Trailer Tires

[wplatehunter]

I bought a new boat and trailer last August. The tires on the trailer are wearing bad on the outside edge of the tire. To the point where I can start seeing the cord on the tires. The tires need to be replaced. I went to the dealer today and they said its from the tire pressure, which I have always checked to make sure its where it needs to be. They kept the boat and trailer. They were going to take some measurements and contact the company that made it. Bottom line is that a tire should last longer than a few months of use. Anyone had a problem like this?

[Pat K]

Sounds more like an alignment or bent axle issue than tire pressure. When a tire is under inflated both the inside and outside edges will show more wear. When over inflated the center of the tread will show more wear.

About 20 years ago I had a New Holland dealer I bought a skid loader and trailer from try to tell me there was nothing wrong with a trailer that was chewing up tires. I took it Kramer Spring in Inver Grove they did an alignment on the trailer and it solved the problem. I've had skid loader and boat trailers aligned there since with good results.

[CaptainMusky]

Check into getting your trailer aligned. yes, it is something that is actually done. Depending where you are located, but BeeLine in St Joseph does it and they do phenomenal work.

Outside tire wear does not sound like pressure related to me either.

[leech~~]

You may want to check to see if your trailer is rated for the boat weight that you have? If it's to heavy the axles will bow causing your tires to wear on one edge. Sounds like something with the axle alinement is out of wack?

[loadmaster]

I would be interested of the brand name of the trailer. I have been fighting with this same problem for three years on the G-3. Have heard it all and everything checked out, pressure boat weight, etc. Mine were not going that fast, but a set a season. This year went to a tire dealer and he told me to use only radials. less flex. Hope these last longer as the were not cheap (Coopers)

[icehole10]

There are a lot of things that can cause tires to wear, but usually they will wear on the inside edge from the axle flexing under load. Checking the alignment can be done with a little help from a friend and longer tape measure, I know its not perfect but it will give you an idea if its off. Just measure from the center of the hubcap (most caps have a dimple in the center) to the very front center of the coupler. Do this on both sides and compare. It should be within an 1/8" or so. I would guess its more of a camber issue if its wearing on the outside of both tires. The only way to correct that is to bring it somewhere that has camber gauges and an alignment rack or floor tie downs.

[delcecchi]

Just a thought. should the wheels be vertical when parked on a level flat surface?

Could a level be used to check?

[wplatehunter]

Its good to know that you can have a trailer alignment done. Not sure who made the trailer. It says lund on the trailer. Its a single axle trailer with a 186 tyee gl sitting on it. The trailer has to be under warranty, so they should fix the problem. Thanks

[Kyhl]

That is the route I would try first, see if they fix it under warranty. That might be what they are looking into since they kept it.

[icehole10]

The trailer has to be under warranty, so they should fix the problem. Thanks

One would think so, but they have already said it was a tire pressure issue. So they have their scapegoat in place. Hopefully that is not the case and they repair it.

[SkunkedAgain]

I've had this exact problem since buying my Alumacraft in 2009. It sits on a single-axle Karavan trailer. Granted I do a 500 mile round-trip drive at least once per month each summer to northern MN, but the tires only wear on the outside edge. It sounds like you have the same positive camber issue. I fought with the shop for a while only to hear that "these trailers are setup assuming that you put all of your gear and the kitchen sink into the boat." Allegedly when more weight is in the boat, it zeros out the camber. I still think that it's talk and more likely that the boat/motor is too light for the trailer they threw it on.

In the meantime, to extend the tire life I'll take the wheels in to get the tires flipped once I start to see cord on the outside. Since they ride so much on the outside, it doesn't matter if the inside is showing some cord after being flipped. The insides won't see the pavement and I haven't had a blowout yet (carry a spare). I'm on my third set of tires and will need to replace this set at the end of the season.

An alignment shop told me that camber can't be aligned on a boat trailer. It's more of an axle issue. I haven't cared to mess with the axle so I'm just spending $125 on new tires every 2-3 years. That's about 5,000 miles per year or 10-15k miles on a set of trailer tires. I'm running Goodyears now and like them.

[CaptainMusky]

Good Year Marathons are about the best trailer tire I have found.

[wplatehunter]

I could deal with buying new tires every 2-3 years, but at this rate it will be every three months the trailer is on the road. I used the trailer for about 2 1/2 months last fall and one trip this spring. I will let you know what I find out.

[CaptainMusky]

Out of curiosity do you notice your trailer swaying from side to side when you go down the road? Not rocking back and forth, but going side to side like a tail on a fish? I am wondering if its possible the trailer isn't set up right for how the weight is distributed on your boat and that could lead to funny tire wear too.

[icehole10]

An alignment shop told me that camber can't be aligned on a boat trailer. It's more of an axle issue.

If it's a tube style axle, they should be able to adjust camber. All you are doing is bending the tube. For positive camber, the boat would have to be off the trailer, because the press would have to be above the tube, but it should be doable. In the past we have even removed the axles from the trailers in order to adjust them, but it does depend on the type of axle.

[SkunkedAgain]

That's a good point about sway possibly causing outer wear. Personally I don't have any sway, it's like a duckling following it's momma. It's possible that is affecting wplatehunter's trailer.

Maybe I should check out another alignment shop to see if they could bend my axle.

[Mid-Lake Rock]

When I got my boat I had the same problem with tire wear. What I noticed is there was not enough tongue weight. The axle on my trailer can be moved. I put the trailer on stands and moved the axle back. Have not had any tire wear issues or towing issues since I adjusted the axle.

[wplatehunter]

The trailer pulls down the road great. No issues with that and there is plenty of tongue weight. I can not pick the tongue up off the ground. I am going to call Friday and see if they have found anything out.

[wplatehunter]

I picked the boat up from the dealer and put new tires on it myself. I was told to keep the old tires and send them a receipt for the tires so I could get paid for the tires. They measured the axle and said it was ok. Its a fixed axle so I can not have an alignment done. They said the tires were cheap, so we will see what happens with the new tires. The tire shop said they should not wear like they were.

[Kyhl]

Might be time for a second opinion. Something caused the uneven wear.

[wplatehunter]

Dealer called today and the trailer company is sending a new axle for the trailer. So I hope that works. Its good to have a warranty when u need it. Thanks for all the advise.

[CPL]

The trailer pulls down the road great. No issues with that and there is plenty of tongue weight. I can not pick the tongue up off the ground. I am going to call Friday and see if they have found anything out.

Too much tongue weight could also cause uneven tire wear. Tongue weight should be 5 - 7 % of total trailer/load weight. I don't know how heavy your boat/trailer is, so don't know if you have too much tongue weight.

[SkunkedAgain]

I just had my rig at the dealer yesterday. I mentioned about my uneven tire wear to the owner. He started looking around for the trailer manufacturer tag asking retorically if it was a 2,200lbs trailer, then saw that it was a 2,600lbs trailer. His response was that the extra 400-600 pounds on the trailer would flatten it out. He offered to try to rectify but at 6 years old, I told him that it was okay.

Ironically, I'm off to get new tires today. The exposed cord on one of the tires is finally leaking some air.

[EBass]

I  have tire issues. I have a small jon boat and got new Carlisle bias ply tires last summer at Discount Tire and just one of them wore down really fast. I rotated them and had the trailer checked for alignment at Crystal Welding and they said it's aligned and to get radial tires.    I called Discount Tire and explained. He told me they don't make radial tires in my size and Carlisle doesn't have that problem anymore.  

So they sold me tires that wore like $#!% and knew about it?  Nice! Anything to make a profit at my expense. 

Goodyears or Coopers bias ply?  I think I'm done with Carlisle unless they are way cheaper.  

[SkunkedAgain]

I run the Goodyear Marathons, and see many people post positive feedback about those tires as well