Years ago there were no radial tires, all were bias ply tires.